FIRE EFFECTS AND USE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Sciurus niger | Fox Squirrel 



DIRECT FIRE EFFECTS ON ANIMALS : 
Fox squirrels would probably not be able to escape fast-moving fires
[15].  However, they could probably easily escape low-severity ground
fires.  Kirkpatrick and Mosby [11] found no evidence that prescribed
burning caused significant direct mortality among fox squirrels.
Wildfires could destroy leaf nests, nest trees, and fox squirrel
nestlings.  However, cavities used for denning and leaf nests are
usually above the impact zone of prescribed fires [11]. 


HABITAT RELATED FIRE EFFECTS : 
Fire often has a postitive effect on fox squirrel habitat.  Fire
maintains the pine-oak habitat preferred by fox squirrels and has a
direct effect on fox squirrel foods.  Under presettlement conditions
longleaf pine savannas (preferred fox squirrel habitat) may have burned
at average intervals of 3 to 5 years, usually between April and October.
The open stands produced by fire result in better pine cone and mast
production.  Pines and oaks growing in the open receive more light,
maintain more branches at lower levels, and produce heavier crops of
cones and nuts [23].  Additionally, nutrient availability and the
enhanced vigor of burned pine forest are associated with larger crops of
fungi. which are also important fox squirrel foods [23].  A lush, grassy
understory maintained by fire is important as protective cover [15].

Fire has probably been a determining factor in the niche separation
between gray and fox squirrels on the Coastal Plain.  Both exist in
mixed pine-oak forests and feed heavily on acorns, but the more
competitive gray squirrel dominates where the overlap of oak crowns
allows tree-to-tree travel throughout the canopy.  Fox squirrels are
more abundant where patches of oaks comprise less than 30 percent of
pine-hardwood stands and do best in fire-type pine forests with
scattered hardwood inclusions [15].  Fire could be a deciding factor in
determining the availabilty of suitable habitat and resources for one or
the other species [23].

Fire can also have a negative effect on fox squirrel habitat.
Low-intensity ground fire may destroy acorns in the forest duff [15].


FIRE USE : 
Prescribed fire can be used to maintain fox squirrel habitat.
Prescribed burning at 2- to 5-year intervals can be beneficial to fox
squirrels by maintaining an open understory and better foraging habitat
[11].  According to Humphrey [24], ground fires are valuable in
maintaining habitats of Big Cypress fox squirrels.  In the habitat of
this subspecies, future fire management plans call for an increase in
prescribed burning to 50,000 acres a year.  Pinelands are expected to be
burned on a 5- to 7-year rotation [24].


REFERENCES : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Wildlife Species: Sciurus niger | Fox Squirrel