S.M. Krieger J. R. Walters J.A. Collazo J. C. Allen 2006 <p><span>We determined the effects of fire history and a riparian-upland gradient on the breeding bird community at Fort Bragg Military Installation in North Carolina, one of the largest remnant areas of the endangered longleaf pine (</span><i>Pinus palustris</i><span>) ecosystem. Study sites were classified into two treatments: fire-intense (areas experiencing growing-season burns) and fire-suppressed (areas lacking fires). Within each treatment, bird and vegetation data were recorded at point-count stations positioned at three distances from streamhead pocosins to characterize the riparian-upland habitat gradient: 0, 75, and ≥150 m. Total bird abundance and species richness varied significantly along the riparian-upland gradient, with pocosins contributing greatly to avian biodiversity. Our data revealed strong effects of fire history and riparian-upland gradient on bird species, which we described in terms of breeding-bird assemblages. Members of the open longleaf assemblage (e.g., Red- cockaded Woodpecker [</span><i>Picoides borealis</i><span>], Bachman's Sparrow [</span><i>Aimophila aestivalis</i><span>]) were most common in fire-intense areas and at upland locations. Members of the fire-suppressed assemblage (e.g., Wood Thrush [</span><i>Hylocichla mustelina</i><span>], Ovenbird [</span><i>Seiurus aurocapilla</i><span>]) were confined to pocosins in fire-intense areas, but became more abundant in fire-suppressed areas. Members of the pocosin assemblage (e.g., Eastern Towhee [</span><i>Pipilo erythropthalamus</i><span>], Common Yellowthroat [</span><i>Geothlypis trichas</i><span>]) were largely confined to pocosins and, in some cases, were most abundant in fire-intense pocosins. Fire suppression increased structural diversity of vegetation and promoted one breeding-bird assemblage (fire-suppressed), but at the expense of two others (open longleaf, pocosin). Continued management of Fort Bragg to promote longleaf pine restoration is essential for supporting conservation of the open-longleaf bird assemblage; in addition, it will benefit the pocosin assemblage.</span></p> application/pdf 10.1642/0004-8038(2006)123[1110:AOBBWF]2.0.CO;2 en American Ornithological Society Associations of breeding birds with fire-influenced and riparian-upland gradients in a longleaf pine ecosystem article