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Effects Of Hardwood Control And Switchgrass Intercropping On Breeding Bird Communities And Resource Use In Managed Loblolly Pine Stands In Mississippi, Marian Fuller-Morris

Theses and Dissertations

Managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) stands are common in the southeastern United States and provide young forest conditions for early successional breeding birds. Common pine management practices (e.g. hardwood control) and novel practices (e.g. switchgrass [Panicum virgatum] intercropping), may influence breeding bird use. I evaluated breeding bird abundance, diversity, and resource use within loblolly stands treated to control hardwood species, intercropped with switchgrass, and with no additional management. Hardwood control and switchgrass intercropping both decreased hardwoods and shrubs, and increased forbs. Switchgrass intercropping increased some early successional bird abundances. However, diversity was not different among treatments. Switchgrass intercropping increased 13C:12C …