Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Avian Ecology During Oak Savanna And Woodland Restoration In The Mid-South, Christine Ann Henderson

Masters Theses

Disturbance-dependent ecosystems in the eastern United States have been declining since European settlement, and, in recent years, early-successional species have followed. My objective for this research was to determine if oak savanna and woodland restoration (i.e., overstory thinning and prescribed fire) was a viable method of recovering declining earlysuccessional species to the landscape of the Mid-South. At 3 sites, Catoosa Wildlife Management Area (CWMA; Tennessee), Green River Game Lands (GRGL; North Carolina), and Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL; Tennessee), oak savanna and woodland restoration projects were established and maintained. Closed-canopy stands were thinned and a 2-year burn …