Small Mammal Abundance and Forest Structure Changes by Different Post-Fire Silviculural Practices in Phou Khao Khauy National Protected Area, Lao PDR

Abstract

We examined the abundance of five small rodent species, the chestnut white-bellied rat ( Niviventer fulvescens ), red spiny rat ( Maxomys surifer ), long-tailed giant rat ( Leopoldamys sabanus ), house mouse ( Mus musculus ), and black rat ( Rattus rattus ), and the stand structure of primary and secondary forest stands resulting from two types of post-fire silvicultural management practices in the Phou Khao Khauy National Protected Area (PKKNPA), Lao PDR. Post-fire silvicultural practices contributed to dramatically converting the structure of forests. Coverage of overstory, midstory, and ground vegetation, number of tree stems, woody seedlings, snags, and volume of coarse woody debris all had significant differences among study sites. We captured 456 individual small rodents during the dry and rainy seasons. The mean number of small rodents captured in primary forests was significantly higher than that in two secondary forests. In addition, there were more rodents in burned rice field stands than in burned rubber plantation stands. The value of overstory to understory vegetation coverage and the volume of coarse woody debris were strongly associated with small-mammal abundance in the PKKNPA. Thus, post-fire silvicultural practices should take the differences in small rodent abundance as well as forest structure into account. Long-term experiments may help illuminate the potential effects of management strategies after forest fires in the Lao PDR.