We compared the response of herpetofaunal communities in 16 hardwood stands treated with a high-leave harvest (7 m2/ha residual basal area), low-leave harvest (3.5 m2/ha residual basal area), clearcut harvest or no-harvest prescription in the Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky, from 1992 to 1996. Animals were captured with straight-line drift fences and pitfall traps. We sampled 800 trap nights and captured 24 species of amphibians (N = 1,363) and 12 species of reptiles (N = 163). Diversity of amphibians was lower in low-leave harvest stands after removal of timber than in noharvest stands (P < 0.05). Numerical abundance and species richness of reptiles were higher after timber removal in high-leave, low-leave, and clearcut harvest stands than in no-harvest stands (P < 0.05), and diversity of reptiles was higher after removal of timber in low-leave harvest stands than in no-harvest stands (P < 0.05). These data indicate a comparable response by herpetofaunal communities in harvested stands in the Daniel Boone National Forest, regardless of the amount of basal area harvested.
