R. N. Conner

Herbicides are frequently used in pine stands to control competing hardwoods. We investigated the longevity of 4 species of hardwood snags (mockernut hickory [Carya tomentosa], sweetgum [Liquidambar styraciflua], southern red oak [Quercus falcata], and post oak [Q. stellata]) after treatment with 2,4-D herbicide. In addition, we observed evidence of foraging activity and cavity excavation by cavity-nesting birds. Hickory and sweetgum were the least durable; by the fifth year only 16% of sweetgum and 47% of mockernut hickory snags remained standing, and only 11% of the original snags of...

Winter birds were censured on snag and snagless transects during 3 winters from 1977 to 1980 in a clearcut in east Texas to assess the impact of snag retention on the bird community. For the cavity user group there was greater bird abundance, species diversity, and number of species on snag than on snagless transects. The cavity user group included: eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis), loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), northern flicker (Colaptes auratus), Carolina chickadee (Parus carolinensis), red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), red-headed woodpecker (M. erythrocephalus),...