@article {KNZ001030,
	title = {Effects of burn regimes ontallgrass prairie herpetofaunal species diversity and communitycomposition in the Flint Hills, Kansas},
	journal = {Journal of Herpetology},
	volume = {40},
	year = {2006},
	pages = {49 -60},
	abstract = {The Flint Hills region of Kansas is the largest contiguous area of tallgrass prairie remaining today. Historically, the tallgrass prairie burned every 2{\textendash}3 yr on average, but current land managers have altered burn regimes, resulting in a range of habitats from annually burned to long-term unburned. We used drift fence/funnel trap arrays and coverboards to estimate species richness, evenness, and diversity of herpetofauna within three different burn regimes: annual, 4-yr, and long-term unburned at Konza Prairie Biological Station, Riley County, Kansas. During the spring and fall of 2003{\textendash}2004, 315 individuals from 20 species were captured across all burn regimes. Herpetofaunal species richness, evenness, and diversity estimates were not different between the three burn treatments. However, because of species-specific responses to individual burn regimes, community composition was significantly different between the habitats (χ2 = 158.19, df = 20, P < 0.001). Four species exhibited preferences among burn regimes, which differed significantly from independent assortment, with Eumeces obsoletus and Phrynosoma cornutum preferring annual burn treatments, Scincella lateralis preferring 4-yr burn treatments, and Diadophis punctatus preferring long-term unburned treatments. Species-specific responses were likely because of changes in vegetation structure and microhabitat (temperature and moisture content) created through different frequencies of fire disturbances. Maximizing large-scale herpetofaunal diversity across the Flint Hills{\textquoteright} rangelands could be accomplished by creating a large number of small scale habitat types through a mosaic style burning plan.},
	keywords = {LTER-KNZ},
	doi = {10.1670/162-05A.1},
	author = {Wilgers, D.J. and Horne, E.A.}
}
