The effect of riparian zones in structuring small mammal communities in the southern Appalachians

s _’ .*_ _ Ripariaq zones have &en shown to be important in smcturing veflebrgte communities and in maintaining biodiversity. We examined the [email protected] riparian zones in structuring small mammal Fmmuniti% ‘in a southern Appalachian watershed at Coweeta Hydr$pgical Laboratory, Macon County, &Jorth Carolina. We established pitfall and live-trap grids i? three rep@tes each of seeps, firstorder,, second-order, and third-order stream riparian zones. We established upland non-riparian controls for each repl&ate at a distance greater< than 100 m fr&m the respective riparian zones. These sites, were distributed over northern hardwood, cove hardwood, moderatb’oak, and xeric-oak-pine cover types along an +!evatj@nal gradient from 678 to 1,592 m. We found no sjgnifiqanf: differen& in the composition of small mammal communities, betwqen rip&an and &i-riparian zones at these sites. Patterns of species,rich?ess, diversity, and evenness for both pitfall surveys atid Ii<& trapping’&timators were s@ilar for riparian and non-riparian areas. _, Within-.stream order : comp&riso& yielded similar results; no differences ,yere found, b.etie,Fn ripariiQ and non-riparian sites fo’i seeps, second-eider, or third-&der streams. The only exception was in first-order stream comparisons yhere Blarina brevicauda was found ‘to be more abundtint in non-iipqian sites. The lack of significant differences between riparian arid non-tip&an sites in q&II“ mammal parameters examined y)yuld appear to be associated wifh the general lack of structural and vegetative distinction betwe?n ripanah and non. . riparian zo?es iq the southein Appalachians. j