Original Article Initial Effects of Woody Biomass Removal and Intercropping of Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) on Herpetofauna in Eastern North Carolina JESSICA A. HOMYACK, 1 Weyerhaeuser Company, Timberlands Technology, 1785 Weyerhaeuser Road, Vanceboro, NC 28586, USA ZACHARY AARDWEG, Department of Biology & North Carolina Center for Biodiversity, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA THOMAS A. GORMAN, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA DAVID R. CHALCRAFT, Department of Biology & North Carolina Center for Biodiversity, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA ABSTRACT Forests are potential sources for a wide range of alternative fuels, which could reduce dependency on fossil fuels and carbon emissions, but sustainability of producing biofuels from forests has not been well-studied. Therefore, we investigated effects of woody biomass harvest, intercropping perennial grasses, and combinations of these treatments on herpetofauna in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantations in a randomized and replicated field experiment in eastern North Carolina, USA. We sampled amphibians and small reptiles with drift fence arrays from April to July during 1 and 2 years after treatment establishment. We had 425 captures of 15 species of herpetofauna across the 2 sampling seasons, but did not observe large general effects of biomass removal or planting of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) in pine plantations on detection, diversity, or relative abundance. However, planned contrasts indicated Simpson’s index of diversity was greater in plots managed for switchgrass only compared with pine plantations during year 2, and that captures of southern toads (Anaxyrus terrestris) were less common in switchgrass plots than in pine plantations intercropped with switchgrass. Neither intercropping switchgrass with pine nor removal of harvest residuals caused herpetofauna diversity or abundance of common species to differ from traditional plantation management during the first 2 years following treatment establishment. With the exception of switchgrass-only plots, which had lower herpetofauna species evenness, the potential practices we considered for biofuels production are unlikely to have short-term effects on herpetofauna relative to traditional pine management. Future research should monitor herpetofauna through succession and consider landscape-scale effects and other potential feedstock sources. ß 2013 The Wildlife Society. KEY WORDS amphibians, biofuels, forest management, herpetofauna, intensive forestry, Panicum virgatum, pine plantations, reptiles, switchgrass. Biofuels production is projected to increase rapidly in response to government mandates and incentives for gener- ating alternatives to fossil fuels. For example, the Renewable Fuels Standards mandates that 36 billion gallons of renew- able fuels be blended into liquid transportation fuels in the United States by 2022 (U.S. Department of Energy 2011). Further, 37 states have standards or goals in place that specify a minimum percentage of electricity production that must come from renewable sources by certain dates (U.S. Department of Energy 2011). Biofuels may address concerns with climate change, increasing energy demands, and reli- ance on foreign sources of oil, but whether their production is sustainable is debated (Fargione et al. 2008, Searchinger et al. 2008, Dale et al. 2010). Two concerns with biofuels are whether 1) developing biofuels markets will elicit a shift in agricultural production from food to fuel (Searchinger et al. 2008, Abbasi and Abbasi 2010), and 2) land manage- ment activities for biofuels production will be compatible with maintaining native fauna (Bies 2006, Fletcher et al. 2011, Riffell et al. 2011). Biofuels feedstocks can take many forms, from gleaning of crop residues in agricultural settings to growing and harvesting fast-growing woody crops or annual grasses in managed forests, each which may elicit different responses from biodiversity. Intensively managed forests in the southeastern United States may provide several sources of biofuels feedstocks in addition to producing traditional timber products from the same land base. Recent research has examined feasibility and sustainability of growing dedicated feedstocks, harvest- ing forest residuals, and intercropping biofuels feedstocks in forest plantations, but numerous questions remain (Benjamin et al. 2010; Dale et al. 2010; Dymond et al. Received: 29 June 2012; Accepted: 30 October 2012 Published: 28 February 2013 1 E-mail: jessica.homyack@weyerhaeuser.com Wildlife Society Bulletin 37(2):327–335; 2013; DOI: 10.1002/wsb.248 Homyack et al.  Herpetofauna and Biofuels in North Carolina 327