clumps of saw-palmetto that had "natural" burrows significantly (p<0.001) more than would be expected based on availability. The authors suggest that Bachman's sparrows in prairie habitat use burrows as areas of refuge from predators. Landscape level effects Several studies have investigated the importance of landscape attributes on Bachman's sparrows. For a discussion of the possible importance of patchiness of vegetation within a site see the habitat characteristics section. The ability of the Bachman's sparrow to detect and colonize areas before they are no longer suitable may depend on the size and isolation of the habitat. In south-central Missouri, only glades ≥ 29 acres (11.7 ha) were occupied by Bachman's sparrows. The probability of Bachman's sparrow occupying pine-grassland restoration stands in Mississippi increased as size of areas with long burning rotations, short-harvest rotations, and no removal of hardwoods decreased (p=0.05) and as the perimeter to area ratio of these areas increased (p=0.02). In South Carolina, distance from source populations significantly (p≤ 0.05) influenced the ability of Bachman's sparrows to colonize recent clearcuts in both years on one study area and in 1 of 2 years in another study area. The authors suggest that the presence of corridors in the latter study area may have resulted in distance being less influential. Time since fire is an important factor in Bachman's sparrow habitat use. In Florida, Bachman's sparrows abandoned sites that were greater than 5 years post fire. In North Carolina, occupancy of Bachman's sparrows decreased with years since fire. Several studies suggest that optimal sites are those that have been burned within the previous 3 years, which highlights the importance of frequent fire regimes for the successful conservation of Bachman's sparrow. Bachman's sparrows' association with edge habitat is uncertain. In eastern Texas clearcuts with relatively abundant loblolly pine, sites with Bachman's sparrow territories were significantly (p<0.01) closer to the edge of the study area and the number of Bachman's sparrows was significantly (p<0.05) correlated (r=–0.22) with distance to edge. However, in dry prairie of central Florida the difference in Bachman's sparrow densities in edge and core habitat was not significant (p≥0.36), and both edge and core habitat were considered population sinks. In North Carolina, Bachman's sparrow occupancy increased at intermediate distances (~250 meters) from wildlife openings. Bachman's sparrows may be dependent on landscape level factors at a large scale. An occupancy study in North Carolina used repeated point counts (n=232 points) to