Wildlife Food Research Articles

Regeneration Status and Role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge for Cloud Forest Ecosystem Restoration in Ecuador

The importance of forests for biodiversity conservation has been well recognized by the global community; as a result, conservation efforts have increased over the past two decades. In Ecuador, the lack of integrated information for defining and assessing the status of local ecosystems is a major challenge for designing conservation and restoration plans. Thus, the objectives of this study were (1) to examine the regeneration status of cloud forest remnants, some of which had experienced past human disturbance events, (2) to explore a local rural community’s traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) relevant for restoration and (3) to investigate the integration between TEK and ecological science-based approaches. A survey of regeneration status was conducted in four remnants of cloud forests (n = 16) in Cosanga, Napo Province, in the Andes of northeastern Ecuador. The species of young trees (0.5–5 m height) were identified over 0.16 ha. In-depth interviews of individuals from local communities (n = 48) were conducted to identify socio-ecologically important native species. The results showed significant differences (p < 0.001) in species richness and the stem density of seedlings and saplings in gaps. The stem density of Chusquea sp., a bamboo species, explained 63% of the variation in species richness and 48% of the variation in the abundance of seedlings and saplings between plots. Informants cited 32 socio-ecologically important species, of which 26 species were cited as sources of food and habitats for wildlife. The ranking of species based on a relative importance index and a cultural value index—taking into account both the spread of knowledge among local informants and the multiplicity of uses—revealed that Hyeromina duquei, Citharexylum montanum, Eugenia crassimarginata and Sapium contortum were traditionally the most valuable species for both humans and wildlife. Informants also recommended 27 species for future planting, of which 19 species were amongst the rarest species in the regeneration survey. In conclusion, the results demonstrate a synergy between TEK and ecological science-based approaches (regeneration survey) to natural ecosystem research. Thus, traditional ecological knowledge can provide insights into ecosystem–plant–animal interaction, and to identify native species useful for both humans and wildlife for forest restoration projects to reconnect isolated cloud forest fragments.

A Walk on the Wild Side: 2021 Cool-Season Forage Recommendations for Wildlife Food Plots in North Florida

The list of cool-season forage recommendations for wildlife in this publication includes varieties that have been tested and are known to perform well in Florida. Written by M. Wallau, A. R. Blount, J. M. Campos-Krauer, M. A. Lashley, E. Rios, J. M. B. Vendramini, J. C. B. Dubeux, Md. A. Babar, C. L. Mackowiak, and K. H. Quesenberry, and published by the UF/IFAS Agronomy Department, revised October 2021.

Effect of different foliar treatment and profitable practice of terrace garden in urban environment, Tirupur, Tamil Nadu

Globally, home gardens have been documented as an important supplemental source contributing to food and nutritional security and livelihoods. Terrace garden is usually established on the rooftop of a building. Besides the decorative benefit, roof plantings may provide food, temperature control, hydrological benefits, architectural enhancement, habitats or corridors for wildlife, recreational opportunities, and in large scale it may even have ecological benefits. Green roof tops with living vegetation provide green spaces, mitigation urban heat island, energy conservation, improving the air quality and increases biodiversity. Terrace gardens give pleasure to city dwellers and provide an opportunity for enhancing creativity as well psychological benefits. In addition, they change the visual appearance of the building, screening from neighbors, and conceal unwanted pipeline and unappealing scenery. One such terrace garden was established in terrace portion of a house located in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu. Three different foliar treatments viz., Control (T1), Panchagavya @ 3% (T2) and 19:19:19 @ 1.5% (T3) were given to observe the growth and yield attributes of the Tomato plants. In which Panchagavya @ 3% (T2) recorded the best results in all aspects. In tomato, maximum plant height of 23.4 cm at 35DAS and 42.5 cm at 45DAS, number of leaves as 143 at 35 DAS and 218 at 45 DAS, number of lateral branches as 8 at 35 DAS and 9 at 45 DAS, stem diameter as 0.76 cm at 35 DAS and 1.2cm at 45 DAS, minimum number of days to first flowering as 42 days, minimum number of days to 50% flowering as 58 days, average fruit weight as 93.8g, total yield per plant as 0.62 kg at first picking, 0.65 kg at second picking and 0.68 kg at third picking and Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) of 1:1.8 was recorded from Panchagavya @ 3% (T2). Besides tomato other vegetable crops such as Brinjal, Bhendi, Chilli, Radish, Lab lab, Spinach and Tropical Amaranth were also grown and calculated Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR). The fixed and variable cost for terrace garden was recorded to be Rs. 1876 and Rs. 554.3 respectively. The gross return and net return obtained from terrace garden were Rs. 1545.5 and Rs. 991.2 respectively. The Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) obtained from entire terrace garden during the period of 5 months was 1:1.78. The practice of Terrace Gardening is an emerging and important business venture for the urban middle and upper classes families that assure health and profitable benefits.

"The Sky Is Falling," Government Is Not Responding, What Can Scientists Do?

"The Sky Is Falling," Government Is Not Responding, What Can Scientists Do?

Color of Pan Trap Influences Sampling of Bees in Livestock Pasture Ecosystem.

Simple SummaryPollination is important for fertilization, setting fruits, seed development and the continuation of the life cycle of plants that eventually provide food for humans, livestock and wildlife. Agronomic practices, use of pesticides, lack of diverse flowering plant species, introduction of invasive plants, loss of habitat, climate change and disease have all led to the decline of important pollinator species. Decline of insect pollinators has increased the importance of accurately monitoring pollinator diversity and abundance over time. Sampling techniques using different color traps are used to sample bees and other insects, but their utility and effectiveness in different ecosystems still need to be determined. In this study, we examined four different colors of pan traps (blue, green, yellow, and purple) for their utility in sampling bees in a livestock pasture ecosystem consisting of native forage species. We analyzed the relative abundance, richness, similarity, and community assemblage patterns associated with aforementioned colors. We found that the blue color traps were the most attractive to bees and were effective for sampling bees in a livestock pasture ecosystem. Purple color traps were the second most effective, followed by yellow and green color traps.The decline in insect pollinators has increased the importance of accurately monitoring pollinator diversity and abundance over time. Sampling techniques include the use of passive insect traps such as pan traps, yet there is still discussion over their utility and effectiveness in different ecosystems. The objective was to examine four different colors of pan traps (blue, green, yellow, and purple) for their utility in sampling bees in native forages rotationally grazed by sheep and to compare the relative abundance, richness, similarity, and community assemblage patterns among the four trap colors. Most bees were from the Halictidae family (89%). The most abundant species were Lasioglossum imitatum (42.2%), Augochlorella aurata (8.3%), L. subviridatum (6.8), Agapostemon texanus (6.4), and L. birkmani (4.1%). Blue color traps exhibited the highest rates of bee capture and species accumulation. Purple and yellow colored traps were moderately effective in capturing bees, while the green color pan traps were least effective. Similarly, observed and extrapolated species richness was highest in blue trap, followed by purple, yellow, and green. Notably, the blue trap captured the highest number of unique species, followed by purple, yellow and green traps. Considering the total number of insects collected (including bees and other insects), yellow and green traps captured a significantly higher number of insects than other colored traps. The light reflectance from blue, purple, green and yellow pan traps had peaks at ~450, 400, 550, and 600 nm, respectively. Since different insects respond to different light intensities, wavelengths, and reflectivity, these results could be used to guide future trapping protocols targeting certain insect groups in livestock pasture and similar ecosystems.

A Survey on Plant Health Monitoring using IoT

Plants are one of the important kind of organisms available over the world. There are so many ways in which plants help the environment and human’s life on the earth by providing food for humans and wildlife. So it is necessary to keep the plants in a healthy manner. Healthy plants leads to a country’s profitable agricultural production. Internet of Things (IOT) has played a vital role in monitoring plants health. It helps farmers by monitoring the plant as well as leads to a greater production. The proposed system is based upon sensors for monitoring. The factors such as soil moisture, pH, temperature, air quality can be determined by using specific sensors with the help of a microcontroller. The values are collected from the sensors. By comparing the already stored value with the collected value we can determine the result. The paper represents the system and considered the detailed information related to the processing of the results.

Optimizing livestock carrying capacity for wild ungulate-livestock coexistence in a Qinghai-Tibet Plateau grassland

Wild ungulates are an important part of terrestrial ecosystems and play a critical role in maintaining ecosystem health and integrity. In many grassland ecosystems that are habituated by wild ungulates, the coexistence of domestic ungulates has created a conflict over grazing resources. Solving this conflict requires a balanced and sustainable policy that satisfies both the needs of wildlife protection and food production. Here, we assess the optimal grassland livestock carrying capacity of an alpine grassland on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, given the coexistence of wild populations of kiangs (Equus kiang) and Tibetan gazelles (Procapra picticaudata), two key species grazing in this region. We use kriging and the MaxEnt method to estimate the population sizes of kiangs and Tibetan gazelles in Maduo County, Qinghai Province. We then convert the estimated population size of the two species into sheep units and calculate the residual carrying capacity for livestock grazing. We show that after accounting for the grazing need for kiangs and Tibetan gazelles, grassland in Maduo is capable of supporting 420,641 sheep units, which is slightly more than the current livestock population. However, the residual carrying capacity is highly uneven across the region, and overgrazing is found in many areas of Maduo, especially in northern Maduo. This research provides a useful framework for planning sustainable livestock farming for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and other regions facing wildlife-livestock conflict.

Effects of Pesticide Use on the Distributions of Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea) and Great Egrets (Ardea alba) in Rice Fields of the Republic of Korea.

Pesticide use is known to have a negative impact on the habitat use of birds. The decomposition of residual pesticides causes a drastic decrease in the biomass of wildlife food sources, indirectly affecting the ecosystem. In this study, we investigated the effects of pesticide use on the distributions of grey herons (Ardea cinerea) and great egrets (Ardea alba) in rice fields in the Republic of Korea. From early May to mid-June in 2015 and 2016, we recorded the abundance of these birds and their prey (loaches, other fish, tadpoles, and benthic invertebrates) and investigated their dependence on rice agricultural practices (eco-friendly vs conventional) and field types (harrowed, plowed, or transplanted). We found that both grey herons and great egrets preferentially used transplanted fields. Grey herons were observed more in conventional rice fields, while great egrets were observed more in eco-friendly rice fields. This may be driven by the distribution of their preferred prey types; we observed a higher density of tadpoles (the prey type favored by grey herons) in conventional fields and a higher density of loaches (the preferred prey of great egrets) in eco-friendly fields. Pesticides drive these patterns both directly and indirectly; pesticide use in conventional rice fields directly suppresses the abundance of loaches, which frees the tadpole population from predation pressures and indirectly boosts their abundance in conventional rice fields. Our findings suggest that the distributions of grey herons and great egrets vary depending on food availability and are directly and indirectly influenced by pesticide use.

WSN Based Prototype Architecture for Alerting the Effects of Forest Fire on Wild Animals in Gir Forest Gujarat

Fire is one of the most obliterating dangers to our woods. Fire is an outstanding servant but a poor boss (Manoj Kumar Jhariya and Ahishek Raj). Wildfire not only destroys flora and their diversity but also significant long-term negative impacts on fauna including wildlife. The degree of fire-related consequences for wild creature networks by and large relies upon the degree of changes in natural surroundings structure and fire-caused species piece(Manoj Kumar Jhariya and Ahishek Raj). Fires mainly affect animals through impacts on their habitat. Fires often cause short-term increases in wildlife food which contribute to an increase in some animal populations(Jack Lyon,Mark H. Huff, Robert G. Hooper).Due to this kind of forest fire wild animals have to suffer from many things like their living style, injury, habitat loses and sometimes they died. This paper proposed a wireless sensor-based prototype architecture that implement using various sensor on the monitoring area and gather useful data from that area than these data are processed in a central server and passed to the concern person or department as alert or notification like smoke alert and how many wild animals are near that fire.

Influence of stand age, soil attributes, and cover type on Rubus (Rosaceae) seed bank abundance

We assessed Rubus seed bank abundance and variability in 39 stands located throughout northern Pennsylvania as part of a replicated chronosequence of age classes. Seed abundance declined precipitously after stand age 60 in the Allegheny hardwoods or after stand age 50 in the northern hardwood and oak forests. Variability among sites increased with stand age, resulting in less predictability of Rubus seed abundance. Rubus seed banks were more than twice as abundant in Allegheny and northern hardwoods as in mixed oaks. Rubus seed bank abundance decreased as percent clay in the soil increased. Given that Rubus seed bank abundance declines with age and seed abundance becomes more variable, we suggest that there will be less Rubus immediately following the standreplacing disturbances in older stands, potentially changing plant competition dynamics and wildlife food sources.

Biodiversité et services écosystémiques en forêts tropicales : le rôle des affectations des terres forestières dans la région du Dja, Cameroun

Des dizaines de millions de personnes dépendent des forêts tropicales pour leur subsistance en Afrique centrale. Ces écosystèmes abritent une biodiversité unique et fournissent d'importants services écosystémiques (SE), qui peuvent varier en fonction des stratégies de gestion. Dans cette thèse de doctorat, nous avons évalué la biodiversité et les services écosystémiques dans le paysage du Dja au Cameroun, dans trois affectations des terres forestières : une aire protégée, une concession forestière certifiée FSC et trois forêts communautaires. Tout d'abord, nous avons évalué la valeur de conservation des forêts sur la base de la richesse et de la composition en espèces de deux groupes taxonomiques : les mammifères et les bousiers. Les espèces les plus grandes et les plus menacées ont été détectées dans l’aire protégée et les zones les plus éloignées de la concession forestière, mieux préservées de l'influence humaine. En revanche, les forêts communautaires sont particulièrement défaunées et dégradées en raison de leur proximité avec les routes et les villages, mais elles couvrent des superficies beaucoup plus limitées et conservent une canopée fermée. Deuxièmement, des entretiens identifiant les perceptions de l'offre en SE ont montré que, contrairement aux services de régulation qui ont été rarement mentionnés, les services d’approvisionnement et culturels sont les plus importants pour les populations locales. Parmi ceux-ci, la viande de brousse est le seul service pour lequel l’offre de la forêt n’est pas suffisante pour les populations locales. Troisièmement, en combinant des entretiens et enquêtes de terrain, nous avons quantifié l'utilisation de huit SE d'approvisionnement et culturels par les populations locales. Nous avons constaté que le bois de feu et le bois d'œuvre sont utilisés de manière durable par les populations locales, tandis que la chasse et la consommation de viande de brousse dépassent les seuils de durabilité. Concilier la conservation de la faune sauvage, la sécurité alimentaire et les pratiques de chasse durable est un défi majeur en Afrique centrale. Pour ce faire, il est essentiel d’intégrer toutes les parties prenantes dans les stratégies de gestion forestière durable, permettant d’identifier les leviers sociaux qui sous-tendent les changements de comportement des utilisateurs des forêts.

Harnessing terrestrial laser scanning to predict understory biomass in temperate mixed forests

Forest understory vegetation plays an important role in providing food, nutrition and habitat for wildlife. The impact of wildlife foraging on forest understory biomass are often subtle processes that are difficult to capture using traditional field measurements. Field measurements are labor-intensive and impractical to cover and detect understory biomass changes at an extensive range with fine spatial resolution, thereby affecting the accuracy of habitat quality and food availability assessment for wildlife. Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) is considered to have potential to improve the accuracy of understory biomass prediction, allowing for detailed monitoring of biomass changes under the influence of wildlife at fine scale. In this study, we first developed an efficient method to predict forest understory biomass by using variables from TLS with regression models, and second, we compared the prediction accuracy between TLS-based variables and field-measured variables. Third, the optimal models with TLS-based variables were applied to map and quantify the effect of herbivores density on understory biomass in temperate forests in northeastern China. Our results demonstrated that TLS-derived data were more accurate than field measurements in predicting understory biomass, that TLS-derived canopy cover yielded the highest herb layer biomass estimation accuracy (R2 = 0.72, RMSE = 12.73 g/m2), and that TLS-derived vegetation volume obtained the highest accuracy assessment for the shrub layer biomass prediction (R2 = 0.69, RMSE = 43.64 g/m2). There was a significant difference in the understory herb layer biomass in different deer-density plots, but no significant difference in shrub layer biomass. To quantify biomass changes in different plots, consistent monitoring method is needed, TLS data demonstrated the potential to capture and accurately quantify the biomass variation from forest understory. As tool for monitoring understory, TLS can be used as a supplementary to traditional understory monitoring methods to guide forest management policies and wildlife conservation strategies.

Using social network methodological approach to better understand human–wildlife interactions

Human-wildlife interactions (HWI) are present in areas where wild animals and humans compete for limited space, sometimes resulting in potentially harmful conflicts on both sides. The upper Prahova Valley within the central Carpathian range of Romania represents an area where interactions between humans and wildlife can still be found, but potentially conflicting due to the presence of both large intact natural habitats and increasing human pressure over the environment. In our study, we hypothesize that an adequate understanding of the HWI problem involves analyses on landscape pattern, natural or human induced triggering factors, and local stakeholders’ perception of the phenomenon including the measures they consider suitable for optimizing their interactions with wild animals. Therefore, the goal of our paper was to analyse the characteristics of the HWI phenomenon in the upper Prahova Valley, based on exploring the local stakeholders’ perspective. The study methodology consists of three steps: (i) applying 450 questionnaires to local stakeholders in order to extract HWI data; (ii) detecting the interconnection between various types of HWI and the perception of local people, using statistical and network approaches; and (iii) develop a set of recommendations which are applicable at both, local and regional decisional level in order to decrease the negative impact of HWI, enhance wildlife conservation strategies and promote a sustainable interactions with humans and mitigate potential conflicts that occur between humans and wildlife. The results indicate that the brown bear, wild boar and red fox were constantly increasing in HWI after 1990, while interactions with Eurasian wolf, stone marten, European polecat, roe deer and mountain viper were usually scarcer. The brown bear and wild boar were the prior species involved in conflict interactions with humans, such as the destruction of fences, orchards, or gardens. The bear was the only wildlife responsible for non-fatal human attacks. Locals consider the lack of wildlife food supply by the forest staff and the deficient forest management practices after 1990 to be the main triggering factors of these negative HWI. They perceive that the interactions with these animals pose a high risk to human security. Our results stand as a strong argument for a complex management system concerning the HWI phenomenon which adapts upper-level policies and governance decisions to both local stakeholder’s needs and wildlife management objectives to be achieved in order to attain a favorable conservation status.

Distributions and biomagnification of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in a grassland ecosystem food chain

The concentrations, distributions, and biomagnification of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in environmental and biological media in a terrestrial grass ecosystem were studied, The total PBDE concentrations in grasses were 4.00 × 10−2 to 4.28 ng·g−1. The total PBDE concentration in weasel muscle (23.2 ng·g−1 l.w.) was the highest concentrations of all animal tissue samples, and the total PBDE concentration in hair from local herdsmen (22.2 ng·g−1 l.w.) was second highest. Less-brominated PBDEs were found to be more strongly biomagnified than more-brominated PBDEs in the grassland food web. PBDEs were found to be much more strongly biomagnified in the food chains of homothermic animals than heterothermic animals. More-brominated PBDEs were not markedly biomagnified in the grassland food web. For example, BDE-153 was not biomagnified in the grassland wildlife food chain but was clearly biomagnified through the sheep, cattle, or horse hair to human hair route. The biomagnification factors and log Kows negatively correlated for the toad–snake, lizard–snake, and mouse–weasel food chains. The ability of PBDE congeners to become enriched generally decreased as the log Kow increased, and this decrease occurred 100–1000 times more strongly for homothermic animals than heterothermic animals.

Towards a Characterization of Working Forest Conservation Easements in Georgia, USA

We examine the attributes of working forest conservation easements in Georgia. Easement contracts and baseline reports are inspected to investigate easement themes, land use types, recreation opportunities, hydrological features, and forest management activity. Easement themes are heavily weighted towards themes of protecting natural habitat and preserving the conservation values of properties. Predominant land use types include wildlife food plots, bottomland hardwoods, and planted pine stands. Common hydrological features found were small creeks/streams and ponds. Lastly, forest management was characterized as having small amounts of restrictions present, with forest management being largely similar to other unencumbered property in the southeastern USA. This information can be used as a reference for landowners interested in establishing a working forest conservation easement (WFCE) on their property as well as a tool for comparison for researchers investigating easement characteristics in other regions.

White-tailed deer use of overstory hardwoods in longleaf pine woodlands

Restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem is a conservation priority throughout the southeastern United States, but the role of hardwoods in providing food and cover for wildlife within this system is poorly understood. We investigated white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) movement and habitat selection relative to overstory hardwood distribution in a longleaf pine ecosystem at Fort Bragg Military Installation in the Sandhills physiographic region of North Carolina from March 2011–July 2013. We monitored GPS-collared female white-tailed deer and used generalized linear mixed models and step-selection functions to determine the influence of overstory composition and understory cover on seasonal white-tailed deer habitat selection. During fall and winter, deer selection increased with increasing upland hardwood overstory until reaching an upper threshold (12% and 7%; respectively) where increasing cover of upland hardwoods no longer increased selection. Also, in the fall and winter, deer selected areas with greater bottomland hardwood overstory until an upper threshold of 33% bottomland hardwood overstory was reached. In the spring, deer selected areas with <22% upland hardwood overstory. The effect size of understory cover, defined as lidar-classified vegetation with height <2 m, was larger than any other variable, regardless of season, and deer consistently selected areas with 20–75% understory cover. When managing longleaf pine woodlands for white-tailed deer, our results indicate maintaining a well-developed woody understory with 20–50% canopy closure is important, ideally with mature upland hardwood overstory cover between 4 and 12% to ensure mast production in fall and winter.

Food supplementation affects gut microbiota and immunological resistance to parasites in a wild bird species

Abstract Supplemental feeding can increase the overall health of animals but also can have varying consequences for animals dealing with parasites. Furthermore, the mechanism mediating the effect of food supplementation on host–parasite interactions remains poorly understood. The goal of the study was to determine the effect of food supplementation on host defences against parasitic nest flies and whether host gut microbiota, which can affect immunity, potentially mediates these relationships. In a fully crossed design, I experimentally manipulated the abundance of parasitic nest flies Protocalliphora sialia and food availability then characterized the gut microbiota, immune responses and nest parasite abundance of nestling eastern bluebirds Sialia sialis. Food supplemented birds had 75% fewer parasites than unsupplemented birds. Parasite abundance decreased throughout the breeding season for unsupplemented birds, but abundance did not change throughout the season for supplemented birds. Food supplementation increased overall fledging success. Parasitism had a sublethal effect on blood loss, but food supplementation mitigated these effects by increasing parasite resistance via the nestling IgY antibody response. Food supplementation increased the gut bacterial diversity in nestlings, which was negatively related to parasite abundance. Food supplementation also increased the relative abundance of Clostridium spp. in nestlings, which was positively related to their antibody response and negatively related to parasite abundance. Synthesis and applications. Overall, the results of this study suggest that food supplementation, especially early in the breeding season, increases resistance to parasitism during the early life stage of the host, which might be mediated by the gut microbiota. Wildlife food supplementation is a common pastime for humans worldwide and therefore it is important to understand the consequences of this activity on animal health. Furthermore, supplemental feeding could induce resistance to detrimental parasites (e.g. invasive parasites) in hosts when management of the parasite is not immediately possible.

An overview of the Ephydridae (Diptera) of Saudi Arabia.

Despite the species richness of Ephydridae world-wide (2000 species) and its prominent environmental roles as a minor pest and as a food for wildlife, only 13 species have been recorded from Saudi Arabia. Between 2012 and 2016, a biodiversity study of Diptera was conducted at Jazan, Asir, and Najran in south-western Saudi Arabia, at 22 sites, was performed mainly using Malaise traps and sweep nets. In this study, 43 known species of Ephydridae were identified, 37 of them for the first time from southwestern Saudi Arabia and 16 from Arabian Peninsula. This brings the total number of Ephydridae species in Saudi Arabia to 49 (including previous records). There were a further four species, which could not be identified authoritatively to species level. A list of all species of Ephydridae recorded from Saudi Arabia is appended. Images of thirty-two species are presented. The species recorded in this study are more Palaearctic in origin as compared to other regions. Biological information (where known) and world-wide distribution are included. This study has added new records to the Saudi Arabian checklist of Ephydridae, which will provide the basis for systematic studies and fauna analyses of future work on the family. The need for further field and laboratory work and surveillance is highlighted.

Walk on the Wild Side: 2019 Cool-Season Forage Recommendations for Wildlife Food Plots in North Florida

This 5-page minor revision brings an updated list of recommended species and cultivars for the establishment of wildlife plots in Florida. Written by A. R. Blount, M. Wallau, H. K. Ober, E. Rios, J. M. B. Vendramini, J. C. B. Dubeux, Md. A. Babar, C. L. Mackowiak, and K. H. Quesenberry, and published by the Agronomy Department, October 2019. SS-AGR-28/AG139: A Walk on the Wild Side: 2022 Cool-Season Forage Recommendations for Wildlife Food Plots in North Florida (ufl.edu)

Adverse and Beneficial Effects of Woody Biomass Feedstock Plantations on Biodiversity and Wildlife Habitats

Abstract Woody biomass feedstock is suitable for direct combustion, gasification, pyrolysis, ethanol or methanol production yielding heat, charcoal, pyrolysis oil, green electricity and bio-propellants. However, there are several issues concerning the environmental, social and economic sustainability of woody biomass production connected to land use, protection of wildlife habitats, conservation and remediation of landscapes. Establishing energy plantations on arable lands or on grasslands is generally considered as working against nature conservation, while setting them up in polluted areas or wastelands could be advantageous for wildlife, because of 1. more permanent cover that provides shelter and biomass for feeding, which is especially important in winter periods; 2. higher architectural complexity of vegetation providing more place for nesting and feeding for wildlife; 3. exploiting the advantages of root filtration, phytoremediation, or using less chemicals; 4. forbs in the undergrowth and young shoots able to provide better quality food for wildlife than the intensive monocultures. The solution is a complex management system, including land use, phytoremediation, waste and wastewater management and ecosystem-based planning incorporated in one dynamic structure.