Wildlife Habitat Management Research Articles

Techniques for Wildlife Habitat Management of Wetlands

Techniques for Wildlife Habitat Management of Wetlands

Harvest Date and Fertilizer Effects on Native and Interseeded Wetland Meadows

Studies of harvest date by fertilizer interactions on hay meadows are rare and none have been published for prairie meadows. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of initial harvest date (15 June, 15 July, and 15 August) and spring-applied N (0, 45, 90, and 135 kg ha-1) on first cutting and regrowth dry matter yield and forage quality from native and interseeded wetland meadow sites. Regrowth was harvested on all plots in late September. 'Garrison' creeping foxtail (Alopecurus arundinaceus Poir.) was interseeded on plots 4 years prior to application of treatments. Native vegetation was dominated by sedges (Carex spp.). Interseeded plots were dominated by Garrison creeping foxtail. Yield and quality on different dates and response to N were similar for vegetation types despite differences in duration of spring flooding between years. Harvest date by fertilizer interactions occurred for first cutting yield and crude protein concentration. Yield response to applied N ranged from 8.5 to 31.2 kg ha-1 kg-1 N. Fertilizer had no effect on digestibility and increased crude protein concentration only in herbage harvested on 15 June. Within levels of N, first cutting yield was about 60% of peak standing crop on 15 June and 90% on 15 July compared with 15 August. Greater plant growth rates and response to N after prolonged spring flooding compensated for initial differences between years by 15 July. Regrowth dry matter yield was not affected by spring-applied N and increased by about 43 kg ha-1 day-1 after initial harvest in both years. Sedge-dominated, prairie meadows are productive and provide predictable forage and wildlife habitat management alternatives.

Wildlife habitat management on the northern prairie landscape

The northern prairie landscape has changed dramatically within the past century as a result of settlement by Europeans. Natural ecosystems have been disrupted and wildlife populations greatly altered. Natural resource agencies control only limited areas within the landscape, which they cannot manage independently of privately owned lands. Wildlife managers need first to set quantifiable objectives, based on the survival, reproduction, and distribution of wildlife. Second, they need to build public support and partnerships for meeting those objectives. Finally, they need to evaluate progress not only with respect to attitudes of the public and partners but, more importantly, of the wildlife response. This paper describes some useful tools for managing information at all phases of this process. We follow by discussing management options at a landscape level. Examples are given that involve agency lands as well as private lands, managed for biological resources and diversity as well as economic sustainability.

Influence of annual and biennial prescribed burning during March on the abundance of Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) in central Georgia.

A 5-yr study to evaluate the influence of annual and biennial prescribed burning in March on the abundance of Amblyomma americanum (L.) was conducted on Oconee Wildlife Management Area in the Piedmont physiographic region of Georgia. Tick abundance on plots embedded in larger burned and unburned areas were monitored with cloth drags and CO2-baited cloth panels monthly during March through September from 1987 through 1991. Annual and biennial prescribed burning from 1988 to 1991 significantly reduced the abundance of larvae, nymphs, and adults but did not alter their seasonal trends of abundance. Annual burning more consistently suppressed all life stages than biennial burning. The magnitude of tick suppression tended to increase with successive burns, especially with the annual burning regime. The order of vulnerability to direct incineration appeared to be overwintered larvae > adults > nymphs; however, only overwintered larvae were highly vulnerable. Consistent reductions in larvae during June-September following burning were associated with reduced litter depths and presumably lowered habitat suitability. During years of fire omission, the abundance of larvae on biennially burned plots increased to levels equal to or exceeding those on unburned plots. Based on cloth drag sampling, mean percentage control during 1988-1991 for larvae, nymphs, and adults, respectively, was 80, 75, and 70% on annually burned plots and 48, 73, and 65% on biennially burned plots. Frequent late-winter prescribed burning, which is commonly used to achieve wildlife habitat management objectives, could be an effective and economical component of an integrated A. americanum control program in habitats ecologically suited to regimes of frequent fire.

In Memoriam: Harold H. Axtell, 1904-1992

from Minnesota hunters and showed how frequency of color phases varied in relation to grouse population cycles, providing a basis for other researchers to demonstrate the linkage of color phases and aspects of grouse behavior and reproduction. Hundreds of students, researchers, land managers and private forest owners have been influenced by Gullion and his In the Ruffed Grouse Society he played a key role by authoring wildlife-management booklets and newsletter articles, and by serving on the national board of directors and as chairman of the research committee since 1972. Gullion authored over 160 professional and popular articles including Grouse of the North Shore (1984) and The Ruffed Grouse (1989, Minocqua, Wisconsin). During his final year he was honored by the Minnesota Forestry Association with an award for excellence in wildlife habitat management; by the North Central Section of the Wildlife Society with its premier award, the Professional Award of Merit; by the Izaak Walton league with its Honor Roll Award; and by Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson for outstanding work in forestry and Ruffed Grouse research. The Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, University of Minnesota, has established a fund for an endowed chair to honor Gordon Gullion and to perpetuate his work.

Techniques for Wildlife Habitat Management of Wetlands. Neil F. Payne

<i>Techniques for Wildlife Habitat Management of Wetlands</i>. Neil F. Payne

Integrated management of forestry and wildlife habitat with the aid of a GIS-based habitat assessment and planning tool: M. A. Eng, R. S. McNay & R. E. Page, in: GIS applications in natural resources, ed M. Heit & A. Shortreid, (GIS World Inc.), 1991, pp 331–336

Integrated management of forestry and wildlife habitat with the aid of a GIS-based habitat assessment and planning tool: M. A. Eng, R. S. McNay & R. E. Page, in: GIS applications in natural resources, ed M. Heit & A. Shortreid, (GIS World Inc.), 1991, pp 331–336

Techniques for Wildlife Habitat Management of Wetlands

Techniques for Wildlife Habitat Management of Wetlands

Techniques for wildlife habitat management of wetlands

A companion volume to Techniques for Wildlife Habitat Management of Wetlands, this book provides an extensive compilation of techniques for habitat manipulation, which are designed to improve the biodiversity of uplands ecosystems for edge and interior game and nongame wildlife. It offers land managers, ecologists, and conservationists the latest structural and nonstructural methods for natural and cultural habitat improvements on forest lands, woodlots, rangelands, and farmlands. This practical manual includes expert discussions of guilds, minimum viable populations, edge vs. interior habitats, size of reserves and ecological succession, plus helpful guidance on how to alter plant succession for biodiversity by indirect and direct methods. This book should be a valuable tool in helping professionals maintain a healthy ecosystem and to restore or produce ideal populations of wildlife.

Remote sensing science applications in arid environments

Remote sensing in aridland/rangeland regions has developed to meet the need for low cost management information over large expanses of land. Applications include rangeland management, watershed analysis, antidesertification, wildlife habitat management, mine waste reclamation, management of the arid land-irrigated agriculture interface, and outdoor recreation. Unique remote sensing problems in arid regions are related to sparse vegetation, multiple species, and considerable bare ground. Thus spectral interpretations must consider: multiple intermingled green and senescent species; considerable bare ground which includes cryptogamic soil crusts and powdery, endurated, or salinized surfaces; standing dead vegetation; litter; and shadows. Pixel modeling will be required in these heterogeneous environments. In particular, the lack of greenness tends to preclude the application of vegetation indices based on infrared/red ratios. New interpretation approaches to scene understanding, such as those included in this issue, should lead to useful procedures for aridlands.

Opportunities and Constraints for Wildlife Habitat Management on Private Forests of the Northeast

Abstract The Northeastern Forest Inventory and Analysis unit has completed one full cycle of forestland ownership surveys. The results of 14 state surveys show the majority of forestland of the region to be controlled by a large, diverse population of nonindustrial private landowners. These people are from varied background and exhibit a wide range of interests and attitudes toward wildlife, wildlife habitat, and forest management. The demographic and additional characteristics of forest landowners, together with the structural characteristics of their forestland, creates opportunities for, and constraints upon, forest management favorable for wildlife habitat improvement. North. J. Appl. For. 3:109-113, Sept. 1986.

What the Wildlife Manager Expects from Foresters—New Initiatives in Forestry and Wildlife Management in Canada

The demands for land are increasing. Destructive forms of land use threaten the renewable resource base for both wood products and wildlife. The first order of cooperation between foresters and wildlife managers must be to protect the productive land base from destructive uses. The second order deals with how this land base and the timber resource are to be managed. The third order of cooperation between foresters and wildlife managers requires an appreciation of this fundamental problem. The dialogue between foresters and wildlife managers is increasing. Foresters should assist wildlife managers in encouraging economists to begin applying the economic benefits of wildlife as incentives to the private sector for improving wildlife habitat protection and management. Key words: Wildlife Management, Forestry Multiple Use, Integration, Wildlife Habitat.

Wildlife Habitat Management and Changing Forest Practices in the Northeast

Abstract Increasingly intensive management of northeastern industrial forestlands will substantially affect wildlife habitat. Opportunities for increasing wildlife habitat values on the best forest sites may be impractical because high timber management costs preclude loss of wood products to favor wildlife. Wildlife habitat can be enhanced on low-quality timber sites, but inherent site productivity will limit gains. The most practical opportunity for increasing wildlife habitat values usually is on intermediate-quality sites. Increased habitat value can be accomplished by coordinating timber and wildlife-habitat management goals. Gains in wildlife habitat value must be quantified to help offset losses in timber values. Citation: Northern Journal of Applied Forestry, April 1984. NJ 1:12-14.

Density as a Misleading Indicator of Habitat Quality

Current methods of evaluating wildlife habitat for management purposes can be arranged in a hierarchy of increasing generality. The most general level is evaluation of wildlife habitat for entire com- munities on the basis of inferences drawn from vegetational structure. At the base of the hierarchy the high resolution studies, upon which accuracy at the higher hierarchical levels depends, usually assume that habitat quality for a species is positively correlated with the density of the species. If habitat quality for a wildlife species is a measure of the importance of habitat type in maintaining a particular species, habitat quality should be defined in terms of the survival and production characteristics, as well as the density, of the species occupying that habitat. Situations in which habitat quality thus defined is not expected to be positively correlated with density are described, along with the species and environmental characteristics that are most likely to produce these situations. Examples drawn from the literature in which density and habitat quality are not positively correlated are described. The positive correlation of density with habitat quality in specific instances cannot be assumed without supporting demographic data. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 47(4):893-901 The foundation of any wildlife habitat management plan is the ability to assess habitat quality accurately. Without this key ingredient, the effort put into care- fully prepared objectives and elegant cat- egorizations of habitat types is largely wasted. Yet biologists often dwell on ob- jectives and categories while treating lightly the assumptions implicit in their assessments of habitat quality. For in- stance, they seldom question the assump- tion that the density of a species in a hab- itat is a direct measure of the quality of that habitat. Perhaps this is because any more accurate investigation of habitat quality to truly reflect the importance of that habitat in maintaining wildlife species populations must be intensive, often at the expense of the broader information base that could be achieved by simple surveys. Such surveys are a particularly common means of evaluating nongame wildlife habitat. The objectives of this paper are to pro- vide some examples of situations in which this correlation does not hold, and to make predictions regarding species and envi- ronmental types for which the density- habitat quality relationship is likely to be decoupled. In such cases, management policies based directly on species abun- dance may be misleading and these errors may be amplified when management ap- proaches are restricted to the higher levels of the hierarchy. This paper is dedicated to the late 0. C. Wallmo, who was always eager to dis- cuss ideas and whose refusal to be any- thing but completely honest in evaluating his own ideas, objectives, and research ideas, as well as those of others, set an example for us to follow.

"Improved" Sand Dams for Wildlife Habitat Management

WEAVER Suggestions for improving the efficiency, dependability, and simplicity of the sand dams des&%ed by Sivils and Brock (1981) are presented. Recommendations which may result in decreased installation and maintenance costs are included. Sivils and Brock (198 I) recently presented suggestions for the development of sand dams to increase water availability in arid regions. While the idea is not new (see Halloran and Deming 1956, 1958), its presentation is timely because earlier designs failed to incorporate subterranean, soil-free reservoirs. The design of Sivils and Brock, however, is not without potential flaws and is unnecessarily complicated. We, therefore, offer suggestions for improving the efficiency and dependability of such devices, while simultaneously increasing their simplicity. The most vulnerable part of the system is the float valve. Float valve failures have been a major problem in guzzlers installed for mountain sheep in California (Bleich et al. 1979). They are subject to jamming by foreign objects, including sand particles, organic material, or small rocks, which may lodge in the valve seat, causing the valve to stay open and drain the stored water. To minimize this possibility a 30-cm (l-foot) length of capped 15-cm diameter well screen (Johnson Screen) should be connected via a bell reducer to a SO-mm (2-inch) outlet pipe on the upstream side of the dam. Such a screen will prevent particles larger than 0.75 mm from entering the drinker line, thereby decreasing the chance of a float valve failure. Replacing the pipe passing through the dam, should it be broken by falling rocks (Bleich et al. 1979), is difficult. We recommend that the outlet pipe be galvanized material; if desired, the drinker line, which is more easily replaced, may be plastic. It is unnecessary to plumb the collecting culverts into a common outlet, as suggested by Sivils and Brock, because stored water will naturally seek the lowest point behind the dam, flowing through rocks, sand, the Johnson Screen, the outlet pipe, and into the drinker line. Of course, the outlet must be located at the lowest possible point on the dam. The time and money saved by not plumbing the culverts to a common point may be substantial. If a relatively high dam is to be constructed, the culverts may be “layered’* to increase storage capacity. Again, the water level in the culverts will decrease as water is used at the drinker. In order to minimize potential damage from initial heavy food flows, layered culverts should be bolted together, and the bottom layer should be attached to the rock substrate with rebar or other suitable material. Once the dam has naturally backfilled with sand and gravel, this The authors are associate wildlife biologist, California Department of Fish and Game. P.O. Box 1741, Hemet 92343; and associate wildlife biologist, California Department of Fish and Game. 1416 Ninth Street, Sacramento 95814. This report is a contribution from California Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Projects W-26-D (Wildlife Habitat Development) and W-51-R (Big Game

Forestry and Wildlife Habitat Management in Central Hardwoods

Abstract Improvement cutting, or removal of undesirable stems by silvicide or girdling, can foster the integration of forestry and wildlife management in the central hardwood region. Group selection or small, narrow clearcuts are recommended for attaining uneven-aged and even-aged management objectives, respectively. Reforestation of surface mines should continue if a diversity of wildlife is to be maintained. Single-species hardwood plantations should be small, narrow, and adjacent to mixed hardwoods. The diversity of federal, state, and private organizations involved in forest wildlife management and research makes coordination of activities difficult.

Weed Burner for Controlling Undesirable Trees and Shrubs

Abstract Hand-operated weed burners, such as those used in agriculture, are an alternative to herbicides and mechanical methods for selective control of trees and brush in forest and wildlife habitat management.

Effects of Fire on Wildlife in a Lodgepole Pine Forest

Effects of a subalpine wildfire on populations of wildlife in north- central Colorado were investigated 8 years after the burn. Inventories of birds and mammals were compared on the 190-ha burn with those from an adjacent similar site of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) in 1974. Species diversity for birds and small mammals was greater on the burn than in the adjacent lodgepole. Species composi- tion of both birds and mammals was different in the two habitats, but population densities of birds and small mammals were not significantly different in the two habitats in summer. Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and elk (Cervus canadensis) used the burn more than the lodgepole during winter. Estimated values of total biomass for all birds and mammals were similar for both habitats. In the southern Rocky Mountains, lodgepole at high elevations is an extensive and important forest type which is ecologically adapted to fire and requires fire for establishment (Clements 1910; Mason 1915; Stahelin 1943; Roe et al. 1972). Wildlife relies on vegetation for food and cover and is affected by changes due to fire (Ahlgren and Ahl- gren 1960). Prescribed fires and a let-burn policy for natural fires may be applied with increasing frequency to lodgepole pine forests for management of wildlife habitat. This study examined the effects of fire on wildlife in a lodgepole pine forest at high elevation in Colorado. Population of birds and mammals were studied and described on a burned and on an adjacent unburned subalpine forest; terrestrial poikilotherms were omitted be- cause the one species of toad and one species of snake on the area were uncommon. The study was conducted 8 years after the fire, thereby avoiding initial disruption of the fire and allowing postfire re-estab- lishment of wildlife populations.

Response of Japanese Honeysuckle to Fertilization

Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) responded to increasing levels of nitrogen fertilizer with substantially increased vegetation yields and crude protein contents in leaves, but fruit yields declined. Fertilization with P205 also increased the crude protein contents of leaves. Ash, calcium, and phosphorus contents of leaves declined as levels of nitrogen were increased, but calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium all responded positively to PsO5. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 39(4):769-775 Japanese honeysuckle is one of the most valuable plants to white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) throughout the southeastern United States. It has been found to be the most important year-round food item in the diet of deer in sections of Alabama (Sheldon and Causey 1974) and is especially favored by deer farther north during periods of deep snow (Handley 1945). Its evergreen or tardily deciduous foliage provides much of the total winter forage eaten by deer in the Southern Appalachian, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain regions of the southeast (Harlow and Hooper 1971). In addition, its fruit and dense vegetative growth furnish food and cover for many other species of mammals and birds (Jackson 1974). Because of these desirable characteristics Japanese honeysuckle has considerable potential for wildlife habitat management, especially for deer in even-aged southern pine (Pinus sp.) forests (Sheldon and Causey 1974). This paper evaluates the response of Japanese honeysuckle to several rates and combinations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilizers. Japanese honeysuckle responds very well to cultivation (Segelquist et al. 1971) and has been subjected to a variety of fertilizers (Brunett 1967, P-R Job Completion Rep., Proj. W29-R-14, Louisiana Wildl. Fish. Comm., New Orleans, Craft and Haygood 1972). However, none of these studies has indicated precisely how the yield and nutritive quality of honeysuckle are related to the major plant nutrients. The use of intensive management practices, i.e., fertilized Japanese honeysuckle plantings, to improve wildlife habitat may not be justified presently, at least on a large scale basis, but with increasing efforts to produce more timber on a shrinking commercial forest-land base (Seaton et al. 1973: 7) the need may become greater, especially in the South. Recent projections indicate that timber production in the South must be more than doubled by the year 2000 to meet projected demands (Squires 1969:37). Substantial amounts of money and effort are being expended to see that these goals are attained (Wheeler 1974, Weitzman 1974, White 1974). Even-aged silviculture for both pine and hardwood is one of the principal techniques being advocated to accomplish this increase. The consequences of intensive even-aged management are difficult to predict, but the optimistic pronouncement that there will be an abundance of game in future southern forests (Wheeler 1970:145) should be tempered with the acknowledgment that it is possible, through intensive timber management, to create tree mono1 The study was financed in part by Federal Aid in Fish and Wildlife Restoration, Arkansas Project W-53-R. 2 In cooperation with the School of Forestry, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas 75961. J. Wildl. Manage. 39(4):1975 769 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.186 on Tue, 12 Apr 2016 10:29:33 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 770 HONEYSUCKLE RESPONSE TO FERTILIZATION * Segelquist and Rogers cultures with limited mast-producing capability and little understory vegetation of value to wildlife. It may be necessary to resort to equally intensive habitat management practices to maintain deer and other species of wildlife at desired levels in these forests, and fertilized Japanese honeysuckle plantings may provide the biologist with such an alternative.

Forest diversity: An approach to forest wildlife management

The Superior National Forest has instituted a forest wildlife habitat management program which identifies vegetational type, age classes and stand distribution as prime management components. The program incorporates basic ecological principles pertaining to diversity and stability, enabling land managers to pinpoint wildlife management needs more accurately in terms of habitat diversity.