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Featured
Species & Species Richness
There are two basic goals in wildlife habitat management. The
first is to provide the best habitat possible for a featured
wildlife species. Managing for featured species entails
focusing on one or a small number of species in an area. The
second is to provide habitat for as many different wildlife
species as possible in an area. This goal is called species
richness.
Featured Species - When evaluating habitat for featured species, one must first
decide which species will be favored. This can be done in several ways. Landowners
may have specific objectives for certain species, or the general public may have
concerns about a particular game or endangered species. Once the species
are selected, the next step is to identify the habitat requirements for each
species and evaluate the capability of the land to provide the requirements. If
the land area is unable to supply or only partially provides the necessary habitat
requirements, management practices are necessary to improve the area’s
ability to support the featured species.
It is usually best to select management practices that provide the habitat requirements
that are most lacking and thus limiting the population(s). For instance,
if a species requires trees for cover with water nearby and the habitat being
evaluated has plenty of trees but no water, a management practice that supplies
water will improve the habitat more effectively than planting trees. When
determining which management practices to apply, remember that management practices
that improve habitat for some wildlife species may be detrimental to other wildlife
species. It is impossible to manage habitat for any one species without
influencing other species in some manner.
Species Richness - Species richness is the number of different wildlife
species found in an area. Lands that are high in species richness usually
have many of the following characteristics:
- A mixture of areas in different successful stages.
- A balance of edges with unbroken blocks of vegetation
in one successional stage.
- Unbroken or unfragmented areas of at least 10 to
40 acres.
- Edges with low contrast.
- A wide variety of vegetative layers present within
each area.
These characteristics can be used to estimate the relative
number of different wildlife species that may be present
in separate areas. They can also be used to identify
necessary management practices to increase species richness.
For example, consider an area that is a mature, older forest. The forest
management plan proposes to harvest the trees by clear-cutting ½ of the
area. Clearcuts of 40-acres that leave adjacent unharvested areas of 40
acres in size would be desirable. Strips or corridors of trees that link
the larger unharvested areas together could be left uncut.
Remember, when managing habitat for species richness, often it is not possible
to provide the best habitat for featured species. Instead of providing
the best habitat possible for a few species, the goal is to provide some habitat
for as many species as possible. |
