Habitat test 1

What is composition?

What type of plants make up the community

What does the public mostly believe to be the best management?

Walk away and never touch an area

Is leaving an area untouched always the best solution?

NO, sometimes ecosystems are no longer functioning naturally and need assistance.

How did ignition of fire change between areas?

Florida- lightning was believed to be a main ignition source while farther north people were the more likely ignition source

How long was fire continually used by humans based on the charcoal evidence

around 5000 years

What do habitat managers manipulate?

Plants and their composition.

Why is structure important in habitat management?

It can shift how a species uses a composition.

What are the main goals of habitat management?

Occupancy, survival, and management of species.

What is a key consideration for habitat targets?

Whether to aim for a natural condition or one requiring intervention.

What natural disturbances have been stopped by humans?

Flooding and fire, though some like hurricanes cannot be stopped.

What historical event in 1607 is significant to habitat management?

The establishment of the first permanent English colonies.

What was the dominant fauna during the late glacial period?

Mastodons and mammoths.

How did Native Americans use fire in habitat management?

As a primary tool to manipulate vegetation.

What are the primary effects of fire used by Native Americans?

Increase in longleaf and other pine species, reduction of hardwood species, and increased tree spacing.

What secondary effects did fire have on habitats?

Increased forage for game (more palatable and nutritious) and cleared areas for hunting and farming.

What happened to the population in the Americas between 1492 and 1607?

A 90% decrease due to diseases like measles and smallpox. No large fields and fire ceased.

What is a population sink?

An area where the population has negative growth.

What are the critical components of habitat?

Food, cover, water, and space.

Why is food important in habitat management?

It affects reproductive rates, health, survival of offspring, and disease susceptibility.

What role does cover play in habitat management?

Provides concealment from predators, shelter from weather, and nesting locations.

What is the significance of water in habitat management?

It is critical to life and not usually limiting in Alabama.

How can space be limiting in habitat management?

Even if other components are present, space can limit animal populations.

What is 'usable space' in habitat management?

The portion of the landscape compatible with a species' behavioral, physical, and physiological needs.

What does 'quality habitat' depend on?

It varies based on management goals and species needs.

What are primary factors affecting habitat management?

Soils, climate, topography, land use history, and succession.

How do soils affect habitat productivity?

Rich, neutral soils lead to abundant high-quality plants and healthy wildlife.

What is slack in habitat management?

A range of proportions and arrangements of cover types providing similar habitat value.

What is the impact of invasive species in habitat management?

They can disrupt local ecosystems and alter species composition.

What is the effect of anthropogenic activity on forests?

It has driven forest composition changes for thousands of years.

What is the role of fire in modern habitat management?

It is often limited due to changing human perspectives and regulations.

What is the dynamic nature of southeastern landscapes?

They are affected by climate and human activities over thousands of years.

What management actions can positively affect species?

Habitat manipulation and restoration efforts tailored to specific species' needs.

What is ecological succession?

Progressive change in plant communities over time.

What is a seral stage?

Each succeeding plant community in a given site during ecological succession.

What factors affect the establishing plant community?

Soils, time of year, seed bank/root stock, surrounding sources, past treatments, slope, and moisture.

What is the impact of soil fertility on land use?

Higher fertility leads to forests and more biomass, while lower fertility results in slower growth and longer succession.

What is the primary land cover type in the Black Belt region?

Agriculture, characterized by fertile, heavy clay soils.

What are the characteristics of seral stage 1?

Dominated by annual grasses and forbs, occurring 1-2 years after clearing. (1-2 years after clearing)

What species are typically found in seral stage 2?

Perennial grasses and forbs, including native and non-native species. (2-3 years)

What defines seral stage 3 in ecological succession?

Brambles, shrubs, and trees begin to dominate, with young woody plants. (3-40+ years)

What occurs in seral stage 4?

Longer-lived tree species dominate, with an understory that depends on light and disturbance. ( may last >100 years)

What is the focus of wildlife management in relation to successional stages?

To enhance wildlife diversity by managing different seral stages.

What is the role of thinning in forest management?

To manage tree density, improve growth, and generate early income.

What is the significance of canopy closure in forest ecosystems?

Canopy closure affects light availability and understory vegetation, influencing wildlife habitats.

What is the purpose of herbicides in habitat management?

To control unwanted vegetation while promoting desired plant species.

What is glyphosate commonly used for?

Site preparation, field preparation, and control of exotic cool-season grasses.

What is the effect of fire and herbicide on preferred forage in year 3?

They reduce woody plants, which are less preferred, and increase grass and legume biomass.

What is the relationship between biodiversity and site preparation intensity?

Higher site preparation intensity can decrease species diversity and abundance.

What is the primary land cover type in the Piedmont region?

Primarily oak-pine forest, dependent on hard mast.

What is the significance of the term 'deciduous forest'?

A forest characterized by trees that shed their leaves annually, often found in areas with moderate to high fertility.

What does 'fire dependent' mean in the context of land management?

Ecosystems that require fire to maintain their ecological balance and promote certain plant communities.

What is the impact of timber exploitation during the Civil War on soil fertility?

It led to low soil fertility due to past denuding of vegetation.

What is the primary characteristic of grasslands?

Less than 10% canopy cover, dominated by grasses.

What is the ecological significance of edges in habitats?

Edges have high diversity due to the presence of two stages and a mix of species.

What is the role of wildlife management in relation to timber volume?

Managers may sacrifice timber volume to enhance understory vegetation for wildlife.

What is the expected outcome of a first thinning in loblolly pine management?

Typically occurs 12-15 years post planting, aiming for a stand basal area of less than or equal to 120 ft²/acre.

Why was switch cane more prominent back then?

fire burned down into the lowlands and creek and river runs

Why do we now have less switchcane

Free range grazing and excluding fire from lowlands

What's so important about switch cane?

arrow shafts, bison food, deer and turkey cover, Notman's warbler habitat

Method used by native Americans to prepare fields

Girdle and burn

Early colonist farming

small farms and subsistence hunting, free range grazing, invasive plants

What technique was still being used in early 1800s

girdle and burn, farrm and abandon

Mid 1800s

era of exploration and wildlife exploited as well as landscape

Early 1900s

4 million acres alabama cotton which basically washed away topsoil.

invasive Alabama species

Kudzu and Cogan grass, Behaha grass and Bermudagrass

What is habitat?

An area with a combination of resources and environmental conditions that promotes occupancy by individuals of a given species and allows those individuals to survive and reproduce.

Habitat must always be associated with what?

A single species

What is a Trap

place that draws in species but may not be good for them.

Important questions about cover

Is it available year-round, can animals move well within it, can animals forage without leaving the cover?

increasing land cover can increase what

interspersion

horizontal diversity

variety across a landscape

vertical diversity

number of vertical layers in plant community

What is a stand

area with the same vegetation community

What factor of habitat can we mainly affect

succesion

Savannah

10-30% canopy cover, mainly grass understory

woodland

30-80% canopy cover, more woody vegetation in understory

Forest

Over 80% canopy cover

Factors that effect establishing plant community

•Soils

•Time of year

•Seed bank / Root stock

•Surrounding seed sources

•Type of site prep

•Climate factors

•Topographic factors

How long take for camopy closure in a new pine stand

5-10 years

types of thinning

third row (30%) and third row (20%)

What is the thinning target for balanced timber and wildlife objectives that is decent for deer and turkey?

70 ft/ac

What is the thinning target that shifts to a primarily wildlife focus, optimal for deer, turkey, and few quail?

60 ft/ac

What is the thinning target that creates savanna conditions, optimal for quail?

Less than 40 ft/ac

Is herbicide a cure all

no, should be used sparringly

What is the LD 50

lethal dose for 50% of the population

What deos 2-4D remove

everything but grasses, foliar application and no soil activity

Clethodim (select) and sethoxydim (Poast)

grass and weeds and not broadleaf, old field management, foliar application

Imazapic (Plateau)

- Target non-native grasses (except Bermuda) in NWSGs - Foliar and soil activity, residual control

Triclopyr (Garlon)

1. pretty broad waxy leaf plants

2. foliar applications, injection

3. promotes grasses

4. commonly used for site prep and mid rotation woody control in LCP

Imazapyr (Arsenal)

1. pretty broad fast acting sweetgum worst enemy

2. will kill most hardwoods

3. bermuda grass

4. foliar

5. residual soil activity prevents resprouting, injection

6. can be sprayed over loblolly NOT LONGLEAF

7. Legumes and blackberry resistant

Metsulfuron methyl (Escort)

- herbaceous release of pines (resistant), control of blackberry and winged elm, other legumes

- bahiagrass and sericea lespedeza control

- foliar, soil activity

Some reasons preservation approach might not work?

invasive species, now extinct species, to many changes to function naturally

Interspersion

distribution of different landscapes across a landscape

Industrial forest model

prepare site, plant trees, thin trees only enough to maintain optimal stocking density, implement final cut and start over

why plant more trees then need

some die, grow each other up, early revenue from extra trees during thinning

typical site prep

clearcut then give one year and apply herbicide, then burn a week later

Wood products

saw timber, chip and glue, pulpwood

cost fire and herbicide

fire - $20 acre

Herbicide - $80-$100 acre