[APWG] Wildlife in a Changing Climate - FAO 2012

Thu Jan 5 06:49:34 CST 2012

This article was published in the current isssue of the Chesapeake. 

Marc Imlay, PhD,

Conservation biologist, Park Ranger Office
Non-native Invasive Plant Control coordinator. 

(301) 442-5657 cell

Marc.Imlay at pgparks.com ialm at erols.com
Natural and Historical Resources Division
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
www.pgparks.com

Climate Change and Plant and Animal Wildlife Migration Corridors

In the article, Warming Planet Pushing Species Out of Habitats Quicker Than
Expected,
<http://www.livescience.com/15640-species-shifting-climate-change.html>
http://www.livescience.com/15640-species-shifting-climate-change.html
Jennifer Welsh comments that 'Habitat fragmentation and changing ranges of
predators, prey and pollinators (for plants) also influence species' ability
to survive in any specific habitat. If a species can't reach the next bit of
livable habitat, they would be
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=aajwdndab&et=1107222753886&s=1050&e=001wOJ8v_
iz9yFmmRDqQhJstVROv0XlLxTsGrRHTO3NWaC8VPReIIZTY0tgq569vnWWQuY4J_4YMPUyWXRyIf
_0KX7SzssGyIDOYKHjMKriMSKlzmuomR8vTj-l0nnu1AkzD7bOyxVSu2uvxnLppzgZ0gyffjPH98
KxZz-gvUugAnCnd9ObzkZNVA9pWFmqwcskkvfEMxazv38=> stuck where they are until
climate changes led to their extinction." "You could have a population where
effectively you have the living dead," Thomas said. "You have adult
individuals, which are alive, but without recruitment [the creation of
offspring], the individuals die off."

Providing plant and animal wildlife migration corridors is a critical tool
in our response to Climate Change. Corridors 1,600 feet wide, to include
aquatic, riparian and upland habitat is generally sufficient for most
species, based on research studies. Besides Habitat being restored or
preserved, invasive species and water pollution have to be controlled enough
for the plants, animal, and fungi to migrate. Overharvesting lumber,
menhaden fish, etc. is also an issue.  

Tools include Program Open Space, Water pollution control, Conservation
Easements, Transfer Development Rights, Forest Conservation property tax
reduction plans, and Smart Growth with a cap at the non-developed location.
Smart growth alternatives to new highways is critical. 

One of the most successful approaches has been to save an area before it is
owned by developers. One of the most common and unnecessary causes of
transfer of natural areas to development has been lack of awareness that
there are many ways to reduce property taxes to affordable levels. This is
particularly important when descendents receive land their parents wanted to
preserve but have difficulty in paying the inheritance and property taxes.

Detailed information for the following abstracts for providing plant and
animal wildlife migration corridors is provided in the Land Preservation
Tool Kit. 

 <http://maryland.sierraclub.org/> http://maryland.sierraclub.org/

http://maryland.sierraclub.org/action/p0161.asp

 <http://maryland.sierraclub.org/action/p0384.asp>
http://maryland.sierraclub.org/action/p0384.asp

 <http://maryland.sierraclub.org/action/p0196.asp>
http://maryland.sierraclub.org/action/p0196.asp

Establish and Maintain Greenways to Avoid Fragmentation: 

The critical importance of preventing habitat fragmentation by

maintaining greenways is now widely documented and understood. Living

forms native to the area, both animals and plants, depend on the

availability of sufficient space and food sources and shifting

locations of habitat and food sources in order to be able to thrive

and even to survive. 

General management principles include providing wildlife migration

corridors for re-colonization between natural areas following local

extirpation due to seasonal, man-made, or climatic stresses. Stresses

include natural disturbances such as the mosaic pattern of storm

events, drought, diseases, fire, competitors, predators, prey,

succession, floods and seepages. Some populations of plants and

animals are "sources" of individuals which migrate out and replenish

other populations known as "sinks". In addition, sufficient space is

needed for large animals with large home ranges.

For example, in the general region proposed for the Cross County

Connector Extension spotted salamanders utilize vernal pools and ponds

that are temporary over time. Many semi-aquatic insects, salamanders,

frogs, snakes and turtles utilize aquatic and terrestrial habitats in

their life cycle. The buffer zone for 95% of a population of

salamanders would extend 534 feet from the wetland edge into the

closed canopy terrestrial habitat.

The maximum corridor width which most birds and many mammals, plants

and invertebrates cross roads sufficiently to reproduce and maintain

populations is two lanes. 

A forest reserve primarily requires protection of the forest interior

for birds including the area sensitive species and wide ranging

species such as raptors. 

"The Mattawoman is forty times more productive of anadromous fish than

the seven other Chesapeake tributaries repeatedly monitored by DNR"

including blueback and alewife herring in Chapman Forest. Lack of, or

inadequate culvert placements at stream crossings block fish passage

and isolate them from runs.

 <http://maryland.sierraclub.org/action/p0162.asp> Conservation Easments

Conservancy for Charles County (See web site) An excellent article on

conservation easements and donations of natural areas appears in the spring,

2007, issue of NATURE CONSERVANCY vol. 57 No. 1. on page 16.

LAWS FOR THE LAND, New Federal Tax Law helps Families Preserve

Their Properties.

Reference the website of the Maryland Environmental Trust, to whom a

conservation easement can provide an additional tax break and which lists

contact information for local land trusts such as the Charles County

Conservancy throughout the State.

Program Open  <http://maryland.sierraclub.org/action/p0163.asp> Space

Consult www.dnr.state.md.us/greenways/greenprint/
<http://maryland.sierraclub.org/templates/layouts/www.dnr.state.md.us/greenw
ays/greenprint/>  to see if the natural area

proposed to be purchased is already recognized as a priority area. If it is

not, conduct a survey with biologists for high quality natural features

including wetlands. Offer to compensate the biologists if possible since

many of these individuals, while often volunteering, are swamped with such

requests. Compensation will enable the field of available experts to expand

for all the citizens of Maryland.

See www.dnr.state.md.us/pos.html
<http://maryland.sierraclub.org/templates/layouts/www.dnr.state.md.us/pos.ht
ml>  to pursue the application process with

local government agencies.

Forest Conservation Plans

Forest Stewardship Plans Offer Landowners Tax Breaks-and More

Landowners, do you want to preserve your land or restore

it to its natural state for future generations? For doing

this, you can get financial assistance, including a property

tax reduction on your land, assessed on its value set

at about $150 per acre. The current value depends on the

current market based assessment.

Endangered Species Tool Kit

To determine if an endangered species may occur in your natural area of

concern there are regulatory and non regulatory lists. They are both

valuable for legal, geographic and scientific support.  Determine if any

listed species are indicated for your county or are in the species range

that county lies in  The species should be carefully surveyed for during

the appropriate season for identification because most studies are

inadequate in this respect. Reports by a developer or agency that a

species is not known from the site is frequently because surveys have

not been conducted. As an example of the distinction between scientific

lists and regulatory lists, only about 2% of the cave species in the United

States are listed by the federal government as endangered or threatened.

The Nature Conservancy has determined that 95% are actually imperiled.

In many cases a single event such as one chemical spill from a nearby

highway can wipe out an entire species such as blind salamanders,

cavesnails and crayfish.. Sewage, pesticides, heavy metals, and fertilizers

wash into sinkholes and karst is destroyed directly by roads, quarries,

and construction of buildings.

See www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/espaa.asp and

www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/rteanimals.asp     

for the state endangered species act which is supported by Code

of Maryland Regulations 08.03.08 and the official State Threatened

and Endangered Species list as well as species occurring in Maryland

that are listed or candidates for listing on the Federal list of Endangered

Species list, and additional species.

Wetland Surveys Compliance with Sections 401 & 404 of the Clean Water Act

To stop development we delineate obligate and facultative wetland plants.
SOS (Save Our Streams) and Audbon Naturalist Society offers a course.
April-May is the best time to identify species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service has listings of wetland plant species by region available on the WWW
at URL HTTP://www.nwi.fws.gov/Ecology.html 

-Non-Native Invasive Species Control

Non-native invasive species of plants such as English Ivy, Japanese

Stiltgrass and Kudzu are covering the natural areas that we in the
conservation

movement have worked so hard to protect from habitat destruction,

erosion and water pollution.  Just as we are making progress on wetlands,

stream bank stabilization, and endangered species, these plants from

other parts of the world have typically covered 20-90% of the surface

area of our forests, streams and meadows. Many of us feel demoralized

and powerless to combat these invaders that have few natural herbivores

or other controls.

The Maryland Native Plant Society, Anacostia Watershed Society and Sierra

Club are establishing a program to provide local groups and public and
private

landowners with several models to draw upon in the region. We are assisting

in developing a major work effort (three to five years) at each site to
remove

massive populations of about a dozen species. Regular stewardship projects
are

conducted in all seasons including winter, early spring, late spring,
summer, and

late summer.

This high-intensity program is followed by a low-intensity annual

maintenance program to eliminate plants we have missed, plants

emerging from the seed bank, and occasional plants migrating in

from neighboring areas.

Erosion & Sediment Control

When the risk of erosion is significant, it may be better to apply

herbicides rather than mechanically removing non-native invasive

plants, leaving the plant's roots to hold the soil, and its
dead foliage as a cover.

Native plant re-vegetation may be necessary with native species

that are not cultivars and are obtained from the wild or from nursery

stocks originally collected locally in the wild. There are several

well researched species mixes that include 12-16 herbaceous

and shrub species including nitrogen fixers.

  _____  

From: apwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org
[mailto:apwg-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] On Behalf Of Pamela Zevit
Sent: Wednesday, January 04, 2012 12:35 PM
To: 'IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group';
apwg at lists.plantconservation.org; beehive at elert.ca
Subject: [APWG] Wildlife in a Changing Climate - FAO 2012

( invasive species starts on page 51)
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. pp.1-124
Forestry Papers. Rome, 2012
Ed. E Kaeslin et al.
 <http://www.fao.org/forestry/30143-0bb7fb87ece780936a2f55130c87caf46.pdf>
http://www.fao.org/forestry/30143-0bb7fb87ece780936a2f55130c87caf46.pdf
For the past twenty years climate change has been high on the international
agenda. Together with desertification, soil degradation and biodiversity
loss, it is
widely recognized as the major environmental threat the world is facing.
Evidence
is increasing that warming and other climate-related changes are happening
more
quickly than anticipated, and prognoses are becoming worse.
This publication analyses and presents how climate change affects or will
likely
affect wild animals and their habitats. Although climate change has already
been
observed and monitored over several decades, there are not many long-term
studies
on how the phenomenon is affecting wildlife. There is growing evidence,
however,
that climate change significantly exacerbates other major human-induced
pressures
such as encroachment, deforestation, forest degradation, land-use change,
pollution
and overexploitation of wildlife resources. Case studies are presented in
this
book that describe some of the body of evidence, in some instances, and
provide
projections of likely scenarios, in others.

Pamela Zevit, R.P. Bio 
Adamah Consultants 

Coquitlam BC Canada
604-939-0523 

 <mailto:adamah at telus.net> adamah at telus.net 

Re-connecting People & Nature 

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