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Conclusions:The Sprague's pipit tends to occupy native grassland habitats containing very little or no woody vegetation, with non-native areas populated to a significantly lower extentThresholds/Learnings:
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Synopsis: The purpose of this model is to indicate potential habitat for olive-backed pocket mice (Perohnathus fasciatus) within the Milk River Basin. As this is a landscape level model with course variaqbles, it may not be directly applicable to other areas for site-specific analysis. Conclusions: Olive-backed pocket mice require high proportions of grassland habitat and low proportions of shrub cover. Sites with low densities of shrubs are preferred because they provide cover from large and aerial predators, such as owls. A threshold of below 40% shrub coverage represents ideal shrub cover proportions.
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Synopsis: Prior to European settlement, the Northern Mixed-grass Prairie was a mosaic of wetland, grassland and grass-shrub habitats, with riparian and floodplain forests along major drainages. Even today, the physiographic area can be characterized as being one of the largest still relatively intact grassland landscapes that persist in North America. It is the continent’s most important production area for waterfowl and is the heart of the breeding range for some of North America’s rarest species of grassland birds. A comparison of relative abundance estimates among physiographic areas sampled by the North American Breeding Bird Survey indicates that more than 40% of the world’s population of Baird’s Sparrows,...
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Conclusions: Report presents a framework for assessing the condition of Southern Alberta’s natural assets and their ability to provide ecosystem goods and services. Measurable indicators of ecosystem services, including broad and fine scale landscape indicators, were also distilled from a literature review. Thresholds/Learnings: Wetland cover should be maintained at >15% for watersheds with high potential for phosphorus loading & eutrophication. Impervious cover should be maintained at or below 25% in heavily urbanizing watersheds. Synopsis: This report develops a framework for assessing the condition of Southern Alberta’s natural assets and their resulting ability to provide ecosystem goods and services. The...
Conclusions:Report presents draft outcomes, indicators, and targets for the Red Deer River Basin in three topic areas: wetlands, riparian areas, and land use. Targets established were based on a detailed literature review, combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) queries of existing conditions.Thresholds/Learnings:Specific thresholds for the region include: wetland cover should comprise >7.5% of the watershed; peatland cover should comprise > 6.0% in the upper headwaters; 82% of all riparian areas (variable width) in the watershed should have perennial vegetation cover; 97% of all riparian areas (variable width) in the Upper Headwaters should have perennial vegetation cover
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Synopsis: Recensuses of 54 Wisconsin prairie remnants showed that 8 to 60 percent of the original plant species were lost from individual remnants over a 32- to 52-year period. The pattern of species loss was consistent with the proposed effects of fire suppression caused by landscape fragmentation. Short, small-seeded, or nitrogen-fixing plants showed the heaviest losses, as did species growing in the wettest, most productive environments. The interruption of landscape-scale processes (such as wildfire) by fragmentation is an often overlooked mechanism that may be eroding biodiversity in many habitats around the world. Conclusions: Fragmentation may interrupt landscape-scale processes, such as fire, that are key...
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Synopsis: This report evaluates habitat requirements of the American badger according to parameters of soil texture, graminoid cover, slope, and proximity to roads. Badgers tend to prefer sandy loam and silty loam, medium and moderately coarse textured soils. In terms of graminoid coverage, badgers generally prefer open grassland habitat, but can also be found in agriculturally dominated landscapes containing isolated pockets of Richardson 's ground squirrel colonies. Graminoid coverage of 23% was chosen as the minimum requirement for suitable badger habitat. As slope increases, habitat suitability decreases to a point at which the likelihood of badgers existing there (i.e. cliffs and badlands) is extremely low...
Conclusions:High proportions of native grass and low proportions of shrub cover are critical habitat components for maintaining viable sharp tailed grouse populations. *Note that this study generated landscape level models with coarse variables, and the thresholds and values used may not be directly applicable to other areas or for site-specific analysis.Thresholds/Learnings:Ideal shrub cover ranges from 5% to 15% and the ideal proportion of native grassland cover is >75% for sharp-tailed grouse*.
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Conclusions: Few species were in fact influenced by grassland amount or fragmentation. In contrast, distance to edge and local vegetation characteristics had significant effects on densities and nest success of many species. Thresholds/Learnings: Great Plains toads thrive when >75% of the landscape is composed of native prairie components (i.e. shrubs, graminoids, riparian areas, lakes, wetlands, and trees) . Synopsis: In Alberta, Great Plains toads are found in the dry mixed grass of the southeastern corner of the province. Typical breeding habitat tends to be in shallow ponds with relatively fresh, clear water in sandy soil. In this report habitat suitability was evaluated for the Great Plains toad according...
Continually rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations and possible climatic change may cause significant changes in plant communities. This study was undertaken to investigate gas exchange in two important grass species of the short-grass steppe, Pascopyrum smithii (western wheat-grass), C3, and Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama), C4, grown at different CO2 concentrations and temperatures. Intact soil cores containing each species were extracted from grasslands in north-eastern Colorado, USA, placed in growth chambers, and grown at combinations of two CO2 concentrations (350 and 700 ?mol mol?1) and two temperature regimes (field average and elevated by 4�C). Leaf gas exchange was measured during the second, third and fourth...
Conclusions:Native prairie was found to be the most suitable habitat for long-billed curlew. Agriculture lands were used secondarily to varying degrees, and shrublands were considered unsuitable. *Note that this study generated landscape level models with coarse variables, and the thresholds and values used may not be directly applicable to other areas or for site-specific analysis.Thresholds/Learnings:Shrub coverage greater that 10% was considered undesirable for the long-billed curlew*
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Conclusions: When isolated, larger patch size correlates with higher species density and occurence in area-sensitive grassland birds Thresholds/Learnings: Synopsis: This paper examines the influence of landscape fragmentation and isolation of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grasslands on grassland breeding bird populations in the northern Great Plains states. The study explores the relationship between species occurrence and density, and patch size by tracking 15 bird species on 303 restored grassland areas. Locating CRP grassland fields near existing grasslands, or establishing one large CRP field rather than several small fields, benefits area-sensitive grassland bird species. Caveats: Inconsistent findings...
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Conclusions: Valleys are the only areas capable of sustaining sufficient habitat for the butterfly species, Weidemeyer's Admiral. Consequently, all other areas (i.e. plains, uplands, benches, escarpments, plateaus) were deemed unsuitable. Additionally, areas devoid of shrub cover did not meet the habitat requirements of this specialized species. Thresholds/Learnings: Synopsis: Two variables were selected to model potential habitat for the butterfly species, Weidemeyer's Admiral. Topographical features derived from the Agricultural Region of Alberta Soils Inventory Database (AGRASID) and percent shrub cover derived from the Native Prairie Vegetation Baseline Inventory developed by Alberta Environment were used to...
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Conclusions: Richardson's ground squirrels prefer short grass native prairie / pasture but can also occupy small isolated islands within cropland. These squirrels prefer open prairies and tend to select against heavily forested areas. *Note that this study generated landscape level models with coarse variables, and the thresholds and values used may not be directly applicable to other areas or for site-specific analysis. Thresholds/Learnings: A threshold amount of 20% graminoid coverage is the minimum suitable proportion for habitat suitability for Richarson's ground squirrel. Areas with less than 20% forest/shrub cover were considered sutiable habitat, while those greater than 40% were considered unsuitable*. ...
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Synopsis: The short-horned lizard is Alberta's only lizard. It is indigenous to semi-arid, short grass portions of the northern Great Plains and usually found in rather rough terrain. This report evaluated habitat suitability requirements for the short-horned lizard according to the following parameters: Topographical Features: Most of the daily movement patterns during the summer rarely exceeded 30m, and generally occurred along the slopes of the valleys or valley bottoms. Consequently, all valleys and all prairie habitat within 100m of valleys are considered the best potential habitat. Native Prairie Class: Native Prairie Class (NPC) is derived from the Native Prairie Vegetation Baseline Inventory developed...
Conclusions: Assessments of metapopulation structure must consider landscape pattern, but also the non-linear responses of organisms to such patterns Thresholds/Learnings: Synopsis: This study used beetles to empirically test the reliability of neutral percolation models to predict critical thresholds of landscape connectivity. Beetle movements declined sharply when grass cover dropped below 20% of the experimental plot. The findings of this study differed from what was predicted by the model, indicating that landscape connectivity is not dependent on spatial pattern alone, but is also highly dependent how individual organisms move within and among patches depending on the amount of cover. The results suggest that...
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Conclusions: Habitat associations of prairie rattlesnakes appear to differ depending on whether snakes are hibernating, foraging, or reproducing. Most rattlesnake hibernacula occur within 4 km of a major river, drainage, or coulee, on relatively gentle slopes, but they migrate as far as 25 km away from dens in summer. High road densities present unfavorable habitat conditions for snakes because they are a significant cause of mortality. *Note that this study generated landscape level models with coarse variables, and the thresholds and values used may not be directly applicable to other areas or for site-specific analysis. Thresholds: Most rattlesnake hibernacula occur within 4 km of a major river, drainage, or...
Conclusions:Over time, native species richness increased slightly, but dropped dramatically after several years of burning. Year-to-year change in community composition was found to be affected by time since fire and fluctuations in growing season temperature and rainfall. Examining successional trajectory showed that the restoration has been most successful at reducing exotic species and increasing species heterogeneity, but has largely failed to increase native species richness at the level of remnant prairies, largely due to interspecies resource competition.Thresholds/Learnings:
Annual brome grasses, Bromus japonicus and B. tectorum, are common invaders of northern mixed-grass prairie, and have been shown to alter the structure and function of prairie ecosystems, including plant biomass production and litter decomposition. To build on previous findings, our objective was to model the impact of annual brome grasses on soil organic carbon storage as a step towards forecasting ecological change. Specifically, we measured differences in carbon storage between patches dominated by annual bromes and perennial grasses, in addition to evaluating key plant functional characteristics that impact carbon storage. Using the CENTURY model, we simulated high- and low-brome vegetation based on differences...
map background search result map search result map Great Plains Toad (Bufo cognatus) Area requirements of grassland birds: a regional perspective. Weidemeyer's Admiral Ecosystem Goods and Services Southern Alberta Assessment of Natural Asset Condition Richardson's Ground Squirrel. Short-horned Lizard Ecological determinants of species loss in remnant prairies. Olive-backed Pocket Mouse. Prairie Falcon. Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Plan for Northern Mixed-Grass Prairie Prairie Rattlesnake. American Badger. Weidemeyer's Admiral Short-horned Lizard American Badger. Prairie Rattlesnake. Prairie Falcon. Olive-backed Pocket Mouse. Ecological determinants of species loss in remnant prairies. Ecosystem Goods and Services Southern Alberta Assessment of Natural Asset Condition Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Plan for Northern Mixed-Grass Prairie Great Plains Toad (Bufo cognatus) Area requirements of grassland birds: a regional perspective. Richardson's Ground Squirrel.