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Conclusions:Water chemistry parameters sampled in downstream reaches were most closely correlated with riparian land cover adjacent to the smallest (first-order) streams of watersheds or land use in the entire watershed, with riparian zones immediately upstream of sampling sites offering less explanatory power as stream size increased.Thresholds/Learnings:
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Conclusions: Elevation, slope and the percentages of bogs and fens in a landscape influence the degree to which mid-boreal lakes are sensitive to acidic deposition orignating from nearby mining operations. Thresholds/Learnings: Synopsis: This study evaluates the acid sensitivity of lakes in Saskatchewan within ~300km of Fort McMurray. The study area is downwind of atmospheric emissions sources from regional oil sands mining operations and there is concern that the lakes may be threatened by acidification. A helicopter sampling program was implemented in late September 2007 and 2008 to measure 16 chemical variables (e.g., Ca, Mg, Na, pH) and 15 environmental variables (e.g., latitude, elevation, slope, percent bog,...
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Synopsis: This study investigates the relationships of landscape disturbance, altered prey resources, and rattlesnake populations in the Upper Snake River Plain of southeastern. Researchers used radio telemetry to track rattlesnakes while concurrently conducting habitat sampling and small mammal trapping in areas used by snakes and in random locations. Disturbed areas (by grazing and/or burning) were characterized by lower biological crust cover, shrub cover, shrub height, and shrub dispersion, as well as higher grass and bare soil cover. Disturbed areas were also characterized by lower proportions of small animal biomass, abundance, and large prey species (such as chipmunks), while the proportions Conclusions:...
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Synopsis: A review of the scientific literature describing the effects of linear developments on wildlife, especially large mammals, was provided. Of particular interest were the types of roads and linear developments created by the oil and pipeline industries in western Canada. The effects of linear developments (roads, powerline/pipeline rights-of-way, deforested strips) on wildlife were examined in the context of regional and landscape ecology. The review describes the different classes of linear disturbances, the various response categories for animal species and the impacts on species for the different classes. The review also provides potential mitigations and recommendations for landscape scale planning...
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Synopsis: Recognizing that natural and human disturbances cause significant changes to landscape composition and ecosystem function, this report aims to identify and describe key indicators of environmental sustainability, categorized by vegetation, biodiversity, and watershed characteristics. Measurable indicators of environmental sustainability, including landscape indicators summarized in the vegetation indicators category, were distilled from a wide-ranging literature review. These indicators are intended to serve as metrics of environmental quality that assist land use planners in determining if management goals have been reached. As such, the report provides an overview, assessment, and recommended uses for...
Synopsis: One recent study examining Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum L., hereafter milfoil) invasions using landscape-level variables found that the amount of forest land cover in the catchment is consistently negatively related to milfoil presence (Buchan and Padilla, 2000). These results suggest that further research is needed to examine the relationships between natural and anthropogenic landscape features and macrophyte cover. The ability of lake and landscape features to predict a variety of macrophyte cover metrics using 54 north temperate lakes were examined. Univariate regression analyses demonstrated that these macrophyte cover metrics are predicted by a wide range of predictor variables, most...
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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...
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Synopsis: Agricultural intensification and expansion are major present and future causes of global ecosystem disruption. Natural and semi-natural reserve areas in agroecosystems are thought to be important for preservation of essential ecosystem services such as pollination, but data about land use patterns and pollinator abundance are lacking. We assessed wild bee populations in canola fields in an agriculturally intense area where virtually all land was either tilled agricultural fields or semi-natural grazed pasturelands, with the expectation that mosaics of land use types may better support ecosystem services than homogenous crop areas. Fields were chosen in two categories, five with little or no pastureland...
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Synopsis: The goal of this study was to examine contaminant loadings associated with stormwater runoff from recently burned areas in urban fringe areas of southern California, to derive regional patterns of runoff and contaminant loadings in this context. Postfire stormwater runoff was sampled from five wildfires that each burned between 115 and 658 km2 of natural open space between 2003 and 2009. The area is characterized by classic Mediterranean climate conditions of relatively mild to cool wet winter and warm to hot dry summers. Between two and five storm events were sampled per site over the first one to two years following the fires for basic constituents, metals, nutrients, total suspended solids, and polycyclic...
Conclusions:Forest clearcutting differentialy affects birds of different ages. There is a threshold distance between reserves below which birds do not mind crossing clear cuts, making corridors more important as clearcut area and distance between forest reserves expandsThresholds/Learnings:
Conclusions:Results indicated that system and species-specific considerations are important when assessing the potential outcome of habitat loss and fragmentation on regional biotaThresholds/Learnings:
Conclusions:Report summarizes studies on the impacts of agricultural land use on water quality within Alberta. The impacts of agricultural activities on water quality depend strongly on the amount and distribution of land under cultivation, as well as other measures of agricultural intensity such as fertilizer expenses, chemical expenses and animal unit densities. Generally, streams draining watersheds with more agriculture had higher concentrations of nutrients, bacteria, and pesticides.Thresholds/Learnings:
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Synopsis: Wind erosion is considered a problem when the erosion level exceeds the tolerable limit for the soil or when the erosion level is great enough to damage the crops being grown. Wind erosion control must be tailored to each farming situation and may be achieved through a combination of practices that ultimately create isolated fields, the key to wind erosion control systems. Wind erosion control measures can be grouped into four components: (1) tree and shrub windbreaks; (2) annual and perennial vegetative barriers; (3) strip cropping and trap strips; and (4) crop residues and cover crops. Wind control system design involves 4 basic principles: (1) erosion rates are predicted using the wind erosion equation;...
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Conclusions: The study recorded flushing responses (whether or not an animal fled in response to disturbance) and flush distances of 6 species of diurnal raptors exposed to walking and vehicle disturbances in order to calculate minimum distances for species-specific buffer zones. In general, walking disturbances resulted in more flushing than vehicle disturbances for all species except the prairie falcon. For walking disturbances, a linear relationship existed between flight distance and body mass, with lighter species flushing at shorter distances; however, this trend did not hold for vehicle disturbance. Birds flushed at much shorter distances in response to approaching vehicles. Thresholds/Learnings: Buffer...
Conclusions:Report reviews how forests and their management affect the quality and quantity of downstream municipal water supplies in the state of OregonThresholds/Learnings:When >25% of the watershed's forest cover is clearcut in a short period of only a few months, there is a measurable increase in annual streamflows from the watershed.
Conclusions:Within a watershed, about 10% of development is not subject to drainage regulations resulting in cumulative effects from urbanization that significantly degrade watersheds. Instead of regulatory thresholds (e.g. 10% EIA), process controls are required to mitigate the impacts of urbanization on aquatic systems. Without these controls, strict development limits are the only way to limit watershed degradation.Thresholds/Learnings:The study cautions against the use of discrete “thresholds” to predict specific physical and biological effects, but does suggest that thresholds are appropriate indicators for when the perception and tolerance of watershed impacts triggers a regulatory response.
Conclusions:Woodland caribou cross roads less than expected for all time periods except calving and use areas close to roads less frequently than expected. Roads are semipermeable barriers to caribou movement with the greatest barrier effects occurring during late winter.Thresholds/Learnings:
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Synopsis: Windbreaks are a major component of successful agricultural landscapes. At the farm scale, they help control erosion and blowing snow, improve animal health and survival under winter conditions, reduce energy consumption of the farmstead, and enhance habitat diversity. At a landscape scale, they provide habitat for various types of wildlife and have the potential to contribute significant benefits to the carbon balance equation, thereby easing the economic burdens associated with climate change. The effectiveness of a windbreak is determined partially by its external structure including its height, length, orientation, continuity, width, and cross-sectional shape and partially by its internal structure...
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Conclusions: Caribou demonstrated patterns of avoidance near linear features such as pipelines, roads, and other oil field structures. Females demonstrated heightened avoidance, especially during calving seasons. Thresholds/Learnings: Synopsis: This study documented the behavioural reactions of caribou to oil development in the circumpolar regions of the northern hemisphere. Researchers observed patterns of avoidance near linear features such as pipelines, roads, and other oil field structures. Female caribou, especially those accompanied by calves avoided these areas in particular. Male caribou were more apt to occupy areas influenced by oil field structures and activity. In summary, the patterns oil field development...
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Synopsis: Synthesizes information on a range of tools for reducing the footprint of human use, with an intended focus on public lands and associated natural resources. Implementation considerations and links to other resources are provided. Many tools are related either directly or indirectly to landscape patterns. For example, the section on “Disturbance Standards, Limits, or Thresholds” provides guidance and case study examples of pattern-based threshold establishment and implementation considerations in Alberta, California, and Australia. Many other Integrated Land Management tools outlined also relate directly or indirectly to landscape patterns and techniques for their management. Selected examples under the...
map background search result map search result map Chemical characteristics and acid sensitivity of boreal headwater lakes in northwest Saskatchewan. Caribou in the Changing North Linking landscape disturbance to the population ecology of Great Basin rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus lutosus) in the Upper Snake River Plain Integrated Land Management Tools Compendium Landscape, Biodiversity, and Indicator Review and Assessment The Effects of Linear Developments on Wildlife: A Review of Selected Scientific Literature Can pastureland increase wild bee abundance in agriculturally intense areas? Response of wintering grassland raptors to human disturbance. Stormwater contaminant loading following southern California wildfires Windbreaks in North American Agricultural Systems Design and use of field windbreaks in wind erosion control systems American Badger. Response of wintering grassland raptors to human disturbance. Chemical characteristics and acid sensitivity of boreal headwater lakes in northwest Saskatchewan. Landscape, Biodiversity, and Indicator Review and Assessment Linking landscape disturbance to the population ecology of Great Basin rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus lutosus) in the Upper Snake River Plain Stormwater contaminant loading following southern California wildfires Integrated Land Management Tools Compendium The Effects of Linear Developments on Wildlife: A Review of Selected Scientific Literature Caribou in the Changing North Windbreaks in North American Agricultural Systems Design and use of field windbreaks in wind erosion control systems