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Penn State: Preserving Habitat Within Watersheds One Yard At A Time
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Adopting watershed-friendly practices in urban and suburban yards is increasingly important because development is the fastest growing land use in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. And it is not the only one. Biodiversity, habitat, fragmentation, parcelization, development - all sorts of words and terms – but what do they mean to us and our water?
Parcelization is a result of land being divided on paper. If a landowner has 200 acres of forested land and four children, each child may receive 50 acres of land as part of an estate. This is not a problem as long as they share common land use objectives, for example leaving it as the family farm or for hunting and camping. Habitat fragmentation results when there is a change in land use, such as selling the parcels for development.
Development results in the breaking up of habitat, the space in which the wildlife living there find resources they need to live. When habitat is lost, we often reduce biodiversity, a measure of the richness of the different species in an ecosystem. This also reduces ecosystem services, the ability of natural processes to clean up pollutants and recycle natural waste like leaves and other plant and animal matter.
“So what does this have to do with me?” Everyone can help to provide habitat, preserve biodiversity and protect the watershed within our own yards, no matter what size. Actions can be as simple as growing native plants in a planter on the patio or choosing to use native trees, shrubs and flowers in urban and suburban landscaping.
Planting native trees and shrubs, and creating raingardens and unmowed meadow areas enhance the ability of our yards to infiltrate precipitation through cleansing soil and into groundwater. If someone is fortunate enough to have a wooded area, removing invasive species, preserving native species and planting or preserving woodland all help maintain habitat that protects the watershed and wildlife in it.
Research from the University of Delaware and the Stroud Water Research Institute, have demonstrated better ecosystem health, increased biodiversity and better survival of native insects in both streams and land habitats when native plants are the majority of the plants present. This translates to better pollution removal in buffered streams, better water infiltration, better pollinator survival, and better habitat for birds and other wildlife.
Two programs that promote habitat preservation in our backyards are the Audubon Bird Habitat Recognition Program and Penn State’s Pollinator Friendly Certification Program. Both programs require such watershed-friendly actions as reducing or eliminating unnecessary pesticide and synthetic fertilizer use, creating or preserving areas with native plants and trees, providing water source(s), and supplying shelter and nesting opportunities.
This benefits not only the birds, butterflies and moths that are enjoyable to watch, but local agriculture. Native pollinators are in trouble, and they are extremely efficient at pollinating local fruit and vegetable crops. By creating backyard habitat, we help our farmers and local vegetable gardens.
These activities can be a neighborhood or community effort as well. Audubon has a program to create bird-friendly communities through “Bird Town Pennsylvania.” The Woods in Your Backyard discusses “creating and enhancing natural areas around your home.”
This is an excellent workbook that combines ‘how-to’ information to assist landowners with sufficient land to create natural areas that are not routinely maintained, such as unmowed meadow, wooded or streamside sections. Combining efforts with your neighbors can also increase the overall natural area and may serve to provide more connected habitat for improved aesthetics and ecosystem services.
To learn more about creating habitat in your yard, visit the PA Audubon Audubon At Home. the PA Trees and Woods In Your Backyard webpages.
Note: The Penn State Extension Service may have to close some offices to meet state budget cuts. NewsClip: Penn State Extension Offices May Face Layoffs
(Written By: Diane Oleson, Extension Educator, York County, and reprinted from the Watershed Winds Newsletter of the Penn State Cooperative Extension.)
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8/8/2011 |
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