Temporary Conservation in Agricultural Lands

Full Title

Feasibility of temporary conservation areas in agricultural landscapes to improve habitat for migratory bird species in the United States

Abstract

The objective of the proposed pursuit is to identify opportunities for dynamic conservation action in agricultural landscapes to promote temporary ecological connectivity within a landscape based on the critical life stage and migratory routes. By synthesizing ecological and social data, we aim to identify the social and land use characteristics that provide compatibility and suitability for ecological connectivity within a landscape to support migratory bird species. We will assess the feasibility of temporarily utilizing alternative agricultural practices while birds use these landscapes during migration to improve habitat connectivity. In order to effectively incorporate temporal conservation actions into working landscapes, a data-driven understanding of the social and environmental factors that drive the distribution of biodiversity, ecological functions, and ecosystem services is required. However, being that temporary conservation areas are a new alternative, there has been no such effort to synthesize and analyze the required temporal, social, economic, and ecological data at a national scale.

Project Type
Team Synthesis Project (Graduate Student Led)
Date
2017
Principal Investigators
Alexander Killion, Boise State University
Jessica Gilbert, Texas A&M University
Participants
Arnold Behrer, Harvard University
Adam Dixon, University of Maryland
Mario Torralba Viorretta, University of Copenhagen
Patrick Greiner, University of Oregon
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