Are shrubland birds edge specialists?

In studies of forest fragmentation, birds of scrubby, early-successional habitats are considered edge specialists. Because these birds are assumed to thrive in fragmented, edge-dominated areas, their landscape ecology has received little attention from ecologists. With populations of shrubland birds declining throughout the eastern United States, the question of whether or not these birds really prefer edge habitats has important conservation implications. We used a meta-analysis to test how edges affect the abundance of shrubland birds in early-successional habitats. We analyzed data for 17 species from seven studies that compared the abundances of birds in the interiors and edges of regenerating clearcuts surrounded by mature forest. The meta-analysis clearly showed that shrubland birds avoid edges. All 17 species tested had higher abundances in patch centers than along edges, and edge effects were significant for 8 of 17 species. The key implication of this result is that small or irregular patches, dominated by edge, are unlikely to provide suitable habitat for shrubland birds. Thus, management for these declining species should involve providing large patches and minimizing edges. These findings demonstrate the importance of testing widely accepted ecological classifications and the need to view landscape ecology from the perspective of non-forest wildlife.     

Developing Statewide Indices of Environmental, Economic, and Social Sustainability: a look at Oregon and the Oregon Benchmarks

This research develops a method to transform the Oregon Benchmarks, a set of internationally recognized quantitative indicators designed to measure a broad array of state-level trends, into indices of social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Through multiple means, an original set of 90 Oregon Benchmarks has been narrowed into a smaller set of sustainability indicators in order to gain an integrated view of statewide sustainability as well as the capacity to look at social, environmental, and economic sustainability in isolation. The three-domain sustainability indices presented here are designed both to understand the current sustainability situation and to create a useful and informative tool for state-level policy makers interested in incorporating sustainability principles into their decision making.     

Modeling Animal Habitats Based on Cover Types: A Critical Review

The simplest type of model describing animal habitats is a “cover-type model,” in which a species is assumed to be present in certain vegetation types and absent in others. Ecologists and managers use these models to predict animal distributions for gap analysis and conservation planning. Critics, however, have suggested that the models are overly simplistic and inaccurate. We reviewed the use of cover-type models including assessing their error rates, diagnosing the problems with these models, and determining how they should best be used by managers. To determine models’ accuracy rates, we conducted a meta-analysis of 35 studies in which cover-type models were tested against data on animal occurrences. Models had a mean accuracy rate of 0.71 ± 0.18 (SD). Rates of commission error averaged 0.20 ± 0.16, and omission errors averaged 0.09 ± 0.11. A review of the effects of errors in conservation planning suggests that the observed error rates were high enough to call into question any management decisions based on these models. Reasons for the high error rates of cover-type models include the fallibility of expert opinion, the fact that the models oversimplify how animals actually use habitats, and the dynamic nature of animal populations. Given the high rate of errors in cover-type models, any conclusions based on them should be taken with extreme caution. We suggest that these models are best used as coarse filters to identify locations for further study in the field.     

Bermudagrass sod growth and metal uptake in coal combustion by-product-amended media

Coal combustion by-products (CCB) include fly ash and bottom ash and are generated nationally at rates of 10(8) Mg yr(-1). Land applications of CCB have improved physicochemical properties of soil, yet inherent bulkiness and trace metal content of CCB often limit their use. Likewise, utilization of biosolids and manure as fertilizer can be problematic due to unfavorable nutrient ratios. A 2-yr field study evaluated environmental and technical parameters associated with CCB-organic waste utilization as growth media in turfgrass sod production. Experimental growth media formulated with CCB and organic waste and a sand-compost control mixture were uniformly spread at rates from 200 to 400 m3 ha(-1) and sprigged with hybrid bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. x C. transvaalensis Burtt-Davy]. Leaf clippings were collected and analyzed for total elemental content each year. In Year 2, growth media samples were collected during establishment 47 and 84 days after planting (DAP) and viable Escherichia coli organisms were quantified. At harvest (99 or 114 DAP), sod biomass and physicochemical properties of the growth media were measured. During sod propagation, micronutrient and metal content in leaf clippings varied by growth media and time. After 47 d of typical sod field management, viable E. coli pathogens were detected in only one biosolids-amended plot. No viable E. coli were measured at 84 DAP. In both years, sod biomass was greatest in media containing biosolids and fly ash. Following installation of sod, evaluations did not reveal differences by media type or application volume. Using CCB-organic waste mixes at the rates described herein is a rapid and environmentally safe method of bermudagrass sod production.