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| Web URL(s): | http://archive.lib.msu.edu/tic/rpr/2000/72233,%20US%20Forest%20Service,%20Zwartjes.PDF
Last checked: 02/15/2013
Requires: PDF Reader |
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| Publication Type:
| Report |
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| Material Type: | Manuscript |
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| Monographic Author(s): | Zwartjes, Michele Merola |
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| Author Affiliation: | Principal Investigator |
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| Monograph Title: | Golf Courses as Hotspots of Avian Biodiversity in the Desert Southwest: Annual Report to the United States Golf Association: Green Section Research, 2000. |
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| Publishing Information: | Albuquerque, New Mexico: Rocky Mountain Research Station Albuquerque Lab, Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture |
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| # of Pages: | 9 |
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| Collation: | 8, [1] pp. |
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| Abstract/Contents: | "Riparian habitats in the desert southwest serve as a fundamental resource for many wildlife species. Natural riparian habitats are quickly disappearing, however, due to the demands of a growing human population on these areas for water, recreation, and development. The increased need for water for municipal and agricultural uses has led to numerous political conflicts over water rights and the loss of critical wildlife habitat in the southwestern U.S. Golf courses in the desert southwest have an unusual opportunity to contribute to regional wildlife conservation and to demonstrate responsible water usage practices. Golf courses are open spaces that typically have access to reliable water supplies, and are capable of supporting vegetation reminiscent of natural riparian areas. These attributes create the potential for golf courses to provide important habitats for wildlife in the desert southwest. The particular objectives of this study are to: 1) evaluate the possible role of golf courses in mitigating the loss of riparian habitats for resident and migratory birds; and 2) to determine how the type and distribution of vegetation on golf courses may influence its value as habitat for resident and migratory birds. Field studies were recently initiated in July 2000 on five golf courses and five control areas in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, area. Participating golf courses include the Albuquerque Country Club, Four Hills Country Club, Paa-ko Ridge Golf Club, Paradise Hills Country Club, and University of New Mexico Championship Course. These courses all vary in factors such as overall size, shape, type of vegetation on course, and presence of standing water. Each of these courses has been paired with a natural control area, an area of nearby open space that as closely as possible represents the natural habitat that existed at each course site prior to the construction of the course. Bird surveys by point counts are being conducted at each site once a month throughout the year over a period of two years. In addition, mist-net surveys are being conducted at three of the courses and their comparison sites to gain further data on species of migratory birds utilizing the sites. Mist-netting also provides information that is not available through visual or auditory surveys, such as data on the number of young birds produced (by aging birds in the hand), or the physical condition of the birds (inferred b evaluation of fat levels on the birds). Comparison of the diversity of bird species between the five courses and between the courses and their associated control sites will provide us with information on the potential importance of golf courses in the desert as refugia for both resident and migratory bird species. Furthermore, extensive measures and analyses of the types of vegetation on each of the courses and the correlation of these measures with bird diversity will provide managers with valuable insight as to how to best manage their courses to enhance bird habitat. If, as expected, bird diversity is correlated with the extent of native vegetation on the courses, particularly shrubby vegetation, management for bird habitat through increasing the coverage of native plants and shrubs should also result in significant water savings for the courses. Although it must be stressed that too few data are available at this early stage to present any conclusive results, the trend in our surveys so far indicates that most of the golf courses support a greater number of unique bird species than do their counterpart control areas. If this trend is supported over the coming years of data collection, then golf courses may indeed offer birds an unusually rich habitat in the desert environment, similar to that offered by riparian areas." |
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| Language: | English |
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| References: | 0 |
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| See Also: | See also related summary article, "Golf courses as hotspots for biodiversity in the desert southwest", 2000 Turfgrass and Environmental Research Summary [USGA], 2000, p. 84, R=72233. R=72233 |
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| Note: | Figures
Tables
Maps
"Annual Report to the United States Golf Association: Green Section Research"
"December 18, 2000" |
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| ASA/CSSA/SSSA Citation (Crop Science-Like - may be incomplete):
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http://archive.lib.msu.edu/tic/rpr/2000/72233,%20US%20Forest%20Service,%20Zwartjes.PDF
Last checked: 02/15/2013
Requires: PDF Reader |
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