In grasslands, the North American biome with the greatest loss of biodiversity, documentation of successful restoration and management is imperative for building large-scale restoration programs. However, quantifying outcomes from grassland management efforts is made difficult by the lack of tools to rapidly map and track core grassland habitats and grassland biodiversity responses to management. Here, we propose to address this need by developing a rapid mapping tool to quantify grassland management outcomes on public and private lands. To accomplish this, we will complete two objectives: 1) develop a tool to identify and map grassland habitat cores, and 2) use this tool to quantify grassland habitat core and grassland bird community [...]
Summary
In grasslands, the North American biome with the greatest loss of biodiversity,
documentation of successful restoration and management is imperative for building large-scale
restoration programs. However, quantifying outcomes from grassland management efforts is
made difficult by the lack of tools to rapidly map and track core grassland habitats and grassland
biodiversity responses to management. Here, we propose to address this need by developing a
rapid mapping tool to quantify grassland management outcomes on public and private lands. To
accomplish this, we will complete two objectives: 1) develop a tool to identify and map grassland
habitat cores, and 2) use this tool to quantify grassland habitat core and grassland bird community
responses to management in and surrounding three USFWS Arkansas refuges, focusing on
Southeastern grassland species of conservation concern. Tools and products from this project will
facilitate grassland management strategies in the Arkansas FWS refuges, provide grassland bird
community and population trends, and will help determine the applicability of this approach for
public and private lands across the Southeast region.
