Unit – 2 Wildlife: Habitat Analysis

 Unit – 2 Wildlife: Habitat Analysis

 Habitat Analysis:                         

There are certain factors which have the capacity to alter the condition of the habitat in varied way those are soil, topography, water availability, cover estimation, forage and browse etc. These factors are classified into two groups; one is called physical parameters and another one is called biological parameters.

To analyse the habitat certain evaluation technique and procedure has to be followed, this standard evaluation and procedure are nothing but the technical equipment and technology like remote sensing and GIS.

a)    Physical parameters :           

b)      The physical parameter includes topography, geology, soil and water etc.
i) Topography- Topography is the structure and feature of land surface of an area. The feature of land surfaces generally depicted through the three dimensional map. Topography helps to determine the slope, altitude, drainage of surfaces because this feature determine the type of vegetation . Altitude is another constraint which effects rainfall, temperature, solar radiation and humidity.

ii) Geology- Geology is nothing but the science of earth, it often focused on the study of composition of earth crust. It relevant for accessing the age of rocks found in a particular location and through its chemical analysis we can reach to the approximate age of past climatic conditions wheather it was favourable for particular vegetation or support to diversified vegetation.

iii) Soil- Soil is the fertile superficial layer of the earth formed by the process of weathering with the help of physical, biological and chemical agents. It contains the essential organic and mineral nutrients for plant growth. There are various factors which featured the soil properties as temperature, colour, texture, moisture and pH, salinity, mineral content, alkalinity and nitrogen quantity etc. Fertility and productivity of soil effect the population density of the habitat.

iv) Water- Water is the essential elements for living beings. It plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance of food intake and its proper assimilation with the help of water. Without water there is make no sense of food supplements. To avoid water related hazards well accessed water supply is necessary for a well established habitat.

b) Biological Parameters :

     The biological parameters includes food, cover, forage, browse and cover estimation etc.
i) Food- The food is the main constituent for living a life. In a particular habitat the type of food production is varied according to the season, herbivores depends upon plant species for thier food whereas carnivores rely on herbivores for thier survival. The range of food material which is usually feeds by an animal is called its food spectrum. The quantity, quality and the spatial distribution of food are very important in a habitat ( Rajesh,1992).

ii) Cover- The term cover can be defined in many ways with regards to wildlife management. It often defined as variation seen in habitat which affords protection of animals / shelter’s to the animals from weather, predators or enemies by offering a better guarding point. It means vegetative or shelter for wildlife. The main concerned about the meaning of cover is that, it provides shelter for raising young ones, free moving land in a habitat through which the animal can travel.

 

iii) Forage- Forage is nothing but edible parts of plants, other than separated grain, that can provide feed for grazing animals, or that can be harvested for feeding. Forage provide plenty food resources for animals [Source- forages.oregonstate.edu].
iv) Browse- Leaf and twigs growth of shrubs, woody vines, trees, cacti, and other non-herbaceous vegetation available for animal consumption [Source-forages.oregonstate.edu].

v) Cover estimation- There are various methods of analysing the cover like use of radiometer, measurement of visibility, obstruction expressed as percent age, taking photographs and aerial photographs, measuring relative transmission from overhead cover using a photo light meter, simple counting of stems per unit area, computing wind velocity in a relative way and making an overall subjective estimates as dense, light, moderate on calibrated scale ( Glies,1978).

 

Geospatial technology for wildlife habitat evaluation

Wildlife management requires reliable and consistent information on the abundance, distribution of species and their habitats as well as threats. Management strategies have focused mainly on single species and protected areas. The need of developing integrated and advanced habitat evaluation and management techniques which can help in formulating long term conservation strategies have been previously identified . These techniques also focuses on the maintenance of some desired state of the resource base within the reserve, while controlling the factors that negatively impacts habitat qualit].

The quantification and analysis of current impacts on wildlife habitat such as logging, agriculture and road development are vital phases in the process of formulating sound wildlife management policies. Several ground-based studies and survey techniques such as counting animals, trapping, scat collection investigation of feeding sites as well as ground mapping of habitats are fruitful.

Remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) technologies have been used for gathering the information on physical parameters of the wildlife habitats and geospatial modeling for wildlife habitat evaluation. The results indicate definite advantage of remote sensing and GIS over conventional methods. Over time, the availability of better spatial data has made habitat evaluation and management more scientific and realistic. Many habitat evaluation procedures based on species-habitat relationship have been worked out. Basically, all models have tried to evaluate the carrying capacity of the wildlife habitat for a particular animal species.

All models have to be tested for their applicability to real life situations. The accuracy of the spatial database is positively correlated to the model sensitivity. On cost-coverage analysis, these techniques have been found to be economical.

 

GIS (Geographic Information System)

Habitat loss, pollution, invasive species introduction, and climate change, are all threats to wildlife health and biodiversity. GIS technology is an effective tool for managing, analyzing, and visualizing wildlife data to target areas where interventional management practices are needed and to monitor their effectiveness. GIS helps wildlife management professionals examine and envision wildlife movement and habitat ranges. Understanding the specific needs of wildlife populations is key to preventing local or global extinctions, rehabilitating populations, and restoring habitat.

GIS and remote sensing technologies help gain insights into the features of the land under consideration. In the GIS component use satellite images and various geospatial layers to prepare land use land cover maps and habitat suitability maps for each species and their habitat. The Thar Desert landscape is one the most challenging landscapes for land cover classification because of spectral mixing in various land cover classes. Thar Landscape would be crucial in identifying possible areas of species habitat.

Since sea grass beds are habitat for Dugong, sea grass mapping would be essential in identifying dugong habitat in the coast. However, mapping of sea grass is a challenging task because of no penetration of radiation under water.

Ex. The habitat range of Gangetic Dolphin lies in the entire Ganga-Brahmaputra basin. Analysis of river network connectivity, habitat vulnerability etc would be useful for the conservation planning of the species.

Mapping the phumdi (floating grasslands) for habitat suitability assessment in Keibul Lamjao National Park would help in identifying core habitat areas of Sangai.

 

Habitat Monitoring

 

Using high and medium resolution satellite remote-sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies to better understand relationships between species and the places they live gives the ability to routinely observe even the most remote areas which can make researchers search for important species and habitats quicker.

They can very quickly get a picture of where species might be distributed. If one were to send out survey teams alone, it might take many years to generate the level of information that satellites provide.

High resolution satellite imagery, remote sensing and GIS technology will improve the way endangered wildlife in highly inaccessible areas of the world is being monitored. To aid in the understanding of why and where species are being lost, Satellite or Aerial Imagery offers certain advantages such as watching vast areas of the earth all at once on a regular basis and by making temporal comparisons possible to analyze and monitor what is happening on the ground.

Up-to-date high resolution satellite, aerial images can directly observe species habitats and their environment over time which allows researchers to monitor any changes in an active GIS project and predict the best remaining areas to protect and manage.