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Mapping technology drives new knowledge of wildlife habitat

Developments in mapping technology offer producers a more precise and bigger picture of how wildlife habitat adds value to their land

Think, for a moment, about how water moves across your farmland. Which areas collect water the most? What species are attracted to the resulting ecological conditions and habitat types? Do those species present a benefit or a detriment? And how does all this affect your cropping decisions and practices?

These are questions almost all producers have asked themselves at one time or another. Whether they realize it or not, they are thinking of their farm as an ecosystem, a collection of living organisms and habitats which all play a role in the soil's ability to grow food.

Harry Stelfox, a biologist and habitat classification specialist with 35 years experience studying this dynamic interaction between species and their habitats, has a word for it: connectivity. It's a concept that has been brought into more practical application by technological advances in the field of habitat mapping and assessment, with the evolution of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology a prominent example.

"This is a field of science that has rapidly grown from one that measured a small set of basic components to one with almost limitless opportunities to study how wildlife, insects and micro-organisms, vegetation, water, soil and a number of other factors interact with each other," says Stelfox. "In the process, it is offering producers more opportunity than ever to understand their habitat assets and the long-term contribution they make towards their farming operations."

The value of mapping

This concept of connectivity, combined with a knowledge of the various species that can benefit production, is the primary driver for mapping wildlife habitat. "It's a matter of thinking of wildlife habitat as a whole complex of dynamic, interacting features," says Stelfox. "We no longer look at agricultural systems and wildlife habitat as mutually exclusive. Instead, the goal is achieving a balance and integration between both."

A simple example is the role certain species of birds play in minimizing certain crop pests. "In order to take advantage of the benefits these birds offer, we need to be able to find food, cover and nesting for them. The process of coming to those conclusions begins with taking an initial inventory and assessment of all the resources on a farm, including the habitat resources."

One option producers have to walk them through this process is Natural Advantage: The On-Farm Wildlife and Biodiversity Planning Service. A free program managed by Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) with funding provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Greencover Canada program, Natural Advantage uses trained biologists to help producers identify opportunities to enhance wildlife habitat on their farms and ranches.

"At the end of the process, participants receive a very detailed report which suggests ways to further secure, enhance or restore existing habitat," says Stelfox, who acts as an advisor to the Natural Advantage program. "It also outlines the resources available to help producers make these changes."

Going forward

The factors that are increasing the speed, accuracy and efficiency of habitat mapping and assessment are tied to technology. Remote sensing developments in topographic mapping, high-resolution satellite imagery, and digital and conventional aerial photography have all contributed to an increased capacity to compile comprehensive landscape inventories.

This is further enhanced by the advanced capacity of GIS technology to manage, analyze and distribute inventory products to a broad audience, says Lyle Boychuk, manager of the DUC GIS and inventory programs for the prairie region.

It has also evolved over a relatively short period of time. "In the mid-'90s, it literally took three years to collect base imagery to cover an area as large as Canada's prairie ecozone," says Boychuk, who's located in Regina, Saskatchewan. "Currently, some commercial image vendors could program and acquire that coverage in one season. For one project in Saskatchewan, we were able to acquire imagery for a very large study area three times in one season."

But what does all this mean for the average producer? The ability to conduct this process with more speed and accuracy carries obvious technical advantages, says Stelfox, especially when compared to the relatively static sets of data collected in the early years of the practice.

But in the larger context of habitat management, it lays a foundation of accurate information, easily adjusted over time, which may expand a producer's management options. "In many ways, it comes down to the essential thinking behind the concept of ecological goods and services and the idea that if producers received meaningful incentives for their stewardship of natural resources such as clean water, air and habitat, these services would be maintained and expanded for the benefit of society," says Stelfox.

"This could lead to a situation where the value producers put into conservation of natural habitats and species is considered commercially viable in much the same way food production is today. It all depends on the priority society chooses to place on the sustainability of natural resources. Going forward, the stronger the basis of technical knowledge we have about the land as a dynamic living system, the better we will be able to fulfil this mandate."

From a technological perspective, "bigger, better, stronger, faster" are the words Boychuk uses to summarize his vision of the future of habitat mapping and classification. "For producers seeking information on the connectivity of their natural resources, this will mean more detailed inventories than we are able to currently achieve, right down to individual plant communities."

More information available

Further information on the Natural Advantage program is available by contacting DUC wildlife biologists Brett Boukall at 403-348-5258 or Jolene Hillson at 780-439-5145. More information on the Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) program, a prerequisite for participation in the Natural Advantage process, is available at the Alberta Environmental Farm Plan Company (AEFP) Web site at www.AlbertaEFP.com.

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