As part of the Missouri EPSCOR project, we hope to address the following questions: What are current land management practices being conducted by residents of Columbia, Missouri? How might land management practices be altered due to changing climate? What are the potential impacts to the plant and bird community that result from these land management strategies? Climate change can impact how residents of Columbia adapt their land management practices in response to changing conditions. These management practices have the potential to influence the values that residents place on their property, the biodiversity associated with residential land use, and ultimately their well-being. We have conducted avian counts along 100 transects throughout residential areas in Columbia. Vegetation surveys were conducted using visual line intercept protocol, and mail in surveys were distributed to the land managers associated with the properties to determine management practices.
Results/Conclusions
Our data has resulted in a better understanding of the environmental components, and the management practices of the residences in our study area. On our plots, 83 bird species, and 80 species of trees and shrubs were identified, with greater plant diversity and canopy cover in older neighborhoods further from the urban center. Bird communities differed between plots, with those characterized mostly by lawn predominantly occupied by grassland birds including field sparrows, and eastern meadowlarks. Plots characterized by a large amount of canopy cover and more diverse tree and shrub species were predominantly occupied by forest birds including wood thrush and summer tanager. Several species were nearly ubiquitous including American robin and house sparrow. Our survey of the land managers revealed diverse management practices, with variation in frequency of watering, weeding, and application of chemicals between properties. Land managers values varied in the importance of wildlife use of the yard, a yard consisting of mostly open grass, and a yard without weeds. We will be able to use this data to determine how management strategies are effecting associated plant and bird communities. We will then develop scenarios to determine how land managers might change their management practices with climate change.