|
What Is This Indicator, and Why Is It Important?
This indicator would report on the status of wildlife in farmland
areas.
Farmlands—including both croplands and the patches of
natural lands that are intermingled with them—are home
to many kinds of wildlife. Some species would be found in
the forests, grasslands, or shrublands from which the farmlands
were created. Such species may find fewer habitat opportunities
in farmland areas, but may take advantage of remaining patches
of habitat and remain in the area, but at low population
levels. However, there are many species that favor the kinds
of conditions found in areas with extensive farmlands, and
these species are often more common than they were before
conversion to agriculture.
Why Can't This Entire Indicator Be Reported at This
Time? An index is needed that would account
for both types of species found on farmlands—those that
favor the pre-agricultural landscape and those that favor
landscapes dominated by agriculture. This approach must necessarily
differ from that taken in reporting on marine,
forest, grassland
and shrubland, and freshwater
species, because it is not possible to define a set of “farmland”
species in the same way that one can identify species that
have evolved to depend on these other ecosystem types.
|
