Poster Sessions, pages 567-640 - ICOET

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Abstract Road Decommissioning: Minimising the Adverse Ecological Effects of Roads in European Agricultural Landscapes Dolan, Lisa M. J. (353879578356, l.dolan@student.ucc.ie) and Whelan, Pádraig M. Department of Zoology, Ecology and Plant Science, University College Cork, Butler Building, Distillery Fields, Cork City, Cork 1234 Ireland The field of Restoration Ecology continues to provide an exciting array of new disciplines which focus on the restoration of ecological function and integrity to former habitat areas. Road Restoration Ecology (RRE) is one such discipline which is expanding the possibilities for habitat restoration beyond that which has been provided by the traditional management of roadside vegetation and landscape design. This paper focuses on a particular aspect of RRE - that of road decommissioning. To date even though many hundreds of kilometers of forest roads have been removed in the U.S., virtually no research has addressed the impact of road removal on wildlife. Furthermore, on an international level, even less research has been committed to examining the removal of paved roads despite the fact the road development has been identified in the literature as one of the major causes of habitat fragmentation across landscapes worldwide. In the course of new road planning and design, sections of old road pavement may be abandoned due to (1) the establishment of a new road ecosystem; (2) the realignment of an existing road; (3) the By-Pass of traffic ‘hotspots’; and (4) required road closure for environmental reasons. Occasionally the extent of old road pavement is large enough to significantly extend native habitats adjacent to an old road system. For this reason, road decommissioning can potentially: (1) restore ecological integrity, and function of semi-natural ecosystems (including soil); (2) provide compensatory habitat; (3) maintain and improve quality of existing adjacent habitat by reducing noise disturbance and human access (amongst others); (4) restore connectivity by reinforcing the ecological network of surrounding core habitat areas, and; (5) contribute to the restoration of landscape quality in the vicinity of a new road ecosystem. It can be assumed that, where road pavement is not decommissioned and persists, it may continue to: (1) inhibit the ecological functions and services of semi-natural ecosystems, (2) pose as a barrier to the dispersal of wildlife, (3) inhibit the establishment of vegetation cover (and habitat), (4) may continue to have an adverse effect on environmental aesthetics; and (5) contribute to the release of pollutants from surface run-off. It is for one or more of these reasons that the process of road decommissioning is generally carried out. Paved road segments on five national road schemes in Ireland were examined with a view to identifying the potential role of restored vegetation as habitat for wildlife. It has been demonstrated that native vegetation can more readily colonize former road corridors post-decommissioning, especially those roads located adjacent to existing native plant communities e.g. grasslands, hedgerows and woodlands. The resulting decommissioned sections of road generally show rapid recovery through natural recolonisation, where vegetation successional processes are shown to recapture road corridors within a few years, resulting in valuable additional habitat for wildlife, especially birds and nectar feeding invertebrates such as butterflies and bees. Various native mammal species have also been found to utilize old roads as a means of dispersal, therefore providing connectivity in an increasingly intensified agricultural landscape. Posters 592 ICOET 2007 Proceedings
Use of a GIS-Based Model of Habitat Cores and Landscape Corridors for VDOT Transportation Project Planning and Environmental Scoping Abstract Bridget M. Donaldson (434-293-1922, bridget.donaldson@vdot.virginia.gov), Research Scientist, Virginia Transportation Research Council, 530 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903 USA Joseph T. Weber (804-371-2545, joseph.weber@dcr.virginia.gov), GIS Projects Manager/Conservation Biologist, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Richmond, VA USA Transportation agencies across the United States are under increasing pressure to minimize or avoid impacts of transportation projects to important wildlife habitat. With new road construction and lane additions, habitat fragmentation is becoming more pronounced and its effects are increasingly evident. Transportation projects are often planned, designed, and funded before taking important habitat considerations into account, which can lead to expensive delays and lawsuits. Wildlife linkage or corridor analyses are being conducted in an increasing number of states, and more transportation agencies are using this information during the planning of proposed road projects. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Natural Heritage Program is creating a GIS tool, the Virginia Natural Landscape Assessment (VANLA) that identifies large patches of natural landcover (habitat cores) and the habitat linkages connecting these areas (landscape corridors). This mapping project can be integrated into the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) existing GIS applications for access by staff involved with transportation planning and environmental scoping activities. Analyzing a proposed project in these early stages of project development will allow VDOT to identify important natural resource areas and wildlife corridors to avoid or for which mitigation may be necessary. This can result in fewer project delays, promote collaboration between VDOT and state natural resource and regulatory agencies, and meet the directives of the new habitat conservation provision in the federal transportation legislation. In addition, basing certain project decisions on a project’s location relative to a wildlife corridor can decrease the risk of animal-vehicle collisions. Bridging the Gaps, Naturally 593 Posters
Page 1 and 2: Poster Sessions Introduction Ecolog
Page 3 and 4: metamorphs. Road mortality is likel
Page 5 and 6: eproductive abilities and survivors
Page 7 and 8: that the strongest stimuli for immo
Page 9 and 10: hectic and substantial task of crea
Page 11 and 12: Forman, R. T. T. 2000. Estimate of
Page 13 and 14: Lehtinen, R. M. S. M. Galatowitsch,
Page 15 and 16: Sealy, J. B. 2002. Ecology and beha
Page 17 and 18: Abstract Assessing the Stone Marten
Page 19 and 20: Abstract Lessons and Experiences Fr
Page 21 and 22: The Salmon Resource and Sensitive A
Page 23 and 24: Environmental Scoping Application E
Page 25: Recommendations for future research
Page 29 and 30: Effects of a Purpose-Built Underpas
Page 31 and 32: Background Major Objectives for Roa
Page 33 and 34: Iuell, B., H. (G. J.) Bekker, R. Cu
Page 35 and 36: Forest Service Back Roads: Utilizat
Page 37 and 38: Abstract Development of a Bald Eagl
Page 39 and 40: An Alternative to the Openness Rati
Page 41 and 42: Abstract Effectiveness of Black Bea
Page 43 and 44: Highway Median Impacts on Wildlife
Page 45 and 46: Taxa groups (largely based on Calif
Page 47 and 48: Long-Term Consequences of Winter Ro
Page 49 and 50: Abstract Effects of a Highway Impro
Page 51 and 52: Introduction Roadkill and Landscape
Page 53 and 54: The fact that we have never met two
Page 55 and 56: Figure 3. Valley grassland unit, an
Page 57 and 58: Abstract An Analytical Framework fo
Page 59 and 60: Abstract Measuring Gene Flow Across
Page 61 and 62: Introduction Wildlife Use of Open a
Page 63 and 64: automatically photograph animals th
Page 65 and 66: Our track plates did not find any s
Page 67 and 68: Abstract An Overview of Recent Deer
Page 69 and 70: Abstract Riparian Restoration Plan
Page 71 and 72: Relating Vehicle-Wildlife Crash Rat
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