habitat suitability index models: eastern wild turkey - USGS National ...

Variable (definition)
Percent tree canopy
closure [the percent
of the ground surface
that is shaded by a
vertical projection of
the canopies of woody
vegetation ~ 5.0 m
(16.4 ft) in height].
Average dbh of overstory
trees [the
average diameter at
1.4 m (4.5 ft) above
the ground of those
trees that are ~ 80%
of the height of the
tallest tree in the
stand].
Percent of forest canopy
comprised of evergreens
(the relative percent of
the amount of evergreen
tree canopy compared to
the total tree canopy).
Cover types
DFW,EF,DF,ETS,
DTS
DFW,EF,DF,ETS,
DTS
DFW,EF,DF,ETS,
DTS
Suggested technique
Remote sensing, line
intercept
Cruise for tallest
trees in stand.
Sample with optical
range finder and
Biltmore stick on
strip quadrat.
Li ne intercept,
remote sensing
Figure 8.
(concluded).
6. The abundance of insects for broods is directly related to the
biomass and structure of herbaceous vegetation.
7. Interspersion of life requisites (fall, spring, winter food; cover;
and summer food/brood habitat) is only a concern when a cover type
does not provide one or more of these life requisites.
8. For individual life requisites, optimal overall conditions are
provided by a specific mix of both quantity and quality of an area
providing the requisite. It is assumed that optimum overall conditions
for a life requisite may still exist, even if individual cover
types contain less than optimum quality, if this lack of quality can
be compensated for by an increased quantity of the resource being
present.
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