Habitat Restoration and Conservation in Texas Page: Habtiat
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FOOD addresses the nutritional needs of wildlife, and it is often where we start and stop when we
think about providing for wildlife in our human settings. How many people feed birds? Feeders are an
inferior way to provide for the nutritional needs of wildlife. The best source of nutrition for wildlife is
plants, and we will address this in greater detail later in this publication.
SHELTER addresses some of the vital needs of wildlife. Shelter provides cover to avoid detection
by predators, protection from inclement weather, and nesting and resting sites. Shelter is often the
determining factor of whether or not an animal will be found in a particular location. It is often the
first thing we remove when we begin to "develop" a property. In getting rid of all the brush you are
inadvertently removing critical food and cover that is needed to restore wildlife around our homes.
WATER is often taken for granted when we consider wildlife habitat, yet it is one of the most - if not
the most - insufficient and scarce resources for wildlife. Recent droughts have clearly demonstrated
that those who provided water for wildlife often had attendance at their feeding stations, while those
who did not were left wondering where the "critters went."
The final component, SPACE, is something we may not be able to greatly affect. Most of us are limited to
the property we have. Surrounding property, even if available, is at such a premium that most people
must work with what they already have. Although you may not be able to increase the size of your
habitat space, you can improve its quality. Providing many layers of habitat in the space, such as native
grasses, wildflowers, shrubs, vines and trees, will provide for a greater diversity of wildlife species.
Each of these components shares equally in the composition of habitat, and the absence of any one
component needed by a particular organism, will result in the absence of that organism from the
property. Juxtaposition is as important as presence when evaluating the needs of animals and plants
on your property.
Is Biodiversity Really Important?
Biodiversity addresses the different plant and animal species that compose the community
of living organisms within a given area. Webster defines it as "biological diversity in an
environment as indicated by the numbers of different species of plants and animals."
While the number of individual species is significant, the general composition of those
species, or the number of different species, will tell us more about the health of a system.
The biological integrity of your habitat will be directly proportional to the biodiversity found
in your area. Biodiversity protects your property from environmental disasters. The habitat
will have an increased capacity to survive and regenerate after a major disturbance.
A monoculture, the production of a single species of plant on a property, is not a natural situation and
is unknown in natural settings. Only opportunistic and generalist species that will live anywhere and
eat anything will be found in a monoculture. These generalist species tend to be unwanted pests, such
as house sparrows and grackles.
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Texas. Parks and Wildlife Department. Habitat Restoration and Conservation in Texas, pamphlet, 2012; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth654101/m1/2/?rotate=90: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.