| The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is an important initiative designed to improve land quality for both farmers and wildlife across North America. Insights gleaned from conservation practices employed on lands enrolled in the program can help managers evaluate and adjust management techniques accordingly. In an effort to understand factors that influence management techniques, I performed a monitoring project on wildlife use of Downed Tree Structures, a relatively new and unstudied practice.;Monitoring was conducted on a tract of private land in Scott County, Missouri enrolled in CRP under the conservation practice titled At-Risk Species Missouri Sand Grassland Restoration (CP-38E). Cameras were used to monitor wildlife use of 7 large and 7 small Downed Tree Structures from November 2013 through July 2014. Each varied in size, and distance to water, woods, and roads. Cumulative Species Richness was calculated for each structure. A total of 469 individuals representing 41 different species were detected among all structures, the majority (86%) being avian species. Principal Components Analysis was used to produce an orthogonal set of variables for use in a linear model. The Principal Component scores were then used in a multiple stepwise-regression analysis. The least biased model obtained using the regression analysis revealed that CSR was significantly (p < 0.05) influenced by the independent variables week, distance to water, distance to woods, distance to road, and structure size. To maximize species richness, these variables should be considered by managers when employing Downed Tree Structures on similar landscapes. |
