5.4 Agriculture and Aquaculture
5.4.1 Agriculture—Anticipated Impacts As with all threat categories, there can be positive or negative impacts to wildlife depend- ing on its scale and location. Potential impacts (both positive and negative) to fsh and wildlife resources from agriculture are numerous. Impacts that can be harmful to wildlife include loss of habitat from conversion of forested or early successional land to cleared agricultural land, erosion of agricultural felds that leads to increased turbidity and sedi- mentation in surface waters, and contamination from application of pesticides and herbi- cides. Agricultural crops can provide an important food resource for many wildlife species; however, depredation impacts from wildlife can be signifcant on agricultural commodity crops. On the positive side, harvested crops within the Coastal Plain provide suitable fall and winter food supplies for waterfowl, Black Bear, White-tailed Deer, and other small wildlife species. Clearing forested or early successional land and converting it to agriculture can displace birds and small mammals that rely on this community type and reduce the number and diversity of species inhabiting the area. Te loss of forested habitats that serve as corridors for species moving among adjacent habitats can be especially harmful to wildlife as it reduces available cover for predator avoidance. Agricultural practices also afect wetlands, streams, and groundwater in several ways. Wetlands and other similar habitats can be converted directly to agricultural land or their functions can be lost by changes to the soils or hydrology from practices such as ditch- ing and draining. Furthermore, surface and groundwater hydrology can be afected by irrigation. Without appropriate sedimentation and erosion control measures, rain events can lead to erosion of cleared felds resulting in increased turbidity and sedimentation of nearby surface waters. Increased turbidity and sedimentation afects foraging and reproduction in streams and lakes and can lead to changes in community composition and species extirpa- tion. In the Coastal Plain, pumping of water during high-water events can result in sedi- mentation, contaminants, and large volumes of freshwater being dumped into our estuar- ies, which can negatively afect marine species. Agricultural land uses that include aerial spraying of pesticides and herbicides can afect local amphibian populations when wind carries chemicals into nearby surface waters and wetlands. Little has been published about this source of contamination but research con- ducted in California found a signifcant relationship between amphibian declines in loca- tions with known populations and pesticide drift from upwind sources of agrochemical applications (Davidson 2004) .
683
2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online