Wildlife: Habitat Analysis

Habitat Analysis:                         There are certain factors which have the capacity to alter the condition of the habitat in varied way those are soil, topography, water availability, cover estimation, forage and browse etc. These factors are classified into two groups; one is called physical parameters and another one is called biological parameters.

To analyse the habitat certain evaluation technique and procedure has to be followed, this standard evaluation and procedure are nothing but the technical equipment and technology like remote sensing and GIS.

a) Physical parameters :             The physical parameter includes topography, geology, soil and water etc.
i) Topography- Topography is the structure and feature of land surface of an area. The feature of land surfaces generally depicted through the three dimensional map. Topography helps to determine the slope, altitude, drainage of surfaces because this feature determine the type of vegetation . Altitude is another constraint which effects rainfall, temperature, solar radiation and humidity.

ii) Geology- Geology is nothing but the science of earth, it often focused on the study of composition of earth crust. It relevant for accessing the age of rocks found in a particular location and through its chemical analysis we can reach to the approximate age of past climatic conditions wheather it was favourable for particular vegetation or support to diversified vegetation.

iii) Soil- Soil is the fertile superficial layer of the earth formed by the process of weathering with the help of physical, biological and chemical agents. It contains the essential organic and mineral nutrients for plant growth. There are various factors which featured the soil properties as temperature, colour, texture, moisture and pH, salinity, mineral content, alkalinity and nitrogen quantity etc. Fertility and productivity of soil effect the population density of the habitat.

b) Biological Parameters :
     The biological parameters includes food, cover, forage, browse and cover estimation etc.
i) Food- The food is the main constituent for living a life. In a particular habitat the type of food production is varied according to the season, herbivores depends upon plant species for thier food whereas carnivores rely on herbivores for thier survival. The range of food material which is usually feeds by an animal is called its food spectrum. The quantity, quality and the spatial distribution of food are very important in a habitat ( Rajesh,1992).

ii) Cover- The term cover can be defined in many ways with regards to wildlife management. It often defined as variation seen in habitat which affords protection of animals / shelter’s to the animals from weather, predators or enemies by offering a better guarding point. It means vegetative or shelter for wildlife. The main concerned about the meaning of cover is that, it provides shelter for raising young ones, free moving land in a habitat through which the animal can travel.

iii) Forage- Forage is nothing but edible parts of plants, other than separated grain, that can provide feed for grazing animals, or that can be harvested for feeding. Forage provide plenty food resources for animals [Source- forages.oregonstate.edu].
iv) Browse- Leaf and twigs growth of shrubs, woody vines, trees, cacti, and other non-herbaceous vegetation available for animal consumption [Source-forages.oregonstate.edu].

v) Cover estimation- There are various methods of analysing the cover like use of radiometer, measurement of visibility, obstruction expressed as percent age, taking photographs and aerial photographs, measuring relative transmission from overhead cover using a photo light meter, simple counting of stems per unit area, computing wind velocity in a relative way and making an overall subjective estimates as dense, light, moderate on calibrated scale ( Glies,1978).