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Managing your natural areas: please disturb
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A principle in ecology states that the highest biological diversity often occurs in natural areas that are periodically disturbed. Disturb your habitat too frequently (with practices such as regular mowing) and biodiversity declines. Disturb it too little and biodiversity also declines.
With increased attention on making golf courses greener in the environmental sense, superintendents may need more guidance in managing their natural areas. Many people incorrectly assume that protecting nature means you have to set aside land and leave it alone. This “hands-off” approach to conservation often results in degraded habitat over time, especially in regions where ecological disturbances occur regularly.
The plants and animals on your course evolved with a certain disturbance history. Natural disturbances may include floods, hurricanes and other weather events. Wildfires started by lightning or intentionally set by humans are another common disturbance that affects most ecosystems in the United States.
Deviations from the historical disturbance regime will result in one of two things — either your ecosystem will shift to a different mixture of plants and animals or Mother Nature will disturb the ecosystem for you, often with catastrophic results. The high-intensity wildfires that occur regularly throughout the western U.S. are an example of the latter.
Most golf courses have the potential to provide great wildlife habitat if managed appropriately. What “appropriate” means depends largely on the historical disturbance factors in your region. In the southeastern U.S., for example, wildfires swept through the coastal plain every few years. If your course is in this part of the country, you likely have numerous pine trees — some of which may have fire scars on their trunks. Pine trees and other vegetation in this area are adapted to fire.
Without burning (or bush-hogging) every few years, upland forests undergo succession and transform into low-quality habitat. Other wetter forests may only have burned once every several decades. Having a general idea of what disturbance regime your plants and animals evolved with is the first step in deciding what your management techniques should be.
If you want to maximize the conservation value of your course, you may need to take over Mother Nature’s role and periodically disturb your habitat. You do not have to use fire on your course to manage your natural areas — although some courses do — but you can use other techniques, such as mowing, herbicides, tree-cutting and disking, to reset the successional process periodically and promote biodiversity.
In upcoming issues, GCM will offer more tips on managing your natural areas.
The David McLay Kidd-designed Tetherow Golf Club, Bend, Ore., is the first course in Oregon to receive Audubon International’s Certified Signature Sanctuary honor. To achieve the designation, Tetherow designed and implemented a Natural Resource Management Plan that addressed several environmental aspects, including wildlife conservation, water conservation, energy efficiency, waste management and more. Wildlife corridors on the par-72, 7,298-yard layout were established to assist in the migration of native fauna and fowl, while a low-water use grassing plan features fescue grassing for tees, fairways, roughs and greens. Christopher Condon is the Class A superintendent at Tetherow. According to a survey from Golf Digest, 91 percent of golfers said they view golf as an environmentally friendly and compatible game. However, 40 percent of golfers agreed with the statement that pesticides used on a golf course create a potential health hazard for humans, and 44 percent agreed that the amount of water used on golf courses should only be enough to keep the grass alive, and not make it green and lush. |
