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3.
Design process
Illustrations
by way of example to show how opportunities can be designed into
landscape schemes are given in Figures 1
and 2 for a highway landscape and Figures
3 and 4 for a games space/recreation area. The paired figures
demonstrate how different approaches can be either sympathetic
or unsympathetic towards amphibian and reptile conservation.
The stages in a design should:
1.
Analyse the site
a) consider the species or animal assemblages likely to be found
on site, or that are appropriate to the area; some species are
geographically localised;
b) consider what animals could exist in the area if conditions
were favourable;
c) obtain specialist advice to see what is acceptable and what
is feasible.
2. Develop a design strategy for the site to identify general
principles and design opportunities based on the general requirements
of the target animal group.
3. Provide detailed design options for critical factors
affecting the target animal species.
4. Create a maintenance and/or management plan for long
term sustainable population survival.
5. Include a monitoring plan to ensure the objectives are
being met and to allow changes to design or management/maintenance
proposals if needed.
4. Monitoring success and revising plans
Although
unusual in normal landscape schemes, monitoring should be an important
part of the design model for wildlife. A survey and monitoring
plan should be sufficient to assess whether the objectives of
the project are being met Such plans could include any, or all,
of the following:
-
identifying
the presence or the distribution of a species on site;
-
seeing
how numbers are changing on site.
-
checking
that the populations are breeding and showing signs of being
self sustaining;
-
making
sure that the management programme is working.
Different
survey techniques may be appropriate for different species
and for different objectives. Monitoring may require detailed
study of the species on sites, perhaps providing a numeric
estimate (or a relative estimate for comparison between years),
or may be based on an assessment of the condition of the habitats.
This needs to be borne in mind when developing a monitoring
strategy. It is also worth considering who may be available
for undertaking such survey/monitoring work and making sure
that any records are forwarded to an appropriate records centre
or recording scheme.
Management and maintenance plans should also allow sufficient
flexibility to respond to the findings of the monitoring exercise.
This way plans can be fine-tuned to ensure that the most appropriate
management is being carried out for the target species.
(Provided
by and reproduced with permission of: English Nature)
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