Masters Theses

Tim D. Pruitt

Date of Award

12-2001

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Wildlife and Fisheries Science

Major Professor

David A. Buehler

Committee Members

Donald D. Tyler, Paul M. Jakus

Abstract

This project was undertaken to determine the cost/benefit effects of creating temporary winter habitat for waterfowl by flooding harvested crop fields in winter. Provision of wintering habitat has become increasingly important to waterfowl managers, and the potential of using agricultural lands to replace lost wetlands is also more important than ever. Farmers and other landowners however, are not quick to turn over prime river-bottom farmland to wildlife managers without first knowing what the costs and benefits are to their agricultural production. Field studies were conducted at the West Tennessee Experiment Station from fall-1996 to fall-1999to document effects of winter flooding on soil fertility, weed control, soil retention (sedimentation), and crop production using three (3) different flooding regimes. Each winter we also monitored the numbers and species of wild birds (15,463 total) utilizing the flooded fields. Finally, we surveyed a sample of the landowners in Tennessee participating in the managed flooding (Tennessee Partners) project. From this survey we gained a general knowledge of their personal experiences with the project, documented their perceived effects to their farming operations, and personal opinions regarding the effects on both farming practices and waterbird management. Winter weed biomass decreased between treatments (control = 69.83; treatment 1 = 15.25; and treatment 2 = 18.11 g/m2) in 1999 (p = 0.010 and p = 0.006) in fields flooded for extensive periods of time, especially if water was held on those fields for 120 days. General soil conditions changed insignificantly between treatments; pH (p = 0.962, 0.808 and 0.148), phosphorus (p = 0.429, 0.565, and 0.676), potassium (p = 0.198, 0.311, and 0.377), and percent organic matter (p = 0.758, 0.395, and 0.421). There was no sign of soil loss (p = 0.878 and 0.480) during two annual surveys. Crop yields did not differ across treatments for 1997-99 (p = 0.879, 0.848, and 0.762). Soybean crop yields averaged 11.25 bu/ha, across all treatments and years, below the Madison county average. Any increases or declines in crop yields during the study period were attributed to normal farm practices, not to controlled winter flooding. Avian use of the area increased by 7,183 birds during the course of the project, however there was no significant difference between flood regimes (p = 0.959, 0.121, and 0.704). This lack of significant differences between treatments is largely due to counting all birds using all treatment cells. While shorebird/wading birds were using flooded cells, upland and passerine species could have been counted using the drier cells. Farmers and landowners interviewed were largely enthusiastic about this t5^e of winter flooding management with some claiming 50% reductions in cost to control winter weeds, and overwhelmingly supporting this effort to provide winter waterfowl habitat.

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