Future Land Use Changes will Increase Dove Populations
On the left side of the picture is no-till farming with cover crop after corn harvest.
On the right side of the picture is also no-till farming without cover crop after corn harvest.
We are not suggesting the cover crops necessarily benefit mourning doves but rather that either form of no-till farming leaves waste grain uncovered and available for mourning doves.
On the right side of the picture is also no-till farming without cover crop after corn harvest.
We are not suggesting the cover crops necessarily benefit mourning doves but rather that either form of no-till farming leaves waste grain uncovered and available for mourning doves.
Another trend favoring mourning dove populations is sustainable gardening. These gardens are designed in a layer system that is very favorable to mourning doves. We are not suggesting to hunt in people's backyards, however, mourning doves are a migratory species and habitat enhancements off limits to hunting, still benefit the hunter by increasing mourning dove populations.
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Mourning doves, unlike most wildlife, adapt well to human
activity and this is why populations have expanded in distribution and size
over the last 200 years. More recently,
the practice of no-till farming and sustainable gardening have further boosted
dove populations and expanded their distribution. The trend toward no-till
farming and sustainable gardening is expected to grow and alongside those
practices, the size and distributions of mourning dove populations will also
grow.
Although home gardens and growing your own vegetables is nothing new of an idea for certain people, having sustainable home gardens is becoming more popular. Sustainable gardens are often filled with varieties of trees, shrubs, herbs, vegetables and flowers. Large, medium, small, and extra small yards filled with sustainable gardens are starting to dot the landscape as a shift from store bought to home grown becomes an ever-growing trend among people who want to eat more locally and more healthy. This growing movement can even be seen in all types of areas from the rural homes to the downtown urban areas, such as Portland and Chicago. And it is not just the USA that is partaking in this movement to grow your own groceries, Mexico and Canada, are also starting to see an upswing in the number of households with sustainable gardens. With an increase in these gardens and the amount of available diverse food, mourning doves will have access to more food and cover. More local sustainable gardens mean more mourning doves, as their foraging strategy lends themselves to increase with the number of gardens and available forage, nesting, and roosting acreage.
Not only are sustainable home gardens increasing the amount of doves, rural farms are starting to adopt no-till farming methods which will also increase the amount of doves. No-till farming is a method of farming that increases the amount of waste grain left on the surface of the soil. Normally, when farms till the soil the grains get covered or tilled back into the ground after harvest, leaving very little left on the surface. With the no-till farming method, a method that is becoming ever popular because of rising gas prices, a lot more waste grain gets left on the surface of the soil. Sometimes no-till farming also increases the amount of natural food available to doves in addition to the waste grain. In addition to natural foods and increased waste grain, no-till farming sometimes incorporates the use of cover crops, typically wheat, sown between the rows of the primary crop. The seeds of these cover crops, may provide additional food for mourning doves. Thus, the increase in practice of no-till agriculture and large expanses of no-till acreage are highly favorable to the mourning dove.
It is important to understand that both of these trends are growing and here to stay. Therefore, dove populations can be expected to remain large and widespread. Very likely, becoming even larger and more widespread.
Although home gardens and growing your own vegetables is nothing new of an idea for certain people, having sustainable home gardens is becoming more popular. Sustainable gardens are often filled with varieties of trees, shrubs, herbs, vegetables and flowers. Large, medium, small, and extra small yards filled with sustainable gardens are starting to dot the landscape as a shift from store bought to home grown becomes an ever-growing trend among people who want to eat more locally and more healthy. This growing movement can even be seen in all types of areas from the rural homes to the downtown urban areas, such as Portland and Chicago. And it is not just the USA that is partaking in this movement to grow your own groceries, Mexico and Canada, are also starting to see an upswing in the number of households with sustainable gardens. With an increase in these gardens and the amount of available diverse food, mourning doves will have access to more food and cover. More local sustainable gardens mean more mourning doves, as their foraging strategy lends themselves to increase with the number of gardens and available forage, nesting, and roosting acreage.
Not only are sustainable home gardens increasing the amount of doves, rural farms are starting to adopt no-till farming methods which will also increase the amount of doves. No-till farming is a method of farming that increases the amount of waste grain left on the surface of the soil. Normally, when farms till the soil the grains get covered or tilled back into the ground after harvest, leaving very little left on the surface. With the no-till farming method, a method that is becoming ever popular because of rising gas prices, a lot more waste grain gets left on the surface of the soil. Sometimes no-till farming also increases the amount of natural food available to doves in addition to the waste grain. In addition to natural foods and increased waste grain, no-till farming sometimes incorporates the use of cover crops, typically wheat, sown between the rows of the primary crop. The seeds of these cover crops, may provide additional food for mourning doves. Thus, the increase in practice of no-till agriculture and large expanses of no-till acreage are highly favorable to the mourning dove.
It is important to understand that both of these trends are growing and here to stay. Therefore, dove populations can be expected to remain large and widespread. Very likely, becoming even larger and more widespread.