Terrestrial species and habitats

Abstract

The assessment of interior Columbia basin terrestrial species compared prehistoric, historical, and current terrestrial environments and plant and animal communities and looked closely at habitat changes that would affect sensitive vertebrates. We then projected three management scenarios and estimated future distributions of forest cover and other habitat elements on the viability of plant and animal populations. Among the implications for biodiversity conservation strategies; identifying and managing groups of species with similar ecological functions may be more effective than managing individual keystone species. The assessment also revealed gaps in our scientific knowledge of biodiversity in the region.