Laserfiche WebLink
and vertebrate and invertebrate aquatic organisms (Marshall and <br />Miquelle 1978). <br />The impacts to faunal species as a result of peatland <br />excavation are related to: 1) the extraction process; 2) the <br />habitat needs of the particular species; and, 3) the quality of <br />the habitat destroyed (MDNR 1981). The impacts may be either <br />short or long term depending on the particular circumstances, and <br />the success of restoration activities. <br />Impacts related to the excavation process primarily concern <br />the destruction of habitat when vegetation is removed from the <br />site. Drainage impacts though, may be significant enough to <br />cause changes in species composition within the surrounding <br />upland area, especially if drainage is extensive. Excavated <br />areas, and drainage ditches in particular, may also pose a <br />barrier to the movement of species within their home range. <br />Wildlife species with relatively broad habitat requirements <br />will endure the impacts related to peat extraction more easily <br />than those with narrower requirements. However, species that are <br />uniquely dependant on the peatland environment may not migrate <br />out and as a result would be eliminated entirely. Also, the <br />presence of drainage ditches and roadbeds could easily impede the <br />movement of small, relatively slow- moving species such as <br />reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals and thereby cause them to <br />be exterminated from the site during the land clearing process <br />alone (Carpenter and Farmer 1981). <br />0 51 <br />