. Critical trends in Illinois ecosystems. Ecological assessment (Biology); Environmental impact analysis; Nature; Pollution; Conservation of natural resources; Environmental quality. Both Ford and Champaign counties are among the top five counties in the portion of land that is farmed, with nearly 85% of the land area in agriculture. The 2,000-plus farms in the area produce high yields of both corn and soybeans — Champaign Counry currently ranks second in the state for crop cash receipts. However only 2% of the area workforce is engaged in farming and farm earnings accounted for 1% of area ear
. Critical trends in Illinois ecosystems. Ecological assessment (Biology); Environmental impact analysis; Nature; Pollution; Conservation of natural resources; Environmental quality. Both Ford and Champaign counties are among the top five counties in the portion of land that is farmed, with nearly 85% of the land area in agriculture. The 2,000-plus farms in the area produce high yields of both corn and soybeans — Champaign Counry currently ranks second in the state for crop cash receipts. However only 2% of the area workforce is engaged in farming and farm earnings accounted for 1% of area earnings in 1993. a drop of 60% since 1969. More than 13,000 acres have been set aside by the state or the various counties as state parks (Kickapoo), fish and wildlife areas (Middle Fork), or forest preserves. Threats Habitat Loss - In general, habitat loss to cropland appears to exceed rates for the state as a whole. Before settlement, 1S% of Headwaters land is thought to have been forest and almost all the rest supported grassland ecosystems such as prairie and , only about 2'% of the land remains in forest, buildings and roads take up nearly i"... and slightly more than 2% is open water and wetlands. Almost all the rest is agricultural land. Absence of fire - Naturally-occurring fires in Headwaters woods and fields have been suppressed to protect fields and buildings. However, the composition and striicliirc of many native plant communities demonstrate some level of fire dependency, and fire absence in these com- munities can result in profoimd changes, such as converting from prairie to shrub thicket or forest. Fragmentation - Construction of roads, fields, and houses divide forests, wetlands, and prairies into habitat "; Lsolatcd habitat fragments often cannot supply the resources needed by species with extensive home ranges. Some species are unable to disperse among these isolated frag- ments, which increase their risk of becoming local
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Keywords: ., bookauthorillinoisnaturalhistorysurveydivisi, booksubjectnature
