Golf Environment Organization

The diversity and richness of wildlife on a golf course can be directly correlated to the provision of habitats.  Habitats are ecological areas that are inhabited by particular species.  The provision and value of habitats is closely related to the provision and value of ecosystems.

The value of a habitat, and the types of species to be found is directly influenced by the habitat's size, diversity, positioning, shape, structure, maturity and naturalness. These are all formal terms used in evaluating the ecological importance of a habitat.

Decisions over how best to create, enhance or manage habitats can only be fully informed following ecological assessment and evaluation of habitats and species, both on and close to the site.

By developing a sound understanding of the wildlife inhabiting their courses, course managers can identify the most appropriate ecological action to take. In doing so they can make an important contribution to the conservation of biodiversity, the diversity of living things inhabiting their courses.

There are many ways of encouraging wildlife on golf courses. Often this can be best achieved by relaxing vegetation management rather than micro-managing naturalised areas.

Only when you have a more detailed understanding of the ecology of your golf course, should you contemplate more direct actions, such as creating new habitats, or modifying existing ones. Knowledge of the ecological value of your course is also relevant to legal compliance. There are an ever increasing number of regulations relating to the protection of species and habitats.

It is important to remember that, for an effective assessment of the ecology of a site, the survey must extend beyond the boundary. The interaction between ecosystems and between habitats is immeasurable and it is only through experience that a good understanding of survey findings can be achieved. To some extent, the ecological complexity of the site will determine the detail of survey and evaluation required. While a detailed survey itemising all the interactions may be quite time-consuming, on the other hand ‘walkover’ surveys such as ‘Phase One’ surveys can be extremely effective in building an understanding of the site ecology.

Understanding ecological value and potential

Identifying the habitats and species found on site is not enough in itself. Considered evaluation is crucial in developing a true picture of the ecological value and potential of the course.

The relative rarity of habitats and associated species at local, national and international level should be considered with regard to their sensitivity to external and internal change and disruption. How do the habitats compare with others within the same classification? How representative are they to what is found elsewhere? From this can be derived information on how heavily modified they have been.

Another important aspect when determining whether habitat damage can be mitigated, is to consider how easily that habitat can be recreated in terms of time required and ultimate success. The continuity of existing habitats, evaluated in terms of change over time and maturity, is one of the final aspects that must be evaluated.

Ultimately, when key habitat factors have been considered, the potential for enhancing and creating new habitats should be established. Which will bring the better ecological outcome - intervention or succession?

Management

The audit and evaluation of habitats and species is the starting point. Considering the appropriate form of management for a given habitat is the next step. When defining management actions it is important first of all to consider the option of no intervention. i.e. what would happen to the ecological value of the habitat if it were left to evolve naturally, without any form of management.  In many situations such an approach will be of considerable benefit, allowing semi natural habitats such as managed grassland to naturalise and develop more complex plant and animal communities.

However, in other cases, allowing the natural process of succession to take place, can actually lead to an overall decline in ecological value and a movement away from achieving the priority ecological goals for a site. The active management of lowland heath vegetation, or wetlands are but two examples of situtations where human intervention is desirable to retain the valuable niche transitional habitats, that would otherwise 'succeed' into more common scrub and semi-natural woodland habitats. Of course this is where detailed knowledge of priority species and their specific eccology is vital, taking the guesswork out of exactly what priority plants and animals need in order to survive.

In certain cases, allowing the natural process of succession to take place, can actually lead to an overall decline in ecological value and a movement away from achieving the priority ecological goals for a site.

Fortunately, in a golf course context, it is usually possible to balance management decisions based on ecological and golfing need. In most circumstances, the ideal form of ecological management will include a combination of carefully targeted intervention in certain areas, with a policy of zero intervention in others. In this way, golf courses can help to naturalise land that would otherwise be too intensively managed, and intervene in key areas that would otherwise degrade through natural succession. The investment of time, labour and finance that a golf facility can bring to its immediate and more remote surroundings can be harnessed to protect or enhance the conservation value of habitats.

Many large scale golf developments have demonstrated this in the way that they have brought large neighbouring areas under conservation management in collaboration with ecological experts and the local community, as mitigation for unavoidable impacts.

In this way, in certain circumstances golf development may be viewed as positive, presenting opportunities for nature conservation which otherwise may only have been dreamt of.

See the section on New Development Guidelines, EIA and mitigation for more information.

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