Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) promotes desirable, stable, low-growing plant communities that resist invasion by tall-growing tree species. IVM enhances or maintains biodiversity to create habitat while balancing cost-effectiveness, environmental quality, and regulatory compliance.
Creating habitat using IVM involves:
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Setting specific conservation objectives, such as promoting healthy native plant communities, providing habitat for pollinators and small mammals, increasing habitat connectivity, and managing rights-of-way as wildlife movement corridors.
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Implementing a combination of control methods, including chemical (herbicides), biological (using living organisms), mechanical (mowing, pruning), and manual (hand-cutting).
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Establishing diverse native plant species that naturally resist tall-growing vegetation.
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Reducing habitat fragmentation and creating transition landscapes like meadows supports various wildlife species, including threatened and endangered ones.
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Monitoring results and adjusting management strategies based on data-driven feedback.
Benefits of IVM in habitat creation include improved native plant and songbird habitats, reduced runoff and control of invasive species, enhanced wildlife diversity and movement, cost-effective vegetation management, and increased ecological value of managed areas like utility rights-of-way. IVM-created habitats can serve as important wildlife corridors, especially in areas where natural habitats are lost to development, providing crucial spaces for species to thrive and maintain existence.
