CORE Natural Resource Management Flashcards
7 cards from real CORE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 CORE Natural Resource Management flashcards as text
Which federal agency is primarily responsible for managing National Forests in the United States?
Answer: U.S. Forest Service
The U.S. Forest Service, part of the USDA, manages approximately 193 million acres of National Forest lands for multiple uses including timber, recreation, and wildlife habitat.
What is the primary purpose of a wildlife corridor?
Answer: To connect fragmented habitat patches allowing animal movement
Wildlife corridors link isolated habitat fragments, allowing animals to move between areas for breeding, foraging, and migration, which improves genetic diversity and population health.
A stream running through a forested area suddenly shows a spike in nitrate levels. What is the most likely cause?
Answer: Agricultural fertilizer runoff from nearby fields
Excess nitrates in waterways most commonly result from agricultural fertilizer runoff, which can cause algal blooms and hypoxic conditions harmful to aquatic life.
What does the term 'carrying capacity' refer to in wildlife management?
Answer: The maximum number of animals a habitat can sustainably support
Carrying capacity is the maximum population size that an environment can sustain indefinitely given available food, water, shelter, and space.
Which of the following best describes the concept of 'edge habitat'?
Answer: The boundary zone where two different habitat types meet
Edge habitat is the transitional zone between two different ecosystems, such as forest and meadow, and often supports higher biodiversity because species from both habitats can use it.
Prescribed burns are used by land managers primarily to:
Answer: Reduce fuel loads and promote habitat diversity
Prescribed burns reduce accumulated dead vegetation that could fuel catastrophic wildfires and stimulate new plant growth that benefits wildlife by creating diverse habitat structure.
What is 'riparian habitat' and why is it important for wildlife?
Answer: Vegetated areas along rivers and streams that support high biodiversity
Riparian habitat consists of the plant communities along stream and river banks; it provides water, food, and shelter for a disproportionately high number of wildlife species relative to its area.