| Parameter |
Guideline |
| Percent
forest cover |
At
least 30 percent of the AOC watershed should be in forest cover. |
| Size
of largest forest patch |
A
watershed or other land unit should have at least one 200 ha
forest patch which is a minimum 500 m in width. |
| Percent
of watershed that is forest cover 100 m and 200
m from forest edge |
The
proportion of the watershed that is forest cover 100 m
or further from the forest edge should be greater than 10 percent.
The proportion of the watershed that is forest cover 200
m or further from the forest edge should be greater than
five percent. |
| Forest
shape |
To
be of maximum use to species such as forest breeding birds that
are intolerant of edge habitat, forest patches should be circular
or square in shape. |
| Proximity
to other forested patches |
To
be of maximum use to species such as forest-interior birds,
forest patches should be within two km of one another or other
supporting habitat features. |
| Fragmented
landscapes and the role of corridors |
Connectivity
width will vary depending on the objectives of the project and
the attributes of the nodes that will be connected. Corridors
designed to facilitate species movement should be a minimum
of 50 m to 100 m in width. Corridors
designed to accommodate breeding habitat for specialist species
need to be designed to meet the habitat requirements of those
target species. |
| Forest
quality — species composition and age structure |
Watershed
forest cover should be representative of the full diversity
of forest types found at that latitude. |
