CHAPTER IV: WILDLIFE HABITATS FOR MISSISSIPPI’S SGCN,
THREATS AND CONSERVATION ACTIONS^28416.1 Urban and Suburban Lands
Value to SGCN - 11
Rank - 27th of 29 of Inland Terrestrial
Complexes
(Terrestrial, Wetland, Subterranean and Anthropogenic)DESCRIPTION
A growing portion of the total land mass of Mississippi,
nearly two percent of the state, is regarded as urban or
suburban land. Urban and suburban lands contain numerous residential, commercial and industrial
buildings, extensive paved areas and are heavily impacted by construction activities. With the increased
concentration of people in urban and suburban areas, there is an increase in: reliance on purchased
goods, appliances, and synthetic packaging; volume of waste products to dispose; in air and water
pollution from industrial as well as residential sources, such as pesticides and fertilizers used on gardens
and lawns. With the higher percentage of paved surfaces, there is also an increased amount of runoff
and flash flooding, causing a degradation of water quality of streams below these areas. Vacant lots,
landscaped yards, vegetable gardens and fruit orchards, and wooded areas along drainages provide some
habitats beneficial to wildlife. There are numerous native and migratory animals that spend part or all of
their lives inside the city limits. An animal's response to urbanization depends on its natural habits.
Habitat generalists, such as mockingbirds, house wrens, mourning doves and grackles may actually
increase in urban environments. These birds tend to be edge species, short-distance migrants which are
seed-eating or omnivorous by nature. These habitat generalists and others, including such mammals as
opossums, raccoons and squirrels, are able to find food and shelter in a variety of ways and can survive
quite well in simplified urban habitats.
LOCATION, SIZE, CONDITION AND CONSERVATION STATUS
NGM, EGCP, UEGCP, MSRAP
Urban and suburban lands encompass one to two percent of the land area of
Mississippi, nearly 400,000 acres of land. Urban lands are defined by the high
percentage of impervious surfaces — pavement, buildings, and parking lots —
that are developed there. The urban centers have populations that range in sizes
from a few thousand to nearly a million people in the coastal metropolitan band
of cities, extending from Ocean Springs in the east to Waveland at the western
border. The urban lands are surrounded by less developed areas usually
consisting hardwood and pine forests and cutover areas, agriculture fields and
wetlands along the creeks and rivers.
SGCN species are rarely found in urban and suburban areas partially due to the loss of habitat for these
species and the increased pollution levels that occurs in these areas. However, some species of wildlife,
Range of Urban and
Suburban Lands