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What is an ‘Ecosystem’?

What is an ‘Ecosystem’?. What is an ‘Ecosystem’?. Alfred Tansley (1935): Ecosystem is the “basic unit of nature”. Ecosystem = abiotic + biotic + interactions. Ecosystems linked by movement of material and individuals. Vegetation, erosion and runoff . 2. Energy Dissipation. 1. Transpiration.

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What is an ‘Ecosystem’?

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  1. What is an ‘Ecosystem’?

  2. What is an ‘Ecosystem’? Alfred Tansley (1935): Ecosystem is the “basic unit of nature” Ecosystem = abiotic + biotic + interactions Ecosystems linked by movement of material and individuals

  3. Vegetation, erosion and runoff 2. Energy Dissipation 1. Transpiration 1. Runoff volume 2. Rainfall scour 3. Soil infiltration 4. Erosion 4. Soil Binding 3. Decomposition

  4. Downstream consequences • Clearing: increased erosion;increased runoff;reduced biodiversity Overfishing, Climate, Crown-of-Thorns, etc. Mangrove changes Coral death Algal increase

  5. Ridge to Reef Management • Addresses interactions between humans and the environment over multiples scales to preserve and restore ecosystems and ecosystem linkages

  6. Threats to Connectivity • Land use change • Population increase • Fishing pressure • Climate change

  7. Climate Change Benefits • Resilient ecosystems more readily able to recover from disturbance • Secure, clean water provisioning • Terrestrial, freshwater and marine food security preserved • Human health risks reduced

  8. Global Development and Water Quality • Global Land Cover Change • Population 4-fold increase since 1900, 9 billion by 2050 • 466% increase in cultivated land between 1700-1980 • Croplands and pastures now cover 40% of all landscapes • ~700% increase in fertiliser use over past 40 years • Soil loss rates at least 10x greater than soil formation rates • Runoff Threats to Reefs • Oxygen-depleted seafloor zones • COTS outbreaks • Favorable to macroalgae • Low hard coral abundance adjacent to agricultural regions (Van Woesik et al. 1999, Fabricius et al. 2005) Foley et al. 2005

  9. Water Quality and Ecosystem State 1. Changes to terrestrial catchment/water quality  2. Changes to water quality at the reef 3. Coral reef ecosystem response (ideally) - OR - 4. Logical links between present day ecosystem state and frequency/intensity of terrestrial exposure

  10. Incorporating EBM at National Scale Integrated Coastal Management Committee:Developing National Coastal Plan Framework Protected Area Committee:Prioritizing connectivity between Terrestrial, Freshwater and Marine PAs Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area Network:Upscaling management activities to adjacent catchments Demonstration Projects:WANI, CTI, Nadi Basin, etc.

  11. Protected Area Goals I: Biodiversity • 635 reef fish species predicted for Kubulau, 716 for Macuata • High endemism (~5% of Kubulau fish) • Comparable diversity to sites in PNG and Indo(Marnane et al. 2003) Mesopristes kneri

  12. Initial Network Design: Data CollectionTraditional Ecological Knowledge

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