Chapter 10 Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach

1. Chapter 10Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach Created by: Claire Patton & Nicole Shadid

2. vocabulary • Clear-cutting -method of timber harvesting in which all trees in a forested area are removed in a single cutting. • Conservation biology -multidisciplinary science created to deal with the crisis of maintaining the genes, species, communities, and ecosystems that make up earth's biological diversity. Its goals are to investigate human impacts on biodiversity and to develop practical approaches to preserving biodiversity. • Controlled burning -deliberately set, carefully controlled surface fires that reduce flammable litter and decrease the chances of damaging crown fires. See ground fire, surface fire. • Crown fire -extremely hot forest fire that burns ground vegetation and treetops. • Debt-for-nature swap -agreement in which a certain amount of foreign debt is canceled in exchange for local currency investments that will improve natural resource management or protect certain areas in the debtor country from harmful development. • Deforestation -removal of trees from a forested area without adequate replanting. • Ecological restoration -deliberate alteration of a degraded habitat or ecosystem to restore as much of its ecological structure and function as possible. • Even-aged management -method of forest management in which trees, sometimes of a single species in a given stand, are maintained at about the same age and size and are harvested all at once. • Ground fire -fire that burns decayed leaves or peat deep below the ground surface.

3. More vocabulary!! • Instrumental value -value of an organism, species, ecosystem, or the earth's biodiversity based on its usefulness to us. • Intrinsic value -value of an organism, species, ecosystem, or the earth's biodiversity based on its existence, regardless of whether it has any usefulness to us. • Old-growth forest -virgin and old, second-growth forests containing trees that are often hundreds, sometimes thousands of years old. Examples include forests of Douglas fir, western hemlock, giant sequoia, and coastal redwoods in the western United States. • Overgrazing -destruction of vegetation when too many grazing animals feed too long and exceed the carrying capacity of a rangeland or pasture area. pasture Managed grassland or enclosed meadow that usually is planted with domesticated grasses or other forage to be grazed by livestock. • Rangeland -land that supplies forage or vegetation (grasses, grasslike plants, and shrubs) for grazing and browsing animals and is not intensively managed. • Reforestation -renewal of trees and other types of vegetation on land where trees have been removed; can be done naturally by seeds from nearby trees or artificially by planting seeds or seedlings. • Restoration Ecology -research and scientific study devoted to restoring, repairing, and reconstructing damaged ecosystems. riparian zones Thin strips and patches of vegetation that surround streams. They are very important habitats and resources for wildlife. second-growth forest Stands of trees resulting from secondary ecological succession.

4. Last of the vocabulary!! • Selective cutting -cutting of intermediate-aged, mature, or diseased trees in an uneven-aged forest stand, either singly or in small groups. This encourages the growth of younger trees and maintains an uneven-aged stand. • Strip cutting -a variation of clear-cutting in which a strip of trees is clear-cut along the contour of the land, with the corridor narrow enough to allow natural regeneration within a few years. After regeneration, another strip is cut above the first, and so on. • Surface fire - forest fire that burns only undergrowth and leaf litter on the forest floor. • Tree farm/Tree plantation -site planted with one or only a few tree species in an even-aged stand. When the stand matures it is usually harvested by clear-cutting and then replanted. These farms normally are used to grow rapidly growing tree species for fuelwood, timber, or pulpwood. See even-aged management. • Undergrazing -reduction of the net primary productivity of grassland vegetation and grass cover from absence of grazing for long periods (at least 5 years). • Uneven-aged management -method of forest management in which trees of different species in a given stand are maintained at many ages and sizes to permit continuous natural regeneration. • Utilitarian value -instrumental value: Value of an organism, species, ecosystem, or the earth's biodiversity based on its usefulness to us. • Wilderness -area where the earth and its community of life have not been seriously disturbed by humans and where humans are only temporary visitors.

5. Objectives • How have human activities affected the earth’s biodiversity? -We have depleted and degraded some of the earth’s biodiversity and these threats are expected to increase. • How should forest resources be used, managed, and sustained globally and in the United States? -We can use forests more sustainably by emphasizing the economic value of their ecological services, harvesting tress no faster than they are replenished, and protecting old-growth and vulnerable areas. • How serious is tropical deforestation, and how can we help sustain tropical forests? -Large areas of ecologically and economically important tropical forests are being cleared and degrades at a fast rate. There are a number of ways to slow and reduce the deforestation and degradation of tropical forests. Examples such as learning how to practice small-scale sustainable agriculture and forestry, sustainably harvest some of the renewable resources, and use strip-cutting to harvest trees for lumber.

6. Objectives…continued • How should rangeland resources be used, managed, and sustained? -We can sustain rangeland productivity by controlling the number and distribution of livestock and by restoring degraded rangeland. • What problems do parks face, and how should we manage them? -National parks in the United States face many threats. Popularity is one of the biggest problems of many national and state parks. In some parks off-road vehicles degrade the aesthetic experience for many visitors, destroy or damage fragile vegetation, and disturb wildlife. Also many parks suffer damage from the migration or deliberate introduction of nonnative species. • How should we establish, design, protect, and manage terrestrial nature reserves? -Ecologists call for protecting more land to help sustain biodiversity, the powerful economic and political interests opposed doing this. Large and medium-sized reserves with buffer zones help protect biodiversity and can be connected by corridors.

7. Objectives…moreand last • What is wilderness, and why is it important? -Wilderness is land legally set aside in a large enough area to prevent or minimize harm from human activities. The most important reasons for protecting wilderness and other areas from exploitation and degradation are to preserve their biodiversity as a vital part of Earth’s natural capital and to protect them as centers for evolution in response to mostly unpredictable changes in environmental conditions. • What is ecological restoration, and why is it important? -The process of repairing damage caused by humans to the biodiversity and dynamics of natural ecosystems. There is some concern that ecological restoration could promote further environmental destruction and degradation. • What can we do to help sustain the Earth’s terrestrial biodiversity? • Adopt a forest. • Plant trees and take care of them. • Restore a nearby degraded forest or grassland. • Recycle paper and buy recycled paper products. • Live in town because suburban sprawl reduces biodiversity.

8. Goodbye…..