Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach Chapter 11 Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach

If trout survives in pH 7-9, what H ion does this represent? 1 X 10-7 to 1 X 10-9

Core Case Study: Reintroducing Wolves to Yellowstone Endangered Species 1850-1900 two million wolves were destroyed. Keystone Species Keeps prey away from open areas near stream banks. Vegetation reestablishes. Species diversity expands. Figure 10-1

Why should we care about biodiversity? Biodiversity helps maintain ecosystem function and ecosystem services Biodiversity enhances food security Diverse organisms provide drugs and medicines Biodiversity generates economic benefits through tourism and recreation

Why Should We Care About Biodiversity? Use Value: For the usefulness in terms of economic and ecological services, instrumental value Nonuse Value: existence, aesthetics, intrinsic or existence value, bequest for future generations. Figure 10-3

What is conservation biology? The scientific discipline devoted to understanding the factors, forces, and processes that influence the loss, protection, and restoration of biological diversity within and among ecosystems What are hot spots? The most endangered and species rich ecosystems.

MANAGING AND SUSTAINING FORESTS Forests provide a number of ecological and economic services that researchers have attempted to estimate their total monetary value. Figure 10-4

What are the four principles that biologists and environmentalists advocate concerning the management of public lands. The primary goal should be protecting biodiversity and wildlife. Subsidies/tax breaks should not go to anyone who takes resources from public lands. Fair compensation should come to Americans from use of these lands. Users/ extractors on public land should pay for environmental damage they cause.

Has the government followed these guidelines? In recent years, the government has given more than $1 billion a year in subsidies to privately owned mining, logging, and grazing interests using public lands. What other laws are special interest groups fighting for?

Types of Forests Old-growth forest: uncut or regenerated forest that has not been seriously disturbed for several hundred years. 22% of world’s forest. Hosts many species with specialized niches. Figure 10-5

Types of Forests Second-growth forest: a stand of trees resulting from natural secondary succession. Tree plantation: planted stands of a particular tree species. Figure 10-6

The earth’s forests have been reduced 20-50% and this % is still growing TODAY If conditions do not change in the next 10-20 years, 40% of the world’s remaining forests will have been logged.

Case Study: Deforestation and the Fuelwood Crisis Almost half the people in the developing world face a shortage of fuelwood and charcoal. In Haiti, 98% of country is deforested. MIT scientist has found a way to make charcoal from spent sugarcane.

Harvesting Trees Building roads into previously inaccessible forests paves the way for fragmentation, destruction, and degradation. Figure 10-8

Harvesting Trees Trees can be harvested individually from diverse forests (selective cutting), an entire forest can be cut down (clear cutting), or portions of the forest is harvested (e.g. strip cutting). Figure 10-9

Harvesting Trees Effects of clear-cutting in the state of Washington, U.S. Figures 10-10 and 10-11

Three types of fires affect forest ecosystems Surface fires- burn underbrush, burn leaf litter, and most seedlings, but most wildlife survive Crown fires- extremely hot and leap from treetop to treetop Ground fires- most common in northern peat bogs where they go underground and burn decaying matter

Solutions: Controversy Over Fire Management In 2003, U.S. Congress passed the Healthy Forest Restoration Act: Allows timber companies to cut medium and large trees in 71% of the national forests. In return, must clear away smaller, more fire-prone trees and underbrush. Some forest scientists believe this could increase severe fires by removing fire resistant trees and leaving highly flammable slash.

The most common use of trees worldwide is as Pulp in paper production Lumber for building Fuelwood Raw material in the manufacture of various synthetics Medicines

Forests remove ___ from and add ___ to the atmosphere. Nitrogen …… oxygen Oxygen …… nitrogen Carbon dioxide …… oxygen Oxygen …… carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide …… sulfur dioxide

Which of the following is a commercially used method for harvesting trees and is most likely to lead to fragmented landscape with serious impacts on biodiversity? Selective cutting Clear-cutting Shelter-wood cutting Slash and burn clearing Gleaning

Which of the following is the best illustration of the tragedy of the commons? Depletion of fishing stocks in the North Atlantic Collective farming of white grapes in communities in France Using National Forests for wood production and harvesting Allocation of all nuclear wastes to one site in Nevada Agreements among western ranchers to jointly manage common grazing land

The largest area of old-growth forest in the U.S. is located in California Montana Alaska Michigan North Carolina

If an area was originally forested and then underwent urban development, which of the following shows the most likely effect on various parts of the water cycle in the area? Evaporation & Transpiration Runoff Groundwater Recharge A B C D E

A field is abandoned and an invasive plant that can live in nutrient-poor soil moves into the field. If the land is later cleared of this invasive species and it is discovered that the soil has an abundance of nitrogen compounds, what conclusion can best be made? The plants used up all of the phosphorus and potassium and left nitrogen behind Primary succession always produces an abundance of nitrogen Bacteria in soil and root nodules converted free nitrogen into nitrogen compounds The plants were able to produce nitrogen in their leaves More rock was weathered and broke down to release nitrogen compounds

APES students will evaluate the rules associated with various federal land designations and the current strategies being used to protect important ecosystems in order to defend a proposal for the usage of a parcel of land. 

CASE STUDY: TROPICAL DEFORESTATION At least half of the world’s terrestrial plant and animal species live in tropical rain forests. Large areas of tropical forest are burned to make way for cattle ranches and crops. Figure 10-17

Why Should We Care about the Loss of Tropical Forests? About 2,100 of the 3,000 plants identified by the National Cancer Institute as sources of cancer-fighting chemicals come from tropical forests. Figure 10-18

What can be done to reduce deforestation? Help settlers learn methods to practice small-scale sustainable agriculture Harvest sustainable fruits and nut from the rainforest Use dept-for-nature swaps Develop an international system for certifying tropical timber is produced by sustainable methods Governments and individuals can reforest

Kenya’s Green Belt Movement: Individuals Matter Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement. The main goal is to organize poor women to plant (for fuelwood) and protect millions of trees. In 2004, awarded Nobel peace prize. Figure 10-10A

MANAGING AND SUSTAINING GRASSLANDS Almost half of the world’s livestock graze on natural grasslands (rangelands) and managed grasslands (pastures). We can sustain rangeland productivity by controlling the number and distribution of livestock and by restoring degraded rangeland.

MANAGING AND SUSTAINING GRASSLANDS Example of restored area along the San Pedro River in Arizona after 10 years of banning grazing and off-road vehicles. Figure 10-22

NATIONAL PARKS Worldwide ~ 1,100 national parks, but most are threatened by human activities. Local people invade park for wood, cropland, and other natural resources. Loggers, miners, and wildlife poachers also deplete natural resources. Many are too small to sustain large-animal species. Many suffer from invasive species.

NATURE RESERVES Ecologists call for protecting more land to help sustain biodiversity, but opposition exists Reserves protect biodiversity and can be connected by corridors. Costa Rica has 8 megareserves designed to sustain 80% if its biodiversity.

34 hotspots identified by ecologists as important and endangered centers of biodiversity. Figure 10-26

NATURE RESERVES Wilderness is land legally set aside in a large enough area to prevent or minimize harm from human activities. Only a small percentage of the land area of the United States has been protected as wilderness.

ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION Restoration: trying to return to a condition as similar as possible to original state. Rehabilitation: attempting to turn a degraded ecosystem back to being functional. Replacement: replacing a degraded ecosystem with another type of ecosystem. Creating artificial ecosystems: such as artificial wetlands for flood reduction and sewage treatment.

Most commercial logging today takes place in Europe Canada, Russia, and Brazil The U.S. Australia and Indonesia Mexico and Indonesia

Wilderness areas _____ Allow hunting as long as proper permits are acquired Are off-limits to development of any kind Were set-up under the George W. Bush administration Were set-up under the wise-use movement of the 1980s Include Yellowstone in Wyoming

Second-growth forests ____. Are those forests in the National Parks that are protected from logging. Include much of the rainforests in Costa Rica. In North America are mostly in British Columbia and Alaska Are forests that establish themselves after virgin timber has been removed from an area. Are less abundant on Earth today than they were 500 years ago.

The Healthy Forests Restoration Act ____ national forest land. Was passed in 1976 with the intent to ensure multiple use and sustainable yield of Restricts the use of snowmobiles on Offers subsidies to timber companies if they replant areas in Was passed to set up the formation of land trusts on Directs timber companies to remove small trees, underbrush, and dead trees to reduce fires in

Which of the following gave the president authority to declare selected public lands as national monuments? The Homesteaders Act The Swampland Act The Wilderness Act The Antiquities Act The National Parks Act

In certain biomes a wetter-than-normal winter often leads to greater severity of fires the following summer. This seeming paradox occurs because increased rain leads to Higher pollination rates of annual flowers Greater accumulation of chaparral biomass Greater recreational use of parklands Greater erosion and damage of access roads Decreased summer rainfall

Which of the following is the most dangerous type of fire? Surface Crown Prescribed Ground Cool