APES Chapters 10+11 - Sustaining Terrestrial and Aquatic Biodiversity + Services : The Ecosystem Approach

Key Questions to Focus On: (NT)

What are the major threats to forest, grassland, aquatic ecosystems…?

What is the ecosystem approach to sustain biodiversity?

How can humans help sustain the Earth’s biodiversity?

Human Impacts on Biodiversity: review HIPPCO

1. Human Footprint

2. Disturbing the land

3. Destruction of wetlands

4. deforestation

5. Damaged aquatic biodiversity such as overfishing and Beverly damaging coral reefs

6. Premature extinctions

10-5 What is the ecosystem approach to sustaining biodiversity?

Remember there is a species approach (chapter 9) and a ecosystem approach.

Goal: Protect populations of species in their natural habitat

Strategy: Preserve sufficient areas of habitats in different biomes and aquatic systems

Tactics:

• Protect habitat through private purchase or governmental action

• Climate or reduce nonnative species from protected areas

• Manage protected areas to sustain native species

• Restore degraded ecosystems

review for the species approach

Goal: protect species from premature extinction

Strategy:

• Identity endangered species

• protect their critical habitat

Tactics:

• Legally protect endangered species

• mango habitat

• propagate endangered species in captivity

• reintroduce species

Ecosystem Approach Summary

We can help sustain terrestrial biodiversity by identifying and protecting severly threatned areas (bio hotspots), sustaining ecosystem services, restoring damaged ecosys. (using restoration ecology), and sharing with other species(rehabilitation ecology)

Biodiversity Hotspot

Area especially rich in plant or animals species.

• Contains at least 1500 native plant species

• in great danger of species extinction (already lost at least 70% of original habitat)

• A unique area with species found nowhere else.

Ecological Restoration

the process of repairing damage cuased by huaman to ecosys

ex. replanting, reintroducing native species, removing invasive species, removing dams

10-1 What are the major threats to FOREST ecosystems?

• Unsustainable cutting and burning of forests

• diseases and insects

• Climate change

Types of Forests

1. Old Growth/primary forest - not seriously disrupted for at least several 100 years

2. Second Growth - results from secondary succession

3. Tree farm/plantation/commerical - managed tract of uniformly aged trees of 1 or 2 species, Clear cut when commercially valuable, then replanted. Less diverse and sustainable than old or 2nd.

Types of forest management:

1. Even aged

2. Rotation cycles

3. uneven-aged management

Even-aged management for forests:

Trees maintained at about the same age and size - simplified tree plantation where 1 to 2 fast growing species harvested on rotation cycle (ex. Christmas tree farm)

industry forestry

unsustainable

Ex. Clear-cutting, seed tree method, shelter wood method

Clear Cutting Consequences:

1. Reduced biodiversity

2. Disrupts ecosystem services

3. destroys and fragments habitat

4. increases soil erosion + land openings

5. increases sediment water pollution + flooding

6. elicited recreation value for decades

   H and O from Hippco

Degredation of Forests from logging roads:

1. Increased erosion and sediment runoff

2. habitat frag

3. biodiversity loss

4. pathways for pests and invasive species

5. more accesible to humans **

Tropical Deforestation

• Rapid and increasing with major consequences in loss of biodiversity + climate change (through burning and the release of Co2)

• Causes: pop growth, poverty, gov. subsides, debt, failure to value eco services

Rotation Cycles for Forests:

25-30 years (temperate), 6-10 (tropical)

Ex. Strip cutting (more sustainable than even aged management)

Uneven aged management for forests:

Variety of species with range of ages and sizes.

Goals: biodiversity

most sustainable high quality timber

Ex. Selective cutting

Ecological Services of Forests

1. Support energy flow and chemical cycling

2. Reduce soil erosion

3. absorb and release water

4. purify water and air

5. influence local and regional climate

6. store carbon **

7. provide wildlife habitat

   ecological services > Econ ones

Economical Services of Forests

1. fuelwood

2. lumber

3. paper

4. mining

5. livestock grazing

6. recreation

7. jobs

Protecting tropical forests

Protect + Restore ***

• laws, punishment, ecological focused subsides, reduce poverty…impacting rapid pop growth

3 types of Fires:

1. Surface Fires - Least intense as mature trees and animals escape, help prevent more destructive fires, free mineral nutrients from decomposing, release seeds, simulate germination, help control diseases…benefits**

2. Crown Fires - more intense and destructive of life

3. Ground Fires - common in peat bogs or where there is significant dead wood (can be intense)

10-2How should we manage and sustain forests?

Minimize forest damage from fire

• Prescribed burnings

• allow small fires in national parks + forests if humans not threatened

• defensible space - clear 200ft sound buildings

  No clear cutting more selective and strip instead

  Leave dead trees for habitat and nutrient cycling

  Include ecological services of forests in estimating Econ value

  Use Kenaf, Bamboo and other fast growing plants for pulp, paper…

Surface Fire Ecological Benefits

• Burn away flammable grund such as dry bush

• free valauble minerals

• ‘release seeds

• simulate germination of some trees like the ginat sequio

• help to control tree diseases and destrctive insects

10 - 3 How should we manage and sustain grasslands?

Controlling the numbers and distribution of grazing livestock and by restoring degraded grasslands.

Grasslands ecological services:

1. Soil formation

2. erosion control

3. nutrient cycling

4. storage of atmospheric CO2 in biomass**

5. maintenance of biodiversity

Rangelands:

unfenced supply vegetation, for grazing and browsing animals.

pastures

managed grasslands often planted with domesticted grasses like clover

Overgrazing:

Caused a loss In productivity in as much as 20% of the worlds rangeland.

Ways to reduce overgrazing:

1. Control grazing animal #

2. rotational grazing

3. provide supplemental feed

4. supress growth of invader plants

Ecological Restoration:

Process of repairing damage caused by humans to biodiversity and natural ecosystems

• Includes restoration, rehabilitation, and replacement

• Creating artificial ecosystems

Principles of ecological restoration:

1. mimc nature

2. recreate important ecological niches

3. rely on pioneer, keystone and foundation species and natural ecological succession

4. control or remove non-native species

10-4 How should we manage and sustain parks and nature reserves?

Value and Protect

Types of US Public Lands:

1. Multiple-use lands - Natural Resource Lands (BLM) uses National Forests (lumber, recreation, biodiversity)

2. Moderately restricted use lands — CONSERVATION: Natural Wildlife Refuges managed by US fish and wildlife service

3. Restricted used lands— PRESERVATION: National Park System; Wilderness Preservation System, State parks

Loggin In U.S. National Forests had advantages and disadvantages:

A:

• Help meets country’s timber needs

• Econ growth

• jobs

• lumber and paper prices are kept down

  D:

• only proved 4% timber need

• decreases recreation

• damages nearby rivers and fisheries

Wilderness Preserves in U.S:

• Wilderness Act of 64

• Most protected areas are small (4.7% of US land is protected as wilderness —75% of this is in Alaska)

Wilderness

land oficialy designated as an area where natural communties have no been serioudly distubred by humans

Measuring Diversity

Considers

• Richness - # of different species

• Abundance - # of individuals in each species

High Evenness found when each species is similarly abundant

Chapter 11 How can we help sustain aquatic Biodiversity and Services:

Only 0.8% of oceans are protected worldwide (as opposed to 5% of land)

11-1 What are the major threats to aquatic biodiversity and services?

• habitat loss

• invasive species

• pollution

• climate chnage

• overexploitation

• humans

3 patterns of marine biodiversity

1. greatest marine biod occurs around coral reefs, estuaries, deep ocean floor

2. bio is greater near coasts than the open sea becuase of the larger variety of producers and habitats in coats

3. ocean bottom more bio due to more habitat and food sources

Why is it difficult to protect marine biodiversity?

• Coastal development

• unseen pollution

• lack of protection in international waters

• tragedy of the commons

Major commercial fishing methods

Are overexploited - be able to identify methods of fishing in diagram (picture Dec 2)

• First farming in cage

• trawler fishing

• purse-seine fishing

• long line fishing

• gift net fishing (fish caught by gills)

• deep sea aquaculture cage

Fishery

concentration of a pariticular wild aqautic species suitable for commercial harvesting in a given ocean area or inland body of water

Fishprint

area of the ocean needed to sustain the fish consumptio of the avg person, nation, or world

11-2 How can we sustain and protect marine biodiversity

laws, econ incentives, marine reserves, community-based intergrated coastal managemnt

11-3 How should we manage and sustain marine fisheries

Improved monitoring of fish and shellfish pops, cooperative fisheries management among communities and nations, reduction of fishing subsides, careful consumer choices

11-4 How should we protect and sustain wetlands

Protect remaining and resotre degraded wetlands

11-5 How should we protect and sustain frehswater lakes, rivers, fisheries

Protection of their watersheds - similar to evreything else

11-6 What should be our priorities for sustaining aqautic biodiversty

• Mapping it

• protecting hotspots

• creating and protecting large marine reserves

• protecting freshwater ecosys.

• restoring degraded coastal and inland wetlands

What Can We Do

Value + Protect

• Preserve biological + marine hot spots

• Save old-growth forests

• protect and restore lakes and streams

• make conservation profitable

• initiate worldwide ecological restoration projects