Title: Sustaining Ecosystems
1Sustaining Ecosystems
- Land Use, Conservation, Management
Deforestation, Biodiversity and Forest Management
2- We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity
belonging to us. When we see land as a community
to which we belong we may begin to use it with
love and respect. - Aldo Leopold
35 Reasons Forests are Commercially Important
- Lumber for housing
- Biomass for fuelwood
- Pulp for papers
- Medicines
- Food (agriculture)
45 Reasons forests are ecologically important
- Slow down runoff/erosion
- Water recharge for surface/groundwater
- Influence climate (water cycle, photosynthesis,
cellular respiration) - Vital to global carbon cycle
- Air purification
5Why is Biodiversity considered a key
environmental problem?
- A biological wealth vital to all life economies
- The ecological processes associated with
biodiversity such as matter cycling, energy flow,
and species interactions is vital to all life and
economies - Biological consequences of biodiversity loss
through environmental degradation impact lives
and economies.
6- The ecological health of an area are described in
terms of biodiversity richness and ecological
integrity which is the conditions and natural
processes that generate and maintain biodiversity
and allow evolutionary change as a key mechanism
for adapting to changes in environmental
conditions. - Conservation Biology
- maintaining earths life support system
7Age of Conservation
- Between 1872-1927 increased involvement of
federal government - Theodore Roosevelt
- Persuaded Congress to give him power to designate
public land as federal wildlife refuges. - Established first wildlife refugee, 1903 at
Pelican Island, Florida for preservation of the
endangered brown pelican - Tripled the size of the forest reserves and
transferred administration from DOI to Dept of
Agriculture - 1905 US Forest Service created
- Gifford Pinchot as its first chief
- Used principles of sustainable yield and multiple
use
8Public Lands in the US
- USA largest area public lands
- Mostly Alaska (73) West US (22)
- Classified as
- multiple use lands
- Moderately restricted lands
- Restricted-use lands
9Multiple Use Lands
- Grasslands Forests managed by US Forest Service
- Principles of Management
- Sustainable yield (cutting trees no faster than
they could regenerate) - Multiple use (timber harvesting, grazing,
recreation, wildlife conservation) - Actual uses
- Logging
- Mining
- livestock grazing
- oil extraction
- Recreation
- sport/commercial fishing
- Hunting
- watershed, soil wildlife conservation
10Multiple Use Lands
- National Resource Lands Alaska are managed by
the Bureau of Land Management managed under
multiple use principal with an emphasis on
providing secure domestic supply of energy and
strategic minerals and on preserving rangelands
for livestock under a permit system.
11Moderately Restricted-Use Lands
- 508 National Wildlife Refuges managed by USFWS
- Protect habitats and breeding areas for waterfowl
and big game to provide a harvestable supply for
hunters, protect endangered species - Some permittable uses include
- Sport hunting
- Trapping
- Sport/commercial fishing
- Oil gas development
- Mining
- Logging
- Grazing
- Military activities
- Farming
- DOI must find these uses compatible with the
purpose of each refuge
12Restricted Use Lands
- Permitted Uses camping, hiking, sport fishing,
boating, sport hunting, mining, and oil/gas
drilling - 49 of the National Park System is designated as
wilderness area. - Managed by National Park Service, FWS, Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) - 375 National Parks include major parks,
recreational areas, monuments, memorial,
battlefields, historic sites, parkways, trails,
rivers, seashores, and lakeshores - Example Fire Island National Seashore
13Restricted Use Lands
- T. Roosevelt set up initial system
- Carter made most additions, especially Alaska in
1980 - Clinton added a new national monument area the
size of Yellowstone in 1996.
14Property Rights Controversy
- Paralyze government regulation of public lands
- Local regulations would take precedence over
federal regulations - Ultimately limit environmental degradation
- Private industry using public lands would pursue
court battles. Would sue federal government for
losses ? compensation - Eminent Domain force a citizen to sell property
needed for public good. (5th Amendment)
compensation for property loss is debatable. - If ALL properties including wetlands had to be
compensated for eminent domain property takings
there would be no money left for regulatory
branch. - Pay me and I wont pollute, develop this land,
build an incinerator or landfill here, or fill in
this wetland!
15Managing Sustaining Rangelands
- Rangeland land that supplies forage or
vegetation for grazing (grass-eating) and
browsing (shrub-eating) animals. - They act as watershed areas habitat for wildlife
- Supports ruminants digest cellulose in grasses
and convert it to meat milk - Cows, sheep, goats (domesticated)
- Rangelands also provide areas for hiking,
camping, and hunting
16Managing Sustaining Rangelands
- Overgrazing occurs when too many animals graze
for too long and exceed the carrying capacity of
a grassland area - Impacts from overgrazing
- Decrease biodiversity
- Soil compaction ? decrease water holding capacity
- Increase erosion because it becomes drier,
prickly pear cactus and mesquite (shrub) dominate
? desertification - Impacts adjacent riparian zones
- Riparian Zone thin strips of lush vegetation
along streams which prevent floods by absorption
of flood waters - Overgrazing causes increased soil erosion along
banks of stream/rivers ? mud down streams
(turbidity increases, decrease in dissolved
oxygen) ? degraded water quality
17How should rangelands by managed?
- Goal maximize livestock productivity without
overgrazing rangeland vegetation - Methods
- Stocking rate most widely used. Control the
number of each kind of animal/unit area so an
areas carrying capacity is not exceeded
resource partitioning by ranchers - Continuous grazing occurs throughout the year
and requires little rancher intervention.
Problem they tend to overgraze flat areas and
riparian zones - Deferred-Rotation Grazing moving livestock
between 2 or more range areas to allow perennial
grasses to recover from grazing - Ranchers must also consider predator control
coyotes, grey wolf, grizzly bear - Solution penning young lambs/cattle together
for 30 days ? allow them to graze together.
Cattle kicking predators, protecting sheep
18Grazing on public lands
- Big Business pay very low fees for permits
- How can it become more sustainable?
- Limit grazing in riparian areas
- Ban grazing on stressed rangeland
- Competitive bidding for grazing permits
- Allow environmental groups to purchase grazing
permits, even if they choose not to graze the
land - Raise grazing fees to fair market value
- Abolish rancher-dominated advisory boards
19Managing Sustaining National Parks
- 54 Nationally,1100 Globally
- Parks are threatened by
- Natural resources in developing countries
- Poachers
- popularity increases, but budget cuts to park
service (1 park ranger 84,000 visitors) - Plagued with litter, noise, traffic jams
- Increased crime
- Invasion of non-native species
- Yellowstone 1000 snowmobiles/day
- Tailpipe admissions of 1.7 million cars/year!
- Vanishing predators (wolves, bear, coyotes)
20Developing Countries
- Integrated Management Plans (IMP)
- Combine conservation practices with sustainable
development of resources in and adjacent to parks - Core Protection Areas
- Buffer Areas (surrounding the core)
- Commercial logging, sustainable grazing by
livestock, sustainable hunting/fishing - Involve residents in developing management and
restoration plans for the park - IMPs need adequate funding to be successful and
inner core areas must be large enough to sustain
larger animals
21How can US National Parks be improved?
- Presently managed under natural regulation as
if they were wilderness ecosystems that would
sustain themselves if left alone. - Annual budget 1.5 billion
- 6 billion backlog of maintenance, repairs high
priority construction to accommodate increase
visitors numbers - 92 budget to spent on visitor services
- 7 spent on natural resources protection
- 1 spent on environmental research for ecological
- management strategies
22How can US Nat. Parks be improved?
- All entrance fees used for management, upkeep and
repair instead of going into national treasury - Require IMPs for all parks and nearby federal
lands. - Increase new parkland near the most threatened
parks - Increase budget for buying private lands within
parks - Identify all available visitor parking
- Increase private concession fees to 22 presently
pay 6.7 of gross income - Concessionaires should lease, not own the land
- Increase entrance fees
- Restrict numbers of visitors
- Encourage volunteers to give lectures/tours NOT
National Park Service personnel - Encourage donations from individuals/corporations
fo public maintenance/repair
23Biodiversity Sanctuaries
- Set up Biosphere Reserves worldwide (presently
300) - Goal large enough to support species and
combine conservation and sustainable use of
natural resources - Conservation biologists believe that in order to
protect biodiversity and ecological integrity is
through a worldwide network of reserves, parks,
wildlife sanctuaries, wilderness and other
protected areas. - Minimum 10 of globes land area!
- Based on theory of Island Biogeography (habitat
islands) - Many countries cant set aside large tracts of
land - Establish wildlife corridors connecting
small-medium sized bioreserve areas. (allows for
migration and genetic diversity)
241996 World Wildlife Fund
- Identified 217 terrestrial, marine, and
freshwater eco-regions in greatest need of
protection (Earths most bio-diverse countries)
Australia, North S America, Mexico, India, China,
Parts of Africa - Most economists, developers, and miners disagree
with protecting these areas!
25Why preserve Wilderness Areas?
- US Wilderness Act of 1964
- Act authorized the government to protect
undeveloped tract of public land as part of
National Wilderness System unless Congress later
decides they are needed for the national good.
Land in this system is to be used only for
nondestructive forms of recreation such as hiking
and camping. - Why preserve them?
- Aesthetic Value
- Psychological value
- Preserve biodiversity and ecological integrity
- Preserve for scenic/recreational purposes
- Protect areas from exploitation and degradation
26US National Wild Scenic Rivers System
- 1968 National Wild Scenic Rivers Act
- Protected if have outstanding scenic,
recreational, geological, wildlife, historical
or cultural value - Free of development
- Only 0.2 of rivers listed
- Urge for 1500 more to be added
27US National Trails System
- 1968 Protects scenic and historic hiking trails
- Low priority, receives little funding