Environmental Conservation: Forests, Grasslands, Parks, and Nature Preserves

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Environmental Conservation Forests,Grasslands,
Parks, and Nature Preserves

• Chapter 6

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Outline

• Tropical Forests
• Temperate Forests
• Harvest Methods and Fire Management
• Rangelands
• Overgrazing and Land Degradation
• Parks and Nature Preserves
• History - Problems - Size and Design
• Wilderness Areas
• Wildlife Refuges

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FAO 1999,WRI 1998-1999
GLOBE
Forests, woodlands 33 land area
Ice, rock, desert etc. 32
Range, Pastures 23
Ag 10
66 area in RESOURCE EXTRACTION
Built land 2
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World Forests
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WORLD FORESTS

• Scenic, cultural, and historic value.
• Provide valuable materials.
• Wood, paper-pulp.
• Forests play vital ecological roles
• Regulating climate, controlling water runoff,
  providing food and shelter for wildlife, and
  purifying air.

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World Wood Consumption, 1994 ( of total)
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Forest Products
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DEFORESTATION Charcoal production Northern
Brazil
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Himalayas - India
Collecting leaves for fodder
Harvesting resin
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India Himalayas cutting trees for fire wood
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• About 25 of the worlds forests are managed for
  wood production.
• Monoculture forestry - single species
• Ideal scientific planning for sustainable
  harvests

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Tropical Forest Issues
Estimated rate of tropical forest losses
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DEFORESTATION Valued timber species - Indonesia
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Malaysia, palm oil
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SUSTAINABILITY
ability to meet the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs(World Commission on
Environment and Development, 1987)
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World Forests
70-80 of original
30 of original
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Forest Management

• Approximately 25 of worlds forests are actively
  managed for wood production.
• Sustainable harvest is key to regeneration.
• Many reforestation projects involve Monoculture
  Forestry.
• Rapid growth and easier harvest.
• Disrupts ecological processes.

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Tropical Forests

• Although they occupy less than 10 of earths
  land surface, tropical rainforests are thought to
  contain
• More than two-thirds of all higher plant biomass.
• At least one-half of all plant, animal, and
  microbial species in the world.

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Causes of Deforestation

• Thin, nutrient-poor tropical soils are usually
  worn out after a few years of cropping.
• Shifting cultivation often blamed for forest
  destruction.
• Can be sustainable where population densities are
  low and individual plots are allowed to
  regenerate between cultivation periods.

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Tropical Forest Losses
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Slash and burn
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Debt-for-Nature Swaps

• Banks, governments, and lending institutions hold
  nearly 1 trillion in loans to developing
  countries.
• Conservation organizations buy debt obligations
  on the secondary market at a discount, and then
  offer to cancel the debt if the debtor country
  will agree to protect or restore an area of
  biological importance.

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Temperate Forests

• Northern countries have a long history of
  liquidating forest resources.
• For many years, multiple use was the official
  policy of the U.S. Forest Service.
• Simultaneous uses.
• Incompatibility ?

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Temperate Forest Issues

• Logging of old-growth
• Endangered species vs. jobs
• Northern spotted owl
• Salmon
• Natural resource extractive economies rural
  environments

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Old-Growth Forests

• Today, less than 10 of the old-growth forest in
  the United States remains intact.
• ??? 80 of what is left is scheduled to be cut
  down in the near future (in text) ??? NO!!!
• Environmentalists sued U.S. Forest Service over
  logging rates in WA and OR in 1989.
• Protection of northern spotted owls.
• Timber industry claimed 40,000 jobs would be
  lost.

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Harvest Methods

• Clear-Cutting - Every tree in a given area is cut
  regardless of size.
• Fast and efficient, but wastes small trees,
  increases erosion, and eliminates wildlife
  habitat.
• Shelterwood - Remove mature trees in series of
  cuts.

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Harvest Methods

• Strip Cutting - Harvesting all trees in a narrow
  corridor.
• Selective Cutting - A small percentage of mature
  trees are taken in 10-20 year rotation.
• Can retain many characteristics of mature,
  old-growth forests.

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Loggings and Roads in National Forests

• Increasing number of people in the U.S. are
  calling for an end to all logging on federal
  lands.
• 4 Billion annual harvest vs. estimated 224
  Billion from recreation and ecological function.
• USFS builds roads in order for timber companies
  to extract trees.
• Hidden subsidy to timber industry.

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Fire Management

• For more than 70 years, firefighting has been a
  high priority for forest managers.
• Many plant communities are fire-adapted.
• Accumulation of woody debris.
• Forest Service says 40 of all federal forest
  lands are at risk of severe fires.
• 68,230 fires burned 2.7 million ha in 2002.
• Firefighting costs of 1.6 Billion.
• How to undo years of fuel build-up ?

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Ecosystem Management

• 1990s saw USFS shift from timber production to
  ecosystem management.
• Attempts to integrate sustainable ecological, and
  social goals in a unified, systems approach.
• USFS is also using - AdaptativeManagement(try
  ing new science, etc)

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RANGELANDS

• Pasture and Open range occupy about 25 of the
  worlds land surface.
• More than 3 billion domestic livestock producing
  meat and milk.
• Attractive and frequently converted to
  human-dominated landscapes.

Desertification?
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(No Transcript)
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Rangelands
Number of threatened plant species - U.S.
(1990)
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New Approaches to Ranching

• Short-Duration Rotational Grazing
• Forces livestock to graze equally, trample
  ground evenly, and fertilize with manure before
  moving on.
• Game Ranching
• Many wild species forage more efficiently,
  resist harsh climates, and can fend off
  predators and pests better than domestic
  livestock.

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PARKS AND NATURE PRESERVES

• Origins and History
• Historically, sacred groves were set aside for
  religious purposes, and grounds preserved for
  royalty.
• Only in the past 130 years have we begun to
  preserve wild places for the sake of wildlife and
  scenic beauty.

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Park Problems

• Many parks have become islands of nature
  surrounded and threatened by destructive land-
  uses stemming from growing human populations
  crowding park boundaries.
• Park rangers often spend more time on crime
  prevention and crowd control than natural
  history.
• Mining and oil interests push to operate on
  private inholdings.

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Bear snack?
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Ecosystems not bounded by political considerations
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Size and Design of Nature Preserves

• Single Large or Several Small (SLOSS)
• Ideally, a reserve should be large enough to
  support viable populations of endangered species,
  keep ecosystems intact, and isolate critical core
  areas from external forces.

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Fragmentation
Good for some species but bad for others
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Corridors to join existing protected areas
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Marine Preserves

• Shelter marine organisms from destructive harvest
  methods.
• Coral reefs among most threatened marine
  ecosystems.
• 90 face threats from sea temperature change,
  destructive fishing methods, coral mining,
  sediment runoff and other human disturbances.

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Conservation and Economic Development

• Tropics are suffering the greatest destruction
  and species loss in the world.
• Ecotourism can be more beneficial to many
  countries over the long-term than extractive
  industries BUT only if done ecologically and
  not as a money-making show only.
• Wildlife watching and outdoor recreation can be a
  welcome source of income for underdeveloped
  countries.

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Indigenous Communities and Reserves

• Areas chosen for nature preservation are often
  traditional lands of indigenous people.
• 1986 UNESCO initiated its Man and Biosphere
  Program (MAB).
• Encourages division of protected areas into zones
  with different purposes.

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WILDERNESS AREAS

• 1964 - Wilderness Act defined wilderness
• An area of undeveloped land affected primarily
  by the forces of nature, where man is a visitor
  who does not remain
• Most areas meeting these standards are in the
  Western US and Alaska.

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WILDLIFE REFUGES

• 1901 - President Teddy Roosevelt established 51
  national wildlife refuges.
• Now 511 refuges encompassing 40 million ha
  representing every major biome in NA.

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Wildlife Refuges

• Over the years, a number of other uses have been
  allowed to operate within wildlife refuge
  boundaries.
• Oil and Gas Drilling
• Cattle Grazing
• Motor-boating, Camping
• Refuges also face threats from external sources -
  expanding human populations.
• Water Pollution

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Summary

• Tropical Forests
• Temperate Forests
• Harvest Methods and Fire Management
• Rangelands
• Overgrazing and Land Degradation
• Parks and Nature Preserves
• History - Problems - Size and Design
• Wilderness Areas
• Wildlife Refuges