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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WORLD FORESTS

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

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Forest Distribution

• Currently, forests (trees cover more than 10 of
  land) encompass 9.6 billion acres.
• Greatest concern is over protection of Old-Growth
  Forests.
• Areas that have been undisturbed by human
  activities long enough that trees can live out a
  natural life cycle.
• Only 25 of forests still retain old-growth
  characteristics.

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World Forests
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Forest Area by Region
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Forest Products

• Wood plays a part in more activities of the
  modern economy than any other commodity.
• Total annual wood consumption is about 3.7
  billion metric tons.
• 100 Billion each year.
• Developed countries produce less than half of all
  industrial wood, but account for about 80 of
  consumption.

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Forest Products

• US, former Soviet Union, and Canada are largest
  producers of industrial wood and paper pulp.
• Much of industrial logging in North America and
  Europe occurs in managed forests.
• More than half of the worlds population depends
  on firewood or charcoal as their main source of
  heating and cooking fuel.

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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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Diminishing Forests

• Tropical forest are shrinking rapidly.
• Estimated 0.6 of remaining forest is cleared
  annually.
• Estimates are very rough.
• Countries have economic and political reasons to
  hide extent of losses.
• Real losses may range 5-20 million ha annually.
• Brazil has largest rainforests, and highest rate
  of deforestation.

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Tropical Forest Losses
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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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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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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.
• 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 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.

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Criteria for Sustainable Forestry
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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.

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Range Management

• Pastoralists can adjust to environmental
  variations and resultant forage quality to keep
  livestock healthy and avoid overuse of any
  particular area.
• Desertification has recently accelerated by
  expanding programs and political conditions that
  force people to overuse fragile lands.

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Rangelands in the United States

• Overgrazing has allowed populations of
  unpalatable or inedible species to build up on
  both public and private rangelands.
• Grazing fees charged for use of public lands are
  often far below market value.
• Hidden subsidy to western ranchers.
• Permit holders generally pay less than 25 the
  amount of leasing comparable private lands.

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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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Yellowstone

• First US area set aside to protect wild nature.
• Authorized by President Abraham Lincoln.
• Designated the first National Park by President
  Ulysses S. Grant in 1872.
• Also first National Park in the world.

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North American Parks

• US national park system has grown to 280,000 km2
  in 376 parks, monuments, historic sites and
  recreation areas.
• 300 million visitors annually.
• Canada has 1,471 protected areas occupying about
  150,000 km2.

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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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Wildlife Issues

• Historically, parks killed bad animals (wolves)
  in favor of good animals (elk).
• Critics contend this policy unbalanced
  ecosystems, and created a false illusion of a
  natural system.
• Excessively large ungulate populations in may
  parks have degraded the range such that massive
  die-offs occurred in severe winters.

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Parks as Ecosystems

• One of the biggest problems with managing parks
  and nature preserves is that boundaries are often
  based on politics rather than ecological
  considerations.
• Airsheds, watersheds, and animal territories and
  migration routes often extend far beyond official
  boundaries.
• Biogeographical area must be managed as a unit.

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WORLD PARKS AND PRESERVES

• In many cultures wilderness and wild lands are
  regarded as useless wastelands.
• Many preserves are too small to maintain
  significant biological populations over the long
  term.
• Currently about 300 biosphere reserves have been
  designated in 75 countries.

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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 disturbance.

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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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Size and Design of Nature Preserves

• Spectrum of Preserves
• Recreation Areas
• Historic Areas
• Conservation Reserves
• Pristine Research Areas
• Inviolable Preserves

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Size and Design of Nature Preserves

• For some species with small territories, several
  small isolated refuges can support viable
  populations.
• But cannot support species requiring large
  amounts of space.
• Corridors of natural habitat to allow movement of
  species from one area to another can help
  maintain genetic exchange in fragmented areas.

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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.
• 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

• A belief that wilderness is a source of wealth
  and the origin of strength, self-reliance,
  wisdom, and character, is deeply embedded in our
  culture.
• 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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Wilderness Areas

• Arguments for preservation
• Refuge for endangered wildlife.
• Solitude and primitive recreation.
• Baseline for ecological research.
• Area left in natural state.
• For many people in developing countries, the idea
  of pristine wilderness is neither important or
  interesting.

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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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ELEPHANTS
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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