Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Aldo Leopold
Audubon Society
4. LACK OF FUNDING
2. Industrial activity
4. Agriculture
Farmers, Hunters,
Environmentalists
Loggers and Miners
Forest ecosystems provide ecological services far greater
in value than the value of raw materials obtained from
forests.
Wilderness Forests
Old-growth or primary forest
◦ An uncut or regenerated forest that has not been
disturbed by human activities or natural disaster
for several hundred years
◦ 36% of world’s forests
Second-growth forest
◦ A stand of trees resulting from natural secondary
ecological succession; once cleared for timber or
for conversion for cropland, or by natural forces
(fires, hurricanes, volcanic eruption).
◦ 60% of world’s forests
(b) Clear-cutting
Clear stream
Muddy
stream
Dirt road
Uncut
Clear stream
Stepped Art
Fig. 10-6a, p. 219
Burn fast and quick; kill
seedlings and small trees
but spare most large trees
Ecological Benefits : burn
away flammable ground
material , free valuable
mineral nutrients tied up in
decomposing litter and
undergrowth , release seeds
from pine cones , stimulate
germination of certain tree
seeds, help control tree
diseases and insects
Crown Fires
Extremely hot fire
that leaps from tree
top to tree top
burning whole trees.
Occur in forests that
have not
experiences surface
fires for decades
Can destroy
vegetation, kill wild
life, increase soil
erosion, sterilize the
soil, and burn or
damage human
structures
The Smokey Bear educational campaign
Prescribed fires
Allow fires on public lands to burn
Protect structures in fire-prone areas
Thin forests in fire-prone areas
2003 Healthy Forests Restoration Act
◦ Pros – clear away fire prone trees and underbrush
◦ Cons – cut down economically valuable medium-sized and
large trees in 71% of the country’s national forests
Introduction of
foreign diseases and
insects
◦ Accidental
◦ Deliberate
Global warming
◦ Rising temperatures
◦ Trees more
susceptible to
diseases and pests
◦ Drier forests: more
fires
◦ More greenhouse
gases
Cover about 6% of Earth’s area
Settler
farming
Roads Fires
Poverty
Oil extraction
Malapi Borderlands
◦ Management success story
The most widely used method for sustainable management
of rangeland is controlling the number of grazing animals
and the duration of their grazing.
Rotational grazing at water holes and feeding areas
Suppress growth of invasive species
◦ Herbicides
◦ Mechanical removal
◦ Controlled burning
◦ Controlled short-term trampling
Replant barren areas with native grass seeds and fertilizer
Protect riparian areas from overgrazing
Reduce soil erosion
American southwest:
population surge since
1980
Land trust groups: limit
land development
Reduce the harmful
environmental impact of
herds
◦ Rotate cattle away from
riparian areas
◦ Use less fertilizers and
pesticides
◦ Operate ranch more
economically
Sustaining biodiversity will require protecting
much more of the earth’s remaining
undisturbed land area as parks and nature
reserves.
Worldwide: 1100
major national
parks
Parks in
developing
countries
◦ Greatest
biodiversity
◦ 1% protected
against
Illegal animal
poaching
Illegal logging
and mining
58 Major national parks in the U.S.
Biggest problem may be popularity
◦ Noise
◦ Congestion
◦ Pollution
◦ Damage or destruction to vegetation and wildlife
Repairs needed to trails and buildings
Gray wolves prey on elk and push them to a higher
elevation
◦ Re growth of aspen, cottonwoods, and willows
◦ Increased population of riparian songbirds
Reduced the number of coyotes
◦ Fewer attacks on cattle
Wolf pups susceptible to parvovirus carried by dogs
Conservationists’ goal: protect 20% of the
earth’s land
Cooperation between government and private
groups
Nature Conservancy
Eco-philanthropists
Developers and resource extractors opposition
Large versus small reserves
The buffer zone concept
◦ United Nations: 529 biosphere reserves in 105
countries
Habitat corridors between isolated reserves
◦ Advantages – allows migration by vertebrates that
need large ranges, migration of populations when
environment deteriorate
◦ Disadvantages – can threaten isolated populations
Biosphere Reserve
Core area
Research
station
Visitor
education
center
Buffer zone 1
Human
settlements Buffer zone 2