Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach

1. Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach G. Tyler Miller’s Living in the Environment 14th Edition Chapter 11

2. Key Concepts • Human land use • Types and uses of US public lands • Forests and forest management • Implications of deforestation • Management of parks • Establishment and management of nature preserves • Importance of ecological restoration

3. Section 1

8. Factors Increasing Biodiversity • Middle stage of succession • Moderate environmental disturbance • Small changes in environmental conditions • Physically diverse habitat • Evolution Refer to Fig. 11-2 p. 195

9. Factors Decreasing Biodiversity • Extreme environmental conditions • Large environmental disturbance • Intense environmental stress • Severe shortages of resources • Nonnative species introduction • Geographic isolation Refer to Fig. 11-2 p. 195

10. Human Activities and Biodiversity Fig. 11-3 p. 195

11. Importance of Biodiversity • Intrinsic value • Instrumental value • Existence value • Aesthetic value • Bequest value

12. Solutions for Protecting Biodiversity Fig. 11-5 p. 197

13. Section 2

14. Conservation Biology • Multidisciplinary science • Emergency response • Identify “hot spots” • Rapid Assessment Teams • Based on Leopold’s ethics

15. Section 3

16. Types of US Public Lands • Multiple-use lands: National Forests; National Resource Lands • Moderately-restricted use lands: National Wildlife Refuges • Restricted-use lands: National Park System; National Wilderness Preservation System

17. US Public Lands Fig. 11-6 p. 198

18. Managing US Public Land • Biodiversity and ecological function • No subsidies or tax breaks for use • Public should get fair compensation • Users held responsible for actions

19. Section 4

20. Types of Forests • Old-growth (frontier) forests • Second-growth forests • Tree farms/plantation

21. Managing and Sustaining Forests Ecological Importance of Forests Refer to Fig. 11-7 p. 200 • Food webs and energy flow • Protect soils from erosion • Local and regional climate • Numerous habitats and niches • Air purification

22. Managing and Sustaining Forests Economic Importance of Forests Refer to Fig. 11-7 p. 200 • Fuelwood • Lumber • Paper • Livestock grazing • Mineral extraction and recreation

23. Forest Management • Rotation cycle • Even-aged management • Uneven-aged management • Improved diversity • Sustainable production • Multiple-use

25. Management Strategies: Rotation Cycles Fig. 11-8 p. 201

26. Roads Lead to Forest Degradation • Increased erosion and runoff • Habitat fragmentation • Pathways for exotic species • Accessibility to humans Fig. 11-9 p. 201

27. Harvesting Trees • Selective cutting • High-grading • Shelterwood cutting • Seed-tree cutting • Clear-cutting • Strip cutting Fig. 11-10e p. 202

30. Sustainable Forestry • Longer rotations • Selective or strip cutting • Minimize fragmentation • Improved road building techniques • Certify sustainable grown (See Solutions, Fig. 11-13 p. 205)

31. Section 5

33. Insect and Pathogen Threats to U.S. Forests • Sudden oak death • White pine blister rust • Pine shoot beetle • Beech bark disease • Hemlock woolly adelgid See Fig. 11-14 p. 207

34. Fire • Surface fires • Crown fires Fig. 11-15 p. 208

35. Logging in U.S. National Forests • Provides local jobs • Provides only 3% of timber • Increases environmental damage • Hinders recreation income Fig. 11-16 p. 210

36. Section 6

37. Tropical Deforestation: Consequences • Rapid and increasing • Loss of biodiversity • Loss of resources (e.g., medicines) • Contributes to global warming

39. Tropical Deforestation: Causes Fig. 11-18 p. 212

41. Reducing Tropical Deforestation • Encourage protection of large tracts • Sustainable tropical agriculture • Debt-for-nature swaps • Reduce illegal cutting • Reducing poverty and population growth Refer to Fig. 11-19 p. 213

42. Section 7

43. Managing and Sustaining National Parks • Inadequate protection • Often too small to sustain biodiversity • Invasions by nonnative species • Too many human visitors • Traffic jams and air pollution • Better pay for park staff Also refer to Fig. 11-29 p. 215

45. Establishing, Designing, and Managing Nature Reserves • Include moderate to large tracts of land • Involve government, private sector and citizens • Biosphere reserves • Adaptive ecosystem management • Protect most important areas (“hot spots”) • Wilderness areas

46. Section 8

47. Ecological Restoration • Restoration • Rehabilitation • Remediation See Individuals Matter p. 214 • Replacement • Creating artificial ecosystems

50. Ecological Restoration: Basic Principles • Mimic nature • Recreate lost niches • Rely on pioneer species • Control nonnative species • Reconnect small patches