Download Land, Public and Private

Forestry,
Rangelands,
Wilderness, and
National Parks
Lesson 2
Human Activities Affecting Land and
Environment
 Extensive
logging – mudslides
 Deforestation – climate change
 Paving – water runoff, “heat islands”
 Overuse of farmland – soil degradation, water
pollution
Tragedy of the Commons

Land viewed as a common resource
Garrett Hardin
a. Tragedy of the Commons
- shared, limited resource becomes depleted
due
to people acting on self-interest for short-term
gain


More common when there’s no land use
agreement or regulation

Result of negative externality
- can lead to serious environmental problems
- no one be held legally or financially responsible
•
Solution
- private ownership
- regulation
http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/examples-externalities-market-7577.html

Maximum Sustainable Yield (MYP)
a. maximum amount that can be harvested without
compromising the future availability of that resource
b. keeps the resource population at ~1/2 carrying
capacity of environment
c. permits an indefinite use without depletion of
resource
Role of Rural Lands

Ecosystem services




Recreational/spiritual uses


Wildlife habitat, flood/erosion control,
ground water recharge
Breaks down pollutants & recycles waste
Provide habitat for organism
Hiking, boating, sport hunting, fishing
Used as bench marks for scientists to
determine the impact of human activity
FORESTS



Occupy less than 1/3 of Earth’s surface
Supply: Fuel, timber, paper products, nuts,
mushrooms, fruits, medicines
Provide many ecosystem services


Influence local climate - Transpiration
Regulating global biogeochemical cycles



Act as “sinks” for CO2
Hold soil in place reducing erosion/mudslides
Watersheds:
Absorb, hold and slowly release water
 Controls flooding & droughts


Animal habitat
FOREST
 Most “managed” forests
MANAGMENT are monocultures where
trees are planted in rows
and are of one variety
All trees are the same age
& size
 More prone to insects and
diseases
 Insecticides & fungicides
are used
 Monocultures can’t
support large food webs

Sustainable Forestry

Seeks to:


Conserve forests for long-term commercial
timber harvest
Sustain biodiversity by…
 Provide
improved habitat for many species
 Decrease soil erosion
 Preserve watersheds

COOPERATION is crucial!


environmentalists
government officials
– loggers
– farmers

Sustainable Logging Practices:
 Unlogged
areas are saved as
sanctuaries
 Wildlife corridors are created
 (zones
areas)
that connect isolated unlogged
Provide escape routes so
animals can interbreed
(help reduce extinction)
Large animals can
maintain large territories.
Harvesting Trees

5 Countries harvest the most trees


US, Canada, Russia, China, Brazil
What happens to harvested trees?



Fuel wood or made into charcoal (partially burn w/o O2)
Very important for developing nations


55% are burned
45% used for paper/wood products in highly
developed nations
Harvesting Methods
1.
2.
3.
4.
Selective cutting
Shelter wood cutting
Seed tree cutting
Clearcutting
1. Selective Cutting



Mature trees are cut individually or in small
clusters while the rest of the forest remains
intact.
Remaining trees fill in with saplings
Animals don’t lose habitat
2. Shelterwood Cutting



Some mature trees are harvested, leaving some to
provide protection/shade for young trees and
seedlings.
The remaining mature trees are harvested once
regeneration is well established.
Little soil erosion
3.
Seed
Tree
Cutting
 Almost all trees are harvested from an area

A few desirable trees are left to provide
seeds for the regeneration of the forest.
4. Clearcutting
Removal of all trees from an area
 Area is allowed to reseed and
regenerate naturally or is planted
 Timber companies prefer because it
is cost effective.
 Destroys habitat & causes
fragmentation
 Massive soil erosion issues

US FORESTS

57% privately owned; 20% US Gov.;
15% Corporations; 8% State & local Gov.

Privately owned forests can be protected
through the Forest Legacy Program
 Landowner
grants a conservation easement
 US Gov. buys the land, agreeing not to develop it for a
certain number of years

National Forests have multiple uses.


timber, livestock, water & watershed protection,
mining, recreation & habitat
Issues
confrontations over multiple uses
 building of logging roads with tax revenues
 clear cutting

Land ownership in US
55% owned privately
3% owned by Native Americans
~35% owned by the Federal Govt.
Includes ecosystems from tundra to desert
Contains important resources such as minerals,
fossil fuels, historical significance or critical
habitat
Mostly in Alaska and 11 western states
Managed by:
1. US Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
National Park Service (NPS)
2. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
~7% owned by state/local Govt.
Public Land Use

~ 11% of Earth’s land area is protected

International Categories of Public Lands
a. National Parks
b. Managed Resource Protected Areas
c. Habitat/Species Management Areas
d. Strict Nature Reserves and Wilderness Areas
e. Protected Landscapes and Seascapes
f. National Monuments
 National
Parks
a. 3,400 in the world
b. managed for scientific, educational,
and recreational use
c. not used for extraction of resources
http://parks.mapquest.com/national-parks/rocky-mountain-national-park/
 Managed
Resource Protected Areas
a. 4,100 sites
b. allows for sustained use of biological,
mineral and recreational uses
c. ex) national forests
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallatin_National_Forest
 Habitat/Species
Management Areas
a. 27,600 sites
b. actively managed to maintain
biological communities
c. done through predator prevention, etc.
http://data.prbo.org/partners/mwadc/index.php?page=habitat-mgmt
 Strict
Nature Reserves and Wilderness
Areas
a. 6,000 sites
b. established to protect species and
ecosystems
http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/151030/
 Protected
Landscapes and Seascapes
a. 6,500 sites
b. nondestructive use of natural resources
with opportunities for tourism and
recreation
c. ex) orchards, beaches, etc
/
http://batanesryan.blogspot.com
 National
Monuments
a. 20,000
b. protect unique sites of natural and
cultural interest
http://www.shedexpedition.com/arc-de-triomphe/
Public Land in the US



Owned by federal, state, or local
government’s
Federal is the largest (~25% of country)
Classification
a. include
- rangelands, national forests,
national parks, wildlife refuges, and
wilderness areas
 Multiple-Use
Lands
a. used for recreation, grazing, timber,
and mineral extraction

Federal Agencies
a. Bureau of Land Management
- grazing, mining, recreation, timber
b. United States Forest Service
- timber, grazing, mining
c. National Park Service
- recreation and conservation
d. Fish and Wildlife Service
- wildlife conservation, hunting, recreation
Land Management
Practices
 Rangelands
a. dry, open grasslands
b. primarily used for cattle grazing
c. Grazing
1. benefit
- uses less fossil fuel then feedlots
2. consequence
- leaves land exposed to erosion
http://ecotope.org/anthromes/v1/guide/rangelands/
 Forests
a. dominated by trees
b. used for commercial logging
- pulp and wood
c. harvesting techniques
1. clear-cutting
- removing all trees in an area
- forests are replanted all at once
- steep slopes: loss of soil and nutrients
- increases sunlight reaching water
- replanting
* use of herbicides and fire
* reduces soil quality, contaminates water,
reduces biodiversity
http://www.nerrs.noaa.gov/doc/siteprofile/acebasin/html/modules/landuse/lmclcut.htm
2. selective-cutting
- removes single tree among many
- creates small openings
- trees of different ages
- shade-tolerant
3. Impacts of both types of harvesting
- logging roads to carry equipment
* destruction of habitats
* compaction of soil  loss of
nutrients and ability to infiltrate
water
http://allthingsconnect.wordpress.com/2013/03/02
/blog-post-3-environmental-history-and-worldviews/
d. Fire Management
- natural process for nutrient cycling
- provides openings for early-successional species
- prescribed burn
* fire set under controlled conditions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_fires_of_1988
Rangelands

Temperate & Tropical Grasslands



Predominant vegetation includes grasses, forbs,
and shrubs
Provide fodder for livestock
Animals eat the leafy shoots of the grass and
the fibrous roots continue to develop,
allowing the plant to recover and re-grow


Can actually encourage greater plant diversity
Cannot exceed carrying capacity
Overgrazed land BAD!!!!
 Can lead to Desertification: rangeland converted to
desert due to drought and or overgrazing

Rangelands

Desertification is result of overuse of the
land leaving it dry and erosion removes
the little topsoil present and the sand left
behind forms dunes.


Reduces agricultural productivity, forces
organisms out and threatens endangered
species
About 135 Million people are in danger of
displacement due to desertification
National Parks Service


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
Protect land & biological diversity
in an unimpaired condition
385 sites (57 of them are National Parks)
Many parks are threatened
 Human Activities- littering, graffiti, pollution,
development around parks
 Large mammal population decrease (Bears)
 Large mammal population increase (Elk)
Parks are now managed using Natural Regulation
 Populations are allowed to fluctuate naturally due
to weather or predators
 Fires are not suppressed unless they threaten
people
 Park managers DO control exotic species invasion
 National
Parks
a. 58 in US
b. Goal
1. based on multiple-use principle
2. set aside to protect ecosystems
c. human activities
1. air and water pollution
2. lead to destruction of habitats
 Wildlife
Refuges and Wilderness Areas
a. protecting wildlife
b. limited human use and are road less
 Federal
Regulation
a. National Environmental Policy Act
- assesses all projects
b. Environmental Impact Statement
- analyzes environmental impact
c. Environmental Mitigation Plan
- how will the impact be addressed
d. Endangered Species Act
- designed to protect species