Download 10-Summary, Outline, End Chapter Questions

Chapter 10
Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach
Summary
1.
Conservation biology attempts to slow down the rate at which we are destroying and degrading the earth’s biodiversity through
the use of rapid response strategies. Hot spots, the most endangered and species-rich ecosystems, receive emergency action to
slow down/stop the loss of biodiversity in these systems. Bioinformatics manages, analyzes, and communicates basic biological
and ecological information to help sustain biodiversity.
2.
Forests provide important ecological and economic services, are storehouses of biodiversity, and affect weather and climate
throughout the world. Forest resource management varies according to the type of forests. In diverse forests, the age and size of
trees are preserved to foster natural regeneration. Government policies will primarily determine the future of forests, including
old-growth forests.
3.
Forests in the United States should be managed so as to retain as much of the forests as possible. Clear-cutting and seed-tree
cutting methods of harvesting are scourges on the forest; selective cutting is the most reasonable way to harvest trees.
4.
Deforestation is one of the most serious ecological problems of this century. The earth’s forests have been reduced by 20–50%
and the destruction continues to this day. Deforestation has many harmful environmental effects: reduces ecological services of
forests, releases large amounts of carbon dioxide in the air, produces a drier and hotter climate; reduces the control of water
movements, and increases soil erosion.
5.
Tropical deforestation is one of the biggest threats to world economic health and climate. To help sustain tropical forests, nations
of the world must unite to discourage deforestation and degradation.
6.
Problems affecting parks run from little/no protection from their governments or being too small to sustain large animal species,
to being too popular and, therefore, overused by people. Some methods for managing parks include: limiting the number of
visitors, raising entry fees to provide funds for maintenance and management, managing parks in reference to nearby federal
lands, discouraging development around already established parks, and providing more volunteers and better paid employees to
maintain the parks.
7.
Only about 7% of the world’s terrestrial areas are protected from potentially harmful human activities; these areas need to be
expanded throughout the world. In order to adequately conserve biodiversity, at least 20% of the earth’s land area should be
protected in a global network of reserves.
8.
Wilderness is an amount of land legally set aside to prevent/minimize harm from human activities. This is land where human
beings may visit but not remain. Wilderness areas are important for: (1) their natural beauty, (2) their natural biological diversity,
(3) their enhancement of mental and physical health of visitors, and (4) their contributions to biodiversity and to evolutionary
possibilities.
9.
Ecological restoration is the process of repairing damage caused by humans to the biodiversity and dynamics of natural
ecosystems.
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10. Initiatives that would help to sustain the earth’s biodiversity include:
– Immediately preserving the world’s biological hot spots
– Protecting the remaining old-growth forests
– Mapping the world’s terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity
– Identifying and taking action for the world’s marine hot spots, just as for the terrestrial hot spots
– Protecting and restoring the world’s lakes and river systems
– Developing a global conservation strategy that protects the earth’s terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
– Making conservation profitable
– Initiating ecological restoration projects worldwide
Key Questions and Concepts
10-1 What are the major threats to forest ecosystems?
CORE CASE STUDY: Gray wolves once roamed in abundance throughout the United States. By 1900, most of their
population had been decimated. In 1974 the wolf was listed as endangered. Its declining population had many effects at the
ecosystem level. Decreased predation allowed for growth in populations of grazing animals, which had devastating effects on
vegetation as well as other animal populations. Beginning in 1995, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park.
Since then, their population has increased and they have been removed from protection under the ESA.
A. Forests with at least 10% tree cover occupy about 30% of the earth’s surface, excluding Greenland and Antarctica.
B. Forests are classified according to their age and structure into three major types.
1. Old growth/frontier forests are those that have not been seriously disturbed by human activities/natural disasters for
hundreds of years. These forests are storehouses of biodiversity because of the ecological niches they provide for wildlife
species.
2. Second-growth forests develop in an area after human activities or natural forces have removed them.
3. Tree plantations/tree farms replant and clear-cut one species of trees in a regular cycle.
C. Harmful effects of deforestation (temporary/permanently removing trees) are given below:
1. Deforestation reduces biodiversity and the ecological services that forests provide.
2. Deforestation can change regional climate, and forests will not regenerate.
3. Deforestation emits carbon dioxide, which affects global climate change.
D. The presence of logging roads has many negative consequences.
1. Logging roads increase erosion and sediment runoff, fragment habitats, and contribute to loss of biological diversity.
2. They expose forest to invasion by nonnative pests, diseases, and wildlife species.
E. Different harvesting methods affect the continuing growth of forests.
1. In selective cutting, intermediate-aged/mature trees are cut singly or in small groups.
2. Clear-cutting removes every single tree in one cutting.
3. Strip cutting removes a strip of trees along the contour of the land and spreads the cutting out over several decades.
SCIENCE FOCUS: Researchers have attempted to devise a method to place a monetary value on ecosystem services. They
hope that these efforts will make people aware that: ecosystem services are essential for humans and their economies, the
economic value of ecosystem processes is substantial, and sustainably managed ecosystems are a long-term source of
income.
F. Three types of fires affect forest ecosystems.
1. Surface fires usually burn underbrush, leaf litter, and small seedlings, but most wild animals survive. They have benefits
such as burning flammable ground material to prevent more destructive fires and release nutrients, stimulate germination
of some seeds, and control pathogens and insects.
2. Crown fires are extremely hot and leap from treetop to treetop. Buildup of ground litter increases likelihood of crown
fires that result in greater destruction and soil erosion.
3. Protection of forest resources from fire includes fire prevention and prescribed burning.
G. Accidental and deliberate introductions of forest diseases and insects are a major threat to forests.
H. Climate change threatens many forests.
1. Some species are sensitive to heat.
2. Insects and disease may move into forests where they weren’t previously found.
3. Drier conditions exacerbate the risk of fire.
I. Deforestation is widespread across the planet and is continuing.
1. World Resources Institute surveys indicate that original forest cover has decreased by about 46%.
2. Global deforestation is occurring by at least 0.2–0.5% per year, with most losses taking place in developing countries.
3. If conditions don’t change within the next 10–20 years, 40% of the world’s remaining forests will have been logged or
converted to other uses.
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CASE STUDY: Forests cover about 30% of the land area in the United States. Early in the nation’s history, forests were
decimated. Today, however, forests cover more land area in the U.S. than they did in 1920. Much of this is second growth. In
addition, much of the nation’s old-growth forest has been replaced with simplified tree plantations.
H. Tropical forests make up 6% of the earth’s land area.
1. They once covered twice as much area. Most destruction has occurred since 1950.
2. Brazil and Indonesia lead the world in tropical forest loss.
3. At least half of the world’s terrestrial plant and animal species are found in tropical rainforests.
4. Annual tropical forest loss is estimated to be between 50,000 and 170,000 square kilometers.
K. Four primary causes of tropical forest destruction are:
1. Population growth and poverty drive subsistence farmers to tropical forests where they attempt to farm.
2. Government subsidies make tropical forest resources cheap—relative to their full ecological value.
3. Degradation begins when roads are cut into the forest for logging. Selective cutting removes the best timber (high grade).
4. Ranchers come in behind the timber cutters and overgraze land, they then move on and subsistence farmers come in and
practice slash-and-burn farming to complete the destruction of the land.
5. Healthy rain forests do not burn, but logging, settlements, grazing, and farming have fragmented the forest; they dry out,
making them more flammable for when lightning and people to start fires.
6. Burning contributes to global climate change, accounting for 20% of the annual greenhouse gas emissions.
10-2 How should we manage and sustain forests?
A. Fire management can be improved.
1. The Smokey Bear educational campaign taught that fire is bad. Ecologists suggest that putting out all fires increases the
risk of a catastrophic fire event.
2. According to the Forest Service, severe fire could threaten 40% of federal forest lands due to fuel buildup.
3. Risk can be reduced via prescribed fire, allowing natural fires to burn, and clearing vegetation from around structures.
SCIENCE FOCUS: Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) is part of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which certifies
timber and products generated from environmentally sound and sustainable practices. Since 1995, the area of the world’s
forests that meets these standards has grown 16-fold. Still, less than 10% of the world’s forested area is certified.
B. Improving the efficiency of wood use would reduce pressure to harvest trees on public and private land.
1. Up to 60% of wood consumed in the U.S. is wasted due to inefficient use of construction materials, excess packaging and
overuse of junk mail, inadequate paper recycling, and failure to reuse wooden shipping containers.
C. Use of tree-free fibers for papermaking is another way to reduce pressure on tree harvest.
1. Use of fibers from agricultural residues and crops such as kenaf are alternatives to tree fibers.
CASE STUDY: About half the wood harvested each year in the U.S., and three-fourths of that in developing countries, is
used for fuel. Rings of deforested land surround cities, and the demand for fuelwood in urban areas exceeds the sustainable
yield of nearby forests. Community forestry projects involve local people in planting small plantations of fast-growing
fuelwood trees in community woodlots.People can use more efficient, less polluting woodstoves, solar ovens, or electric
hotplates powered by windpower to reduce the demand for fuelwood.
D. In order to reduce deforestation and degradation of tropical forests:
1. We must help settlers learn methods to practice in small-scale sustainable agriculture and forestry.
2. We must harvest sustainable fruits and nuts in the rain forests.
3. We should consider using debt-for-nature swaps, which allow countries that owe foreign aid/foreign debt to act as
custodians of protected forest reserves in order for debt to be forgiven.
4. We must develop an international system for evaluating and certifying that tropical timber has been produced by
sustainable methods.
5. Loggers can harvest trees more gently: canopy vines being cut saves damage to nearby trees; use the most open paths to
remove felled trees.
10-3 How should we manage and sustain grasslands?
A. Grasslands provide many important ecological services yet are the second-most altered ecosystem.
B. Livestock often overgraze on rangelands (non-managed grasslands) and pastures (managed grasslands), causing soil and
erosion and exploitation by invasive plants.
C. Grasslands also suffer from undergrazing, which can reduce the net primary productivity of the area.
D. To utilize grasslands in a sustainable way, we must control the number and distribution of livestock.
E. Ranchers, ecologist, and environmentalists in the United States are working together to protect grasslands by rotating
livestock.
F. Invasive plants can be combated with herbicides, mechanical removal, and controlled burning.
CASE STUDY: Since 1980, there has been a population surge in the ranch country in the Southwestern
United States. This has led to uncontrolled urban development. Now, ranchers and environmentalists are working together to
conserve ranchland as a means of sustaining the remaining grassland habitats. One strategy is to pay ranchers for
conservation easements, which bar future owners from developing land.
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10-4 How should we manage and sustain parks and nature reserves?
A. There are more than 1,100 national parks in more than 120 countries.
1. Parks in developing countries possess the greatest biodiversity, but are least protected.
CASE STUDY: The U.S. National Park system includes 58 major national parks. Their popularity brings pollution and
associated problems with overuse. Non-native species threaten biodiversity in parks, which are often isolated amidst
development. Inadequate budgets add to the challenges faced by our national parks.
SCIENCE FOCUS: Scientists are monitoring the gray wolves that have been reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park.
The effects of this reintroduction have been many. They are impacting the populations and behaviors of large grazing
animals. This has helped to restore riparian zones that were degraded by elk. Coyote populations have also been decreased. It
will take decades of research to understand the way these animals impact the functioning of their ecosystem.
B. Conservation biologists call for strict protection of at least 20% of earth’s global system as biodiversity reserves that include
multiple examples of all the earth’s biomes.
C. Large reserves are usually the best way to protect biodiversity, but in some locales several well-placed, medium-sized,
isolated reserves may be a better way to protect a variety of habitats.
1. Buffer zones establish an inner zone of intact habitat.
2. The United Nations has established 529 biosphere reserves globally, based on this principle.
D. Establishment of habitat corridors helps to support more species and allows migration of vertebrates with large ranges.
1. Migration of individuals can occur when environmental conditions deteriorate within a range.
2. They can also threaten isolated populations by allowing movement of pest species, disease, fire, and exotic species
between reserves.
3. They may be costly to acquire, protect, and maintain.
CASE STUDY: The most impressive country for conserving its land and natural resources has been Costa Rica. It has
established a system of reserves and national parks, and it devotes a larger portion of its land to biodiversity conservation
than any other country. It has consolidated its parks and reserves into eight megareserves, which help generate a $1 billion
per year in ecotourism industry. Costa Rica once had one of the highest rates of deforestation and now has one of the lowest.
E. The wilderness concept provides for large tracts of undeveloped land.
CASE STUDY: The Wilderness Act was not passed in the U.S. until 1964. Only about 4.6% of U.S. land is protected as
wilderness, with almost three-fourths of it in Alaska. Only about 1.8% of the lower 48 states are protected as wilderness.
Only 81 of the 233 distinct ecosystems are protected in wilderness. Industries see these areas as sources of increased profits
and short-term economic growth. Protection of areas under consideration for wilderness status was discontinued in 2003.
10-5 What is the ecosystem approach to sustaining biodiversity?
A. We should focus on protecting ecosystems and their biodiversity rather than distinct species.
1. Map and inventory ecosystems.
2. Identify the most endangered ecosystems.
3. Restore degraded ecosystems.
4. Make development biodiversity-friendly via tax breaks.
B. Biodiversity hotspots are areas especially rich in species, and in great risk of extinction.
1. In all 34 hotspots, a total of 86% of habitat has been destroyed.
CASE STUDY: The Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania have the highest concentration of endangered animals on earth. The
area is a hotspot because of threats to habitat. So far, 70% of the ancient forests have been cleared. The forest is now
fragmented, but protected in government reserves, where people can still forage and gather fuelwood.
C. Another approach to biodiversity conservation is to protect those areas where vital ecosystem processes are being impaired.
D. Life-raft ecosystems are those in which people live in extreme poverty and must degrade ecosystem processes to survive.
SCIENCE FOCUS: Guanacaste National Park in Costa Rica is the site of one of the world’s largest ecological restoration
projects. The project involves local community members in the restoration effort. Many local students have been trained in
restoration ecology. This project is guided by the belief that it will ultimately fail unless the local communities see some
economic benefit in its success.
E. Environmental degradation can be partially reversed through ecological restoration.
F. Scientists study how natural systems recover and are learning to speed up repair operations by the following approaches:
1. Restoration returns a degraded habitat to a condition as close to its natural state as possible.
2. Rehabilitation involves trying to restore an ecosystem to a functional state rather than is original state.
3. Replacement is replacing a degraded ecosystem with a productive pasture or tree farm.
4. Creating artificial ecosystems is another possibility.
G. Applied Ecology: inventing, establishing, and maintaining new habitats for species to coexist with humans.
CASE STUDY: The Blackfoot River comprises a large and diverse watershed. It is also home to many people who witnessed
environmental degradation due to poor mining, logging, and grazing practices. This stimulated activism at the community
level. In 1993, community members organized the Blackfoot Challenge. This resulted in drastic improvements, and became a
classic example of reconciliation ecology.
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Key Terms
ecological restoration (p. 242)
old-growth forests (p. 215)
overgrazing (p. 231)
pastures (p. 231)
rangelands (p. 231)
second-growth forests (p. 216)
tree plantation (farm) (p. 216)
undergrazing (p. 232)
Suggested Responses to Critical Thinking Questions
The following are examples of the material that should be contained in possible student answers to the end of chapter Critical
Thinking questions. They represent only a summary overview and serve to highlight the core concepts that are addressed in the text. It
should be anticipated that the students will provide more in-depth and detailed responses to the questions depending on an individual
instructor’s stated expectations.
1.
List three ways you could apply concept 10-5C to help sustain terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity.
Answers will vary. However, three possible ways to apply concept 10-5C are landscaping with native plants, purchasing only
wood products that are made of sustainably harvested wood, and planting and caring for trees.
2.
Do you support the program that reintroduced populations of the gray wolf in the Yellowstone ecosystem in the United States
(Core Case Study)? Explain. Do you think the reintroduction of wolves should be expanded to areas outside of the park?
Explain.
Yes, the introduction of the gray wolf helps to restore the natural ecological balance of the area. The gray wolf, regarded as a
keystone species, helps to sustain the biodiversity and restore balance to the ecosystem, which prevents further degradation. I
would be in favor of expanding these reintroduction efforts to areas outside of the park, provided that there was a widespread
education campaign as well as resources available to people who need to fortify their own resources, such as livestock,
against the reintroduction of this large predator.
3.
Some argue that growing oil palm trees in plantations in order to produce biodiesel fuel will help us to lessen our dependence
on oil and will cut vehicle CO2 emissions. Do you think these benefits are important enough to justify burning and clearing
some tropical rain forests? Why or why not? Can you think of ways to produce biofuels, other than cutting trees? What are
they?
These benefits are not sufficient to justify the potential loss of biodiversity. There are potential other sources of biofuels, as
well as new alternative technologies that could be developed and exploited. Biodiversity loss is an irreparable consequence of
this extractive activity. Other ways to produce biofuels range from first exhausting all waste oil resources, and then focusing
on highly productive crops, such as sugar cane, as well as new alternatives such as algae. Ultimately, energy conservation
and a diversification of sources may be the best alternative.
4.
In the early 1990s, Miguel Sanchez, a subsistence farmer in Costa Rica, was offered $600,000 by a hotel developer for a
piece of land that he and his family had been using sustainably for many years. The land contained an old-growth rain forest
and a black sand beach in an area under rapid development. Sanchez refused the offer. What would you have done if you
were a poor subsistence farmer in Miguel Sanchez’s position? Explain your decision.
I would have refused the offer like Sanchez did. The family heritage on land owned by generations of the same family is
worth more than hard cash. Although many of these subsistence farmers are considered “poor” by the standards of living in
the developed world, they have in many ways a much “richer” life than money alone can provide. Sanchez thought it
important to continue in the sustainable ways of his family. I agree.
5.
There is controversy over whether Yellowstone National Park in the United States should be accessible by snowmobile
during winter. Conservationists and backpackers, who use cross-country skis or snowshoes for excursions in the park during
winter, say no. They contend that snowmobiles are noisy, pollute the air, and can destroy vegetation and disrupt some of the
park’s wildlife. Proponents say that snowmobiles should be allowed so that snowmobilers can enjoy the park during winter
when cars are mostly banned. They point out that new snowmobiles are made to cut pollution and noise. A proposed
compromise plan would allow no more than 950 of these new machines into the park per day, only on roads, and primarily on
guided tours. What is your view on this issue? Explain.
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Snowmobile access should not be allowed during the winter months in Yellowstone. Even new environmentally-friendly,
pollution-free snowmobiles will destroy vegetation and disrupt wildlife. During this normally peaceful time during the year,
the park should remain closed to motorized traffic in order for the ecosystem to function without disruption for the season.
6.
In 2006, Lester R. Brown estimated that reforesting the earth and restoring the earth’s degraded rangelands would cost about
$15 billion a year. Suppose the United States, as the world’s most affluent country, agreed to put up half this money, at an
average annual cost of $25 per American. Would you support doing this? Explain. What other part or parts of the federal
budget would you decrease to come up with these funds?
Yes, I would support this. The United States comprises less than 5 percent of the world’s population but we are responsible
for a much higher percentage use of the world’s resources and resulting environmental degradation. Other countries should
also kick in and help offset the costs. These funds could come out of the military budget that the Pentagon receives.
7.
Should developed countries provide most of the money to help preserve remaining tropical forests in developing countries?
Explain.
Yes, developing countries need help from the developed world in order to preserve their remaining tropical forests. Many of
the countries in the developed world have been the driving force for much of the deforestation that has occurred from oil,
mineral, and other resource extraction in these areas. Many of the developing countries cannot even afford to pay back the
interest on the loans from the World Bank and the IMF. In some cases they have entered into “debt for nature swaps.”
8.
9.
Are you in favor of establishing more wilderness areas in the United States, especially in the lower 48 states (or in the
country where you live)? Explain. What might be some drawbacks of doing this?
Ensuring that current wilderness areas remain protected would be a main priority. Then an assessment of what other potential
wilderness areas in the nation could be protected should be conducted, and decisions made on a case by case basis. Once an
area has been given the designation of being a wilderness area, then it should keep that designation and not have it removed
by the next government administration. There are drawbacks to this. Some people will be against protecting these areas and
may wish to expand into them for development or resource extraction. Others may wish this to occur as it may limit their
own ability to use the area as they would like to, for offroading for example.
Congratulations! You are in charge of the world. List the three most important features of your policies for using and
managing: (a) forests, (b) grasslands, (c) nature reserves such as parks and wildlife refuges, (d) biological hotspots, and (e)
areas with deteriorating ecosystems services.
(a) I would ensure that sustainable harvesting practices took place in forested areas in order to supply and promote the
production of sustainably grown wood products, manage the forests using best practices, and replant areas that have been cut
down.
(b) I would limit grazing rights on grasslands and remove subsidies that turn grasslands into cash crop-yielding areas, and
minimize habitat fragmentation by limiting road construction and development of these areas.
(c) I would limit the yearly use of nature reserves by putting a cap on the number of visitors who could access the area;
increase the funding for park management and maintenance, and increase the amount of area in and around the reserves by
purchasing and protecting more land.
(d) I would limit development in biodiversity hotspots, and implement a habitat conservation plan to protect as many
threatened and endangered species as possible.
(e) Areas with deteriorating ecosystem services would be the focus of aggressive ecological restoration programs. These
would involve community members, so that the local population would feel connected with the process. This would foster a
cohesiveness that would help the projects to succeed.
10. List two questions that you would like to have answered as a result of reading this chapter.
Student answers will vary and provide a good starting point for class discussion.
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