ch12 res mgmt, forestry, land use and protected areasmgmt... · • seed-tree cutting = a small...

Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings

PowerPoint® Slides prepared by Jay Withgott and Heidi Marcum

Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings

Ch 12Resource Management, Forestry, Land Use, and Protected AreasPart 2: Environmental Issues and the Search for Solutions


This lecture will help you understand:

• Resource management • Forests and forest loss • Forest contributions and loss • Forest management and harvest

methods • Agricultural land use • The major federal land

management agencies • Park and preserve design


• In 1993, protestors blocked loggers from cutting ancient trees on Vancouver Island, British Columbia - Most of Canada’s old-growth temperate rainforest is already

gone - 20% of the jobs depends on the timber industry

Central Case: Battling over the last big trees

Both sides struck a deal allowing environmentally friendly practices and encouraging ecotourism


Resources are vital to us

• We need to carefully manage the limited resources we take from the natural world

• Resource management = the practice of harvesting potentially renewable resources in ways that do not deplete them - Resource managers are influenced by political, economic, and social factors - A key question is whether to focus on the resource of interest or to look more

broadly at the entire environmental system


Natural resources are vital to us

• We need resources - Soils: agriculture, natural communities - Water: drinking, agriculture, wildlife - Wildlife and fisheries: game, nongame, and

marine species - Rangeland: livestock - Minerals: mined nonrenewable resources


Maximum sustainable yield • Maximum sustainable yield = aims to achieve the maximum

amount of resource extraction - Without depleting the resource from one harvest to the

next • Populations grow most rapidly at an intermediate size

- Population size is about half its carrying capacity - Managed populations are well below what they would

naturally be

Reducing populations so drastically affects other species and can change the entire ecosystem


Ecosystem-based management

• Ecosystem-based management = managing the harvesting of resources to minimize impact on the ecosystems and ecological processes - Carefully managing ecologically important areas - Considering patterns at the landscape level - Protecting some forested areas

• It is challenging for managers to determine how to implement this type of management - Ecosystems are complex, and our understanding of how they operate is limited


Adaptive management evolves and improves

• Adaptive management = systematically testing different management approaches and aiming to improve methods - Monitoring results and adjusting methods as needed - A fusion of science and management - Time-consuming and complicated

• The 1994 Northwest Forest Plan resolved disputes between loggers and preservationists over the remaining old-growth temperate rainforests in the continental U.S. - Allowed limited logging - Protected species and ecosystems - Science-guided management in Oregon, Washington, and

California


Forest Management• Forests cover over 30% of Earth’s land surface

- Provide habitat, maintain soil, air, and water quality, and play key roles in biogeochemical cycles

- Provide wood for fuel, construction, paper production • Foresters, professionals who manage forests through the practice of

forestry, must balance ecosystem services with demand for wood products


Ecological value of forests• One of the richest ecosystems for biodiversity

- Structural complexity houses great biodiversity • A forest provides many ecosystem services

- Stabilizes soil and prevents erosion - Slows runoff, lessens flooding, purifies water - Stores carbon, releases oxygen, moderates climate


The Life of a Tree

• How a Tree Grows - Photosynthesis, Transportation Systems, Evapotranspiration

• Tree Niches - Determined by

- Water content in the soil - Forest tolerance of shade

- There is no single best set of conditions for a forest


A Forester’s View of a Forest

Old-Growth Forest: a forest that has never been cut Second-Growth Forest: has been cut and re-grown

Foresters group trees into: - Dominants, Codominants, Intermediate and Suppressed

Sites are classified by site quality: the maximum timber crop the site can produce in a given time


Sustainable Forest

• Def: Efforts to manage a forest so that a resource in it can be harvested at a rate that does not decrease the ability of the forest ecosystem to continue to provide that same rate of harvest indefinitely.

• There are few examples of this. The “certification of sustainable forestry” developed. This involves: - Determining which methods appear most consistent

with sustainability - Comparing the management of a specific forest with

those standards


4 Ways Vegetation Can Effect the Atmosphere:

1. Changing color of the surface and the amount of sunlight reflected and absorbed 2. Increasing the amount of water transpired and evaporated from the surface to the

atmosphere 3. Changing the rate at which greenhouse gases are released from the Earth’s

surface into the atmosphere 4. Changing the “surface roughness,” which affects wind speed at the surface


Economic value of forests

• Benefits: fuel, shelter, transportation (boats), paper

• Helped society achieve a high standard of living

• Logging Locations: - Boreal Forests: Canada,

Russia - Rainforests: Brazil, Indonesia - Conifer Forests/Pine

Plantations: U.S.

In 2005, over 1/3 all forests were designated for timber production


Demand for wood leads to deforestation

• Deforestation = the clearing and loss of forests - Alters landscapes and

ecosystems - Degrades soil - Causes species decline and

extinction - Ruins civilizations - Adds carbon dioxide to the air

Developing countries boost their economies and get land for their growing populations by logging forests


Deforestation in America and Canada

• Deforestation propelled the westward expansion and growth of America and Canada - Eastern deciduous forests

were the first to be logged for farms and to build cities (i.e., Chicago)

- Timber companies moved south to the Ozarks and west to the Rockies


Loggers moved westward, searching for large trees

• Primary forest = natural forest uncut by people - Little remained by the 20th century

• Second-growth trees = grown to partial maturity after old-growth timber has been cut


Loggers lose their jobs with deforestation

• As each region is deforested, the timber industry declines and moves on - Local loggers lose their jobs

• Once the remaining ancient trees of North America are gone, loggers will once again lose jobs - Companies will simply move to another area

• The scarcity of remaining old-growth trees fuels scientific concerns and empassions environmentalists


Deforestation is proceeding rapidly worldwide

• Uncut tropical forests still remain in many developing countries - Technology allows for even faster exploitation - Deforestation is rapid in places such as Brazil and Indonesia

• Developing countries are so desperate for economic development, they have few logging restrictions - Short-term economic benefits go to foreign multinational

corporations - Governments often help companies, at the expense of native

people


“Timber famine” fears spurred forest protection

• National forest system = a system of forest reserves and public lands - To grow trees, produce timber, protect watersheds, and ensure

future timber supplies - Resulted from depletion of U.S. forests and fear of a “timber

famine” - 77 million ha (191 million acres); 8% of the U.S. land area

• The U.S. Forest Service was established in 1905 - Manage forests for the greatest good of the greatest number

in the long run, including logging


Federal agencies own land in the U.S.


Timber is extracted from public and private land

• Timber is extracted by private companies, even on public land - Forest Service employees plan and manage timber sales and

build roads - The companies log and sell the timber for profit


Most logging occurs on private land

• But, millions of cubic feet per year are still logged from national forests - Timber harvesting remains stable in developed countries - Timber companies manage forests according to the maximum sustained yield

approach

• Management on public lands reflects economic forces, along with social and political ones - These change over time - Public concern, changing management philosophies and economics caused harvests to

decrease


Harvesting timber: clear-cutting

- All trees in the area are cut

- Most cost-efficient - Greatest impact on forest

ecosystems - May mimic some natural

forms of disturbance - Destroy entire

communities - Soil erosion - Public is outraged over

this type of harvesting


Harvesting: other methods

• Seed-tree cutting = a small number of seed-producing trees are left standing to reseed the area

• Shelterwood cutting = a small number of trees are left to provide shelter for the seedlings

• Selection systems = only select trees are cut - Single tree selection = widely spaced trees are cut - Group tree selection = small patches of trees are cut

• All methods disturb habitat - Change forest structure and composition - Increase erosion, siltation, runoff, flooding, landslides


Harvesting forests


Plantation Forestry• Plantation: a stand of single species planted in

straight rows • Properly managed plantations can relieve pressure

on forests


Plantation forestry

• The timber industry focuses on timber plantations - Fast-growing species - Monocultures - Even-aged trees = all trees are the same age

• Trees are cut at the end of the rotation time and replanted - Plantations are crops, not functional forests

• Some harvesting methods maintain uneven-aged (mixed ages of trees and species) tree stands


Public forests can be managed for many things

• Increased public awareness caused people to urge changed forest management - For recreation, wildlife and ecosystem integrity, instead of logging - Critics protested federal subsidies of logging companies

• Multiple use policy = national forests were to be managed for recreation, habitat, minerals and other uses - In reality, timber production is the primary use

The Forest Service loses $100 million/yr by selling timber below cost


The National Forest Management Act (1976)

• Mandated that plans for renewable resource management had to be drawn up for every national forest

• Guidelines included: - Consideration of both economic and environmental factors - Provision for species diversity - Ensuring research and monitoring - Permitting only sustainable harvests - Protection of soils and wetlands - Assessing all impacts before logging to protect resources


New forestry management is under attack

• Calls for timber cuts that mimic natural disturbances - Harvesting methods are based on ecosystem approaches

• The Bush administration has rolled back these regulations - Freed managers from requirements of the Act - Loosened environmental protections - Repealed President Clinton’s roadless rule, which protected 31%

of national forests from road building - California, Oregon, and New Mexico have sued the government

to reinstate the roadless rule


Fire policy also stirs controversy

• For over 100 years, the Forest Service suppressed all fires - But many ecosystems depend on

fires - Fire suppression allows woody

accumulation, which produces kindling for future fires

- Which are much worse • Housing development near forests and

climate change will increase fire risk


Prescribed fires are misunderstood

• Prescribed (controlled) burns = burning areas of forests under carefully controlled conditions - Effective - May get out of control - Impeded by public misunderstanding and political interference

• Healthy Forests Restoration Act (2003) = promotes removal of small trees, underbrush and dead trees - Passed in response to forest fires


Salvage logging

• Removal of dead trees following a natural disturbance • Seems logical, but is really destructive

- Snags (standing dead trees) provide nesting cavities for countless animals - Removing timber from recently burned areas increases erosion and soil damage - Promotes future fires - Increases commercial logging in national forests - Decreases oversight and public participation


Sustainable forestry is gaining ground

• Sustainable forestry certification = only products produced sustainably can be certified - International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Forest

Stewardship Council (FSC) have different standards - Consumers look for logos to buy sustainably produced

timber - Companies such as Home Depot sell sustainable wood

- Encourages better logging practices


Agricultural land use

• Agriculture covers 38% of the Earths’ terrestrial surface - 26% supports pasture, 12% supports crops - The most widespread type of land use - Causes tremendous environmental impacts

• Governments spend billions of dollars on subsidies - Proponents say farmers need this insurance against bad years - Critics say farmers should buy their own insurance


Wetlands have been drained for farming

• Many crop lands grow on former wetlands

• Governments have encouraged wetland draining - Promote settlement and farming - Transferred land to states - Stimulated draining

• Less than half the wetlands remain


Perspectives on wetlands are changing

• Many people have a new view of wetlands - Not worthless swamps, but valuable ecosystems - Demanded regulations to safeguard remaining wetlands - But, because of loopholes, wetlands are still being lost

• Conservation Reserve Program (1985) subsidized farmers to take highly erodable land out of production - Turn it into wildlife habitat


Livestock graze one-fourth of Earth’s land

• Grazing can be sustainable if done carefully and at low intensity • Bureau of Land Management (BLM) = owns and manages

most U.S. rangeland - Nation’s single largest landowner: 106 million ha (261

million acres) across 12 western states - Ranchers can graze cattle on BLM lands for low fees - Low fees encourage overgrazing

Ranchers and environmentalists have joined to preserve ranchland against development and urban sprawl


Management of the American West

• Overexploitation of resources caused great damage to the American West - Poor farming practices, overgrazing,

farming arid lands • John Wesley Powell in the late 1800s called

for agencies to base management on science - Farming Western lands had to account for

arid conditions - His ideas were ignored, contributing to

failures such as the Dust Bowl of the 1930s


Parks and reserves

• Reasons for establishing parks and reserves include: - Monumentalism = preserving areas with enormous, beautiful or unusual features,

such as the Grand Canyon - Offer recreational value to tourists, hikers, fishers, hunters and others - Protect areas with utilitarian benefits, such as clean drinking water - Use sites that are otherwise economically not valuable and are therefore easy to

protect - Preservation of biodiversity


Federal parks and reserves began in the U.S.

• National parks = public lands protected from resource extraction and development - Open to nature appreciation

and recreation - Yellowstone National Park

was established in 1872 • The Antiquities Act of 1906

- The president can declare selected public lands as national monuments


The National Park Service (NPS)

• Created in 1916 to administer parks and monuments - 388 sites totaling 32 million ha (72 million acres) - Includes national historic sites, national recreation areas, national wild and

scenic rivers - 273 million visitors in 2006


National Wildlife Refuges

• Begun in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt • 37 million ha (91 million acres) in 541 sites • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service administers refuges

- Management ranges from preservation to manipulation - Wildlife havens - Allows hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, photography, education


Wilderness

• Wilderness: an area undisturbed by people - U.S. Wilderness Act of 1964-widerness recognized by national law as a national treasure to be preserved.

- The imprint of human work is unnoticeable. - There are opportunities for solitude and for primitive and unconfined recreation - There are at least 5,000 acres.

• Managing parks for biological conservation is a relatively new idea. Parks that are too small or in the wrong shape may not be able to sustain their species


Wilderness areas

• Wilderness areas = area is off-limits to development of any kind - Open to the public for hiking,

nature study, etc. - Must have minimal impact on

the land - Necessary to ensure that humans

don’t occupy and modify all natural areas

• Established within federal lands - Overseen by the agencies that

administer those areas


Not everyone supports land set-asides

• Restriction of activities in wilderness areas generated opposition to U.S. land protection policies - Some western states want resource extraction and development

• The wise-use movement = a coalition of individuals and industries that oppose environmental protection - Protecting private property, transferring federal lands to state or private hands,

promoting motorized recreation on public lands - Farmers, ranchers, loggers, mineral and fossil fuel industries


Wilderness protection has been weakened

• President George W. Bush has weakened wilderness protection - Federal agencies have shifted policies and enforcement - Away from preservation and conservation - Toward recreation and resource extraction


Nonfederal entities also protect land

• Each U.S. state and Canadian province has agencies that manage resources - So do counties and municipalities

• Land trusts = local or regional organizations that purchase land to protect it - The Nature Conservancy is the world’s largest land trust - Trusts protect 4.1 million ha (10.2 million acres) - Jackson Hole, Wyoming is protected by a land trust


Parks and reserves are increasing internationally

• Many nations have established national parks - Benefit from ecotourism - Protected areas now cover 9.6% of the world’s land area

• Parks do not always receive necessary funding - Paper parks = Areas protected on paper but not in reality - World heritage sites = protected areas that fall under national

sovereignty but are designated or managed by the United Nations

- 830 sites across 184 countries


Transboundary and peace parks

• Transboundary park = an area of protected land overlapping national borders - For example, Waterton-Glacier National Parks in the U.S. and Canada

• Peace parks = transboundary reserves that help ease tensions by acting as buffers between nations

• Biosphere reserves = land with exceptional biodiversity - Couple preservation with sustainable development


Biosphere reserves have several zones

• This can be a win-win situation for everyone


Habitat fragmentation threatens species

• Contiguous habitat is chopped into small pieces - Species suffer


The SLOSS dilemma

• Which is better to protect species? - A Single Large Or Several Small reserves? - Depends on the species: tigers vs. insects

• Corridors = protected land that allows animals to travel between islands of protected habitat - Animals get more resources - Enables gene flow between populations


Conclusion

• Resources must be managed sustainably to avoid overexploitation and overharvesting

• Many nations have established federal and regional agencies to manage publicly held land and natural resources

• Resource management policies first emphasized extraction then shifted into sustained yield and multiple use

• Public support for land preservation resulted in parks, wilderness areas and other reserves


QUESTION: Review

If an area is managed for Maximum Sustained Yield, and the area can support 100 organisms, how many organisms will be allowed to remain in the area? a) 100 b) 75 c) 50 d) 25


QUESTION: Review

Which of the following is not part of the ecological value of forests?

a) Erosion prevention b) Decreased flooding c) Carbon storage d) Climate moderation e) All of the above are values of forests


QUESTION: Review

Which of the following statement regarding forest management is false?

a) Deforestation in the U.S. has occurred for centuries b) Timber companies move on after an area is deforested c) Tropical countries have lost the majority of forests so timber companies won’t be going

there d) Governments in developing countries help logging companies at the expense of native

people


QUESTION: Review

Which agency manages national forests? a) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service b) U.S. Forest Service c) Bureau of Land Management d) National Park Service


QUESTION: Review

Tree harvesting by clear-cutting…. a) Cuts all trees in an area, leaving only stumps b) Cuts most trees, but leaves some to produce seeds c) Cuts most trees, but leaves some to shelter seedlings d) Produces uneven-aged tree stands


QUESTION: Review

The National Forest Management Act of 1976 guidelines included all of the following, except:

a) Consideration of economic factors b) Soil protection c) Increased harvesting under times of economic stress d) Provisions for species diversity


QUESTION: Review

The Conservation Reserve Program: a) Pays farmers subsidies to drain wetlands b) Pays farmers subsidies to protect wetlands c) Pays farmers to increase livestock on BLM lands d) Encourages cities to drain wetlands for expansion


QUESTION: Review

“Monumentalism” refers to: a) Protecting very large trees b) Protecting areas with large buildings c) Growing the largest crops possible d) Preserving lands with enormous or beautiful features


QUESTION: Review

Which areas are off limits to all development? a) National forests b) National parks c) Wilderness areas d) BLM lands


QUESTION: Review

How does habitat fragmentation threaten species? a) Large lands are chopped into small pieces b) Small lands are not protected c) Species are able to find each other more easily d) It does not threaten species


QUESTION: Interpreting Graphs and Data

Which type of land ownership has more trees being cut than growing?

a) National forests b) Other public forests c) Forest industry land d) Other private land


QUESTION: Interpreting Graphs and Data

Which area of the world had the largest increase in paper consumption between 1990 and 2000?

a) Africa b) Asia c) Europe d) North America


QUESTION: Viewpoints

Should people be allowed to build homes alongside national parks that periodically experience fire?

a) Yes, people should be allowed to build wherever they want b) Yes, but only if they carry enough insurance c) No, the government should buy the land as a buffer zone d) I don’t care, I don’t own a home in a fire-prone area


QUESTION: Viewpoints

Should farmers and ranchers get federal subsidies to protect their land?

a) Absolutely yes; we pay subsidies for everything else b) Maybe, if the farmer earns below a certain amount of money c) No; all subsidies are bad, regardless of their goals d) I would agree, if I could get a subsidy

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