the biosphere reserve program in the united...

reprinted fromI January 1977, Volume 195, pp. 262-267 SCIENCE

The Biosphere Reserve Program inthe United States

Jerry F. Franklin

Copyright@ 1977 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Development of the Biosphere Reserve

Concept

Biosphere reserves are major elementsin Unesco's "Man and the Biosphere"(MAB) program and in the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Environmental Agreement.They are part of an international systemof reserves with the primary objectivesof conservation of genetic diversity, envi-

The author is chief plant ecologist, Pacific North-west Forest and Range Experiment Station, ForestService, U.S. Department of Agriculture, ForestrySciences Laboratory, Corvallis, Oregon 97330. Hewas chairman of the U.S. Man and the BiosphereCommittee on Project 8 (Biosphere Reserves) and isU.S. chairman of Project V-4.1 (Biosphere Re-serves) under the U.S.—U.S.S.R. EnvironmentalAgreement.

ronmental research and monitoring, andeducation.

The scientific community must beaware of the existence and potentialof the biosphere reserves if they areto fulfill their intended functions. Iwill outline the conceptual developmentof the Unesco effort, the philosophy guid-ing its implementation in the UnitedStates, and the utilization and expansionof U.S. biosphere reserves expected inthe future. The views presented arethose of the U.S. National Committeefor Man and the Biosphere.

The concept of biosphere reserves wasdeveloped as a major element of Project8, Conservation of Natural Areas and ofthe Genetic Material They Contain , inthe Unesco-sponsored Program on Manand the Biosphere (/ ). This project,which emerged as an important com-ponent early in the MAB planning, wasinitially considered in detail by an expertpanel, which met in Morges, Switzer-land, in September 1973. Establishmentof a worldwide network of biospherereserves was this panel's first recommen-dation. A task force with the responsibili-ty of defining "criteria and guidelines forthe selection and establishment of bio-sphere reserve" (2, p. 9) met in Paris inMay 1974. The task force report is thesource of the following information onthe international program.

Biosphere reserves have three basicpurposes or objectives: (i) conservationor preservation—"to conserve for pres-ent and future use the diversity and integ-rity of biotic communities of plants andanimals within natural ecosystems, andto safeguard the genetic diversity of spe-cies on which their continuing evolutiondepends" (2, p. 6); (ii) research and

The Biosphere Reserve Program inthe United States

A program has been developed to select key

sites for environmental research and monitoring.

Jerry F. Franklin

monitoring—"to provide areas for eco-logical and environmental research in-chiding, particularly, baselines studies. . ." (2, p. 6); and (iii) education—"toprovide facilities for education and train-ing" (2, p. 6).

In concept, the core of the biospherereserve program includes natural areasrepresentative of the major biomes orbiotic divisions of the world, includingtheir main subdivisions and transitionalzones. Biosphere reserves of other typesare identified, notably natural areas withunique features of exceptional interestand man-modified landscapes in regionswhere natural conditions no longer exist.The rationale for the objectives and de-sign of each kind of biosphere reservehas been developed (2). The U.S. pro-gram has focused, at least initially, on

the first type, representative naturalareas (3).

The system used for classifying theworld into biotic regions or biomes wasdeveloped by the International Union forConservation of Nature and Natural Re-sources (IUCN) (4, 5). This system isbeing further divided and refined for thecontinental United States (see Fig. 1).Additional criteria for identifying re-serves include size (areas large enough tobe effective conservation units and toinclude complete watersheds) and ade-quate legal protection from nonconform-ing uses.

All three objectives---conservation, re-search. and education—are viewed asimportant and generally compatible. Pri-orities among the objectives will varywith the nature of the biosphere reserve

and the primary thrust of the nationalprograms. In some countries, establish-ing reserves for conservation will havepriority, and research programs willhave to be developed as quickly as pos-sible. In other countries with numerousexisting conservation reserves, currentresearch and educational activities aswell as the potential for their expansionwill be more important criteria in select-ing biosphere reserves.

The biosphere reserve program "is notmeant as a substitute for programmes toestablish national parks or equivalent re-serves" although they may "often coin-cide partly with or incorporate nationalparks . . ." (2, p. 6). The objective con-

Fig. I. Location of estabished biosphere reserves and biotic prov-inces in the continental United States (including Alaska); provincesubdivisions are indicated by dotted lines. Alphabetic designationsrefer to biotic provinces: AI, Aleutian Islands; AT, Alaskan Tundra;AU, Austroriparian; CA, Californian; CH, Chihuahuan; CT, CanadianTaiga; EF, Eastern Forest; EV, Everglades; GB, Great Basin; GR,Grasslands; MC, Madrean-Cordilleran; OR, Oregonian; RM, RockyMountains; SC, Sierra-Cascade; SI, Sitkan; SO, Sonoran; TA, Ta-maulipan; YT, Yukon Tundra. Numbered areas refer to biospherereserves: 1, Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge; 2, Big BendNational Park; 3, Cascade Head Experimental Forest; 4, CentralPlains Experiment Station; 5, Channel Islands National Monument; 6,Coram Expeamental Forest; 7, Coweeta Experimental Forest; 8,Desert Experimental Range; 9, Everglades National Park; 10, FraserExperimental Forest; I I, Glacier National Park; 12, Great SmokyMountains National Park; 13, H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest;14, Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest; 15, Jornada ExperimentalRange; 16, Mount McKinley National Park; 17, Noatak NationalArctic Range; 18, Olympic National Park; 19, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument; 20, Pawnee National Grassland (9); 21. Rocky MountainNational Park; 22, San Dimas Experimental Forest; 23, San Joaquin Experimental Range; 24, Sequoia—Kings Canyon National Parks; 25,Stanislaus Experimental Forest; 26, Three Sisters Wilderness; 27, Yellowstone National Park.

cerning research and monitoring is a ma-jor distinguishing feature between parksand biosphere reserves. To avoid poten-tial conflicts between conservation andresearch, the task force encouraged thedesignation of core areas with strict con-servation objectives and adjacent bufferzones where destructive types of re-search, such as might be associated withstudies of various land uses, could becarried out.

What seems clear from the expert pan-el and task force efforts is that a varietyof kinds of areas will be accommodatedas part of the biosphere reserve program,

with varying degrees of naturalness andof relative emphasis on conservation andresearch. Ultimately, the unifying con-cept is a worldwide system of reservesrepresenting all the globally significantbiotic regions and unique features, eachwith active research and monitoring pro-grams associated with the preservationeffort, and all linked by an internationalunderstanding of purposes and standardsand by frequent exchanges of personneland information. Each country mustwork toward this goal in the context ofits peculiar national potentialities andprograms.

Initial Implementation of the Biosphere

Reserve Program in the United States

The U.S. MAB Committee on Project8 (U.S. MAB 8 Committee) weighs con-servation and research equally in its de-liberations on biosphere reserves. Selec-tion of representative sites in each bioticprovince is, of course, an essential ele-ment; the sites should provide superla-tive examples of the ecosystems found ina province. Conservation of genetic re-sources is implicit. However, the exis-tence of or potential for major ecologicalresearch and monitoring programs is crit-

Table 1. Established biosphere reserves in the United States and its territories. The reserves are administered by the Department of the Interior(Interior), the Bureau of Land Management (Land Management), the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Fish and Wildlife), the NationalPark Service (National Park), the Forest Service (Forest), the Department of Agriculture (Agriculture), or the Agricultural Research Service(Agricultural Research). The orientation of an area is toward conservation (C), experimental research (E), or both.

Biotic provinceor subdivision (8)

Name and locationof area Outstanding features Size

(hectares)Administering

agencyOrien-tation

Alaskan Tundra Noatak National ArcticRange, Alaska

Major arctic river basin (tundra ecosystems) 3,000,000 Interior, Land Manage-ment

C

Aleutian Aleutian Island National Includes essentially all the Aleutian Island 1,100,000 Interior, Fish and Wild- CEIslands Wildlife Refuge, Alaska chain life

Austroriparian*Californian Channel Islands National

Monument, CaliforniaTwo islands (453 hectares) and adjacent

ocean; abundance of endemic biota andmarine fauna

7,440 Interior, National Park C

San Dimas ExperimentalForest, California

Typical chaparral ecosystem; history of eco-logical and watershed research

6,947 Agriculture, Forest E

San Joaquin ExperimentalRange, California

California Central Valley annual grasslandand oak savanna; history of ecologicaland range management research


Chihuahuan Big Bend National Park,Texas

Representative desert mountain and low-land ecosystems


Jornada ExperimentalRange, New Mexico

Typical desert grasslands; history of ecologi-cal and range management research

77,000 Agriculture, AgriculturalResearch

E

Eastern Forest*(south)

Coweeta ExperimentalForest, North Carolina

Typical southern Appalachian mixed hard-wood forest; history of watershed andecological research


Great Smoky MountainsNational Park, Tennes-see and North Carolina

Appalachian mountainscape with rich bioticdiversity including hardwood and spruce-fir forests; history of ecological/bio-geographical research


Eastern Forest(northeast)

Hubbard Brook Experi-mental Forest, NewHampshire

Typical northern Appalachian mountaindrainage of mixed hardwoods and spruce;history of ecosystem and watershed re-search


Eastern Forestt(north central)

Everglades Everglades National Park,Florida

Subtropical forest, mangrove, swamp,marshland, and near-shore marine ecosys-tems; rich biota; substantial ecological re-search including experimental manipula-tions

566,800 Interior, National Park CE

Grasslands Central Plains Experiment Typical short-grass prairie ecosystems; his- 6,280 Agriculture, Agricultural E(short grass)

Grasslands(true prairie)

Station, Colorado tory of ecological and range managementresearch

Research

Great Basin*(north)

Great Basin(south)

Desert ExperimentalRange, Utah

Typical salt-desert shrub (salthush-grease-wood) and juniper-pinyon pine ecosys-tems; history of ecological and range man-agement research


GreaterAntillean

Luquillo Experimental For-est, Puerto Rico

Tropical rain forest, montane thicket, palmand dwarf forest ecosystems; rich biota;history of ecological and silvicultural re-search

11,300 Agriculture, Forest EC

Hawaiiant

ical. The manipulative research is alsolinked to the educational use of reservessince these are areas in which variousmanagement practices can be tested anddemonstrated.

From the earliest stage in the selectionprocess it was obvious that some con-servation and experimental reserves inthe United States were outstanding can-didates for biosphere reserves. This wastrue in a majority of the biotic provinces.This appraisal was based on (i) the signifi-cance and representativeness of their fea-tures and (ii) long histories of biotic pres-ervation, ecological research, or both.From these candidates an initial series of19 reserves was selected in 1974 under

the impetus of a Unesco MAB confer-ence in the United States and agree-ments between the United States and theU.S.S.R. on joint designation and studyof biosphere reserves. Nine additionalareas were established in November1975.

The areas (Table 1) are generally oftwo types, experimental tracts and largeconservation preserves. Experimentaltracts have histories of ecological re-search and monitoring, which often in-clude major manipulative research anddemonstration projects (Fig. 2). Exam-ples are the Coweeta, H. J. Andrews,Fraser, and Luquillo Experimental For-ests, the Jornada Experimental Range,

and the Central Plains Experiment Sta-tion. These areas typically have at leastsmall natural areas or preserves associat-ed with them as control sites for theexperiments. The large conservation pre-serve typically has a relatively limitedhistory of research and monitoring andlimited options for experimental or ma-nipulative research. The Three SistersWilderness is an example, as are most ofthe designated national parks and monu-ments (Fig. 3) (6).

It was seldom possible to identify asingle area that satisfied all criteria—alarge, strictly preserved tract for con-servation of a full array of organismswith a substantial history of research and

Table 1 (continued)

Biotic provinceor subdivision (8)

Name and locationof area

Outstanding features Size(hectares)

Administeringagency

Orien-tation

LesserAntillean

Virgin Islands NationalPark, Virgin Islands

Tropical ecosystems including near-shoremarine areas


MicronesiantOregonian Cascade Head Experimen-

tal Forest and Scenic Re-search Area, Oregon

Coastal Sitka-spruce-western hemlock for-ests and estuary; history of ecological andsilvicultural research

7,051 Agriculture, Forest

Olympic National Park,Washington

Coastal mountain system with dense co-niferous forest, coastal and alpine ecosys-tems; abundant glaciers and large elkherds


Rocky Mountain(north)

Coram Experimental For-est, Montana

Typical montane mixed-conifer forests ofDouglas fir, western larch, and lodgepolepine; history of ecological and silvicultur-al research


Glacier National Park,Montana

Broad range of typical mountain landscapesand ecosystems from prairie margin toalpine


Yellowstone NationalPark, Wyoming, Idaho,and Montana

Unique area with abundant thermal phenom-ena and larger mammals; history of eco-logical research


Rocky Mountain(south)

Fraser Experimental For-est, Colorado

Subalpine forests of subalpine fir, Engel-mann spruce, and lodgepole pine and al-pine tundra; history of ecological and wa-tershed research


Rocky Mountain NationalPark, Colorado

Typical montane and subalpine forest eco-systems and alpine tundra


Sierra-Cascade(north)

H. J. Andrews Experimen-tal Forest, Oregon

Dense coniferous forest ecosystems ofDouglas fir, western hemlock, cedars, andtrue firs; history of ecosystem and water-shed research


Three Sisters Wilderness,Oregon

Dense montane and subalpine forests ofDouglas fir, hemlocks, and true firs, al-pine ecosystems, and recent volcanic for-mations


Sierra-Cascade(south)

Sequoia—Kings Canyon Na-tional Parks, California

Representative Sierran mixed-conifer for-ests (sugar pine, incense-cedar, true firs);subalpine and alpine ecosystems


Stanislaus ExperimentalForest, California

Representative Sierran mixed-conifer for-ests; history of ecological and silviculturalresearch

683 Agriculture, Forest

SitkantSonoran

(typical)Organ Pipe Cactus Nation-

al Monument, ArizonaDesert ecosystems including rich diversity

of cacti134,000 Interior, National Park C

Sonoran(Mojave)t

Yukon Taiga Mt. McKinley NationalPark, Alaska

Representative tundra and taiga ecosystemsincluding large ungulate and predator com-ponents


*The Savannah River (SC in Fig. 1), Oak Ridge (TE), and Arid Lands Ecology (WA) Reservations of the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA)have been proposed for sites in the Austroriparian, Eastern Forest (south) and Great Basin (north) Biotic Provinces, respectively. Thus far, ERDA has not designatedany portions of these sites as biosphere reserves because of concerns over agency prerogatives. tGood candidates for biosphere reserves have been identified.but a final selection has not been made.

Fig. 2. Experimentally oriented biosphere reserves are tracts that, in addition to providingoutstanding representations of a biotic province, have long histories of ecological research andmonitoring. Major manipulative research projects, such as this study of the effects of logging atH. J. Andrews Experimental Forest in Oregon, are typical.

monitoring and potential for major exper-imental treatments. [The only area that isclearly of this type is the Arid LandsEcology Reserve, at Hanford, Washing-ton, which is controlled by the EnergyResearch and Development Administra-tion (ERDA) (7).1 Because of this diffi-culty, the U.S. Committee on BiosphereReserves developed the concept ofmultiple reserves whereby experimental-ly oriented tracts are matched with largepreserves similar in biologic and environ-mental features. Together they provide asingle conceptual biosphere reserve for abiotic province. For example, in thenorthern half of the Sierra Cascade Biot-ic Province (Table 1), the H. J. AndrewsExperimental Forest is linked to the near-by Three Sisters Wilderness to provide a-complete- biosphere reserve for thisrovince. Coweeta Experimental Forest,

Great Smoky Mountains National Park,and, if designated. the Oak Ridge Reser-vation of ERDA will function as a singleconceptual reserve for the southeasternsubdivision of Eastern Forest BioticProvince.

In many biotic provinces and subdivi-sions, appropriate sets of biosphere re-serves have been selected (Table 1).Twenty-eight areas have been estab-lished, and additional sites have beennominated and await agency designa-tion. Some gaps remain, for example. inthe Grasslands and Sonoran Provincesand in the north-central subdivision ofthe Eastern Forest Province. Selectionof candidates to fill these needs or toaugment existing biosphere reserves inother provinces will proceed much moreslowly as a continuing activity of the U.S.MAB 8 Committee.

Use and Management of Biosphere

Reserves

The Unesco task force has specifiedseveral kinds of desired research andmonitoring activities (2). (i) Long-termbaseline studies of environmental andbiologic features (relating to the commu-nity, flora, or fauna), which are essentialas bases for management of the area andfor other research projects; (ii) researchdesigned to assist in determining manage-ment policies for the reserve; (iii) experi-mental or manipulative studies (outsidethe strictly preserved areas) particularlyof the ecological effects of human activi-ties; (iv) environmental monitoring, in-cluding use as part of the Global Environ-mental Monitoring System; and (v) studysites for the various MAB research proj-ects.

The relative emphasis on different re-search and monitoring activities will ob-viously vary with the nature of the re-serve, with the opportunity to continueexisting research. and with the availabili-ty of new sources of funds.

The U.S. MAB 8 Committee sub-scribes to these views on the potentialuse of the reserves for research andmonitoring. Agencies and institutionssupporting research programs on bio-sphere reserves are expected at least tocontinue and, it is to be hoped, to expandtheir support. In many cases, the U.S.reserves are already major ecological re-search centers in their respective prov-inces. The most difficult tasks will be (i)obtaining the necessary funding for base-line surveys, studies, and monitoring;and (ii) persuading ecologically orientedscientists to use these sites more exten-sively. The developing support of fieldresearch facilities by the National Sci-ence Foundation should be of major as-sistance; all of the experimentally orient-ed biosphere reserves are clearly of na-tional significance, and most are recog-nized centers for applied and basicenvironmental research.

The U.S.-U.S.S.R. biosphere reserveproject under the bilateral Environmen-tal Agreement is adding further impetusto plans for utilizing the reserves. Thelead agencies for this project in theU.S.S.R. are the Academy of Sciencesand the Hydrometeorological Service.At the first meeting of the bilateral proj-ect in New York in October 1975, it wasapparent that the U.S.S.R. is empha-sizing ecological research and environ-mental monitoring in selecting their bio-sphere reserves and planning for theiruse. High priority in the U.S.-U.S.S.R.project is placed on (i) monitoring and

Fig. 3. Some established preserves which are outstanding representations of the biota of aregion. such as Great Smoky Mountains National Park pictured here, have been established asbiosphere reserves. These are designed to provide the large control area for experimental tractswith which they are matched and to serve as sites for the conservation of biotic diversity.

research aimed at understanding thestructure and function of ecosystems andtheir components; (ii) environmental con-sequences of various land managementpractices; and (iii) ensuring the effective-ness of biological reserves in maintainingbiotic diversity and gene pools by consid-ering size, habitat heterogeneity, and ex-ternal influences. The U.S.S.R. Hydro-meteorological Service is particularly in-terested in developing comparable envi-ronmental monitoring programs forvarious pollutants. Utilizing biospherereserves for such activities was exploredat a joint symposium in Moscow in May1976, a meeting which laid the ground-work for some concrete collaborative ef-forts.

Designating areas as biosphere re-serves in the • United States is not ex-pected to require major alterations inexisting objectives and management. Allexisting reserves are federally ownedand already dedicated to biotic preserva-tion, ecological and environmental re-search, or, typically, both. The relativeemphasis on preservation or experimen-tal research will vary with the area; pres-ervation of biota remains the keystone innational park reserves, for example, asexperimental research does in the experi-mental forests designated as reserves.Indeed. it was the need for both types ofactivities in a biotic province that led theU.S. MAB group to develop the conceptof matched areas.

It may become necessary to alter atti-tudes about and plans for the areas asthose responsible for their managementrecognize that they are resources ofworldwide as well as national or agencysignificance. Controlling agencies mustthus be responsive to the needs of amuch larger community in managingthese areas than has hitherto been thecase.

Some actions are required soon. Man-agement plans for each of the biospherereserves are important even if they onlysupplement comprehensive existingplans. These should particularly addressthe long-term objectives in biotic preser-vation, research and its support. monitor-ing and education, and the identificationof major problems requiring managerialaction or research. Emphasis should beon expanding scientific efforts in re-serves with relatively small existing re-search programs. Emphasis in reserveswith strong programs in research andexperimentation should include ade-quate provision for strictly reserved natu-ral areas for experimental controls andbiotic preservation.

An outstanding need is for interagencydevelopment of plans for linked reserves(such as between an experimental forestand a national park or wilderness) to seethat they are managed and used as uni-tary biosphere reserves and not as iso-lated tracts. This cooperative devel-opment is critical if the biosphere re-serve program is ever to realize its fullpotential, since rarely will a single tractbe able to adequately fulfill all func-tions—preservation. research, and edu-cation—because of existing legal man-dates and charters. The linked reservesallow different and appropriate function-al emphasis and objectives in differentreserves within a biotic province.

The U.S. MAB 8 Committee is devel-oping regional working groups to encour-age the development of collaborative pro-grams of this type and to stimulate thedevelopment of research and monitoringprograms. Participants in these regionalgroups will include not only agency ad-ministrators and scientists from the bio-sphere reserves but also academic scien-tists who do or could use the sites. Re-gional working groups will also be repre-sented on the national committee.

Summary

The objective of the biosphere reserveprogram is to identify and protect repre-sentative and unique segments of theworld's biotic provinces as major centersfor biotic and genetic preservation, eco-

logical and environmental research, edu-cation, and demonstration. It is intendedto be more than simply another programof preservation layered onto existingparks and reserves. The success of theprogram will depend in large measure onthe overall significance of the selectedreserves and the degree to which theyare active sites for scientific research andmonitoring.

References and NotesConservation of Natural Areas and of the Genet-ic- Material They Contain (Unesco MAB ReportSeries, No. 12, Paris, 1973), p. 64.Task Force on: Criteria and Guidelines for theChoice and Establishment of Biosphere Re-serves (Unesco MAB Report Series, No. 22,Paris, 1974).U.S. National Committee is also interested inunique and in man-modified areas, such as de-graded areas with potential for conservation ofgenetic diversity and for experimental researchon reclamation and recovery.R. F. Dasmann, hit. Union Conserv. Nat. Oc-cas. Pap. No. 7 (1973); International Union forConservation of Nature and Natural Resources(Secretariat), ibid., No. 9 (1974).M. D. F. Udvardy, Int. Union Conserv. Nat.Occas. Pap. No. 18 (1975).The possibilities for manipulative research innational parks are not as limited as one mightsuppose, as anyone familiar with the research onfire ecology at Everglades and Sequoia—KingsCanyon national parks can attest. Nevertheless,opportunities for studying the ecological effectsof many land use practices, such as in agricul-ture and forestry, are limited.Several ERDA tracts have been identified by theU.S. MAB 8 Committee as outstanding can-didates for biosphere reserves: Arid Lands Ecol-ogy Reserve (Washington), Oak Ridge Reserva-tion (Tennessee), and the Savannah River Reser-vation (South Carolina). Although ERDA hasbeen asked to nominate these reservations orportions of them as biosphere reserves, it hasnot done so.Biotic provinces are as defined by Udvardy (5)with additional subdivisions by the U.S. MAB 8Committee.

9. Since the preparation of this article, it has beenlearned that Pawnee National Grassland will notbecome a biosphere reserve.

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