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Explain the importance of biodiversity
Explain the importance of biodiversity
An essay on ecological restoration
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Many people do not understand the definition of restoration. Restoration of the forest is returning it to its most natural state. However, the forest is not a single use area; it houses some of the most important recourses on Earth. Furthermore, it generates revenue for more than one industry in the United States economy. There are two types of restoration, active and passive but, the focus of this paper is to describe some of the most common active restoration techniques and how it positively influences the environment and economy There are many ways and techniques of restoration some using heavy machinery and some using no equipment at all. To attain ecological sustainability biological diversity is a necessity (Service) One technique is called passive restoration; many times passive restoration can be easily confused with passive management or neglect (Vining). Passive restoration is the cessation of activities that are causing degradation or preventing recovery. The process of passive restoration the land naturally goes through its own restoration process.. With out diversity it is difficult to build defence against change or disturbance. The main focus however is on different goals and techniques for active restoration. One purpose of restoring the forest is to maintain a strong ecosystem so that it can accommodated short-term stress and adapt to long-term change (Brown). There are over thirty thousand miles of road that run through the Payette National Forest and the forest service only had funding to maintain four thousand miles of road (Crawford). Since many miles of road cannot be maintained, it is up to the Forest Service to determine which roads will be maintained. Some roads are put on what is called a rotation plan. T...
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...United States Department of Agriculture, 2003.
Fritzke, Sue. Riparian Restoration. Yosemite: U.S. Department of the Interior, 2001.
Hlodan, Oksana. American Institute of Biological Sciences. 2010. 5 December 2010 .
Hoag, Chris J., et al. Riparian Wetland Information. Aberdeen: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2001.
McCammon, Bruce, John Rector and Karl Gebhardt. A Frame work for ANalzing the Hydrologic Conditions of Watersheds. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1998.
Service, US Forest. Collaborative Forest Restoration. 3 August 2009. 29 November 2010 .
—. Interdiciplinary Riparian Management Guidelines for the Payette National Forest. n.d.
Vining, Mel. Hydrologist Lily Holmes. 1 December 2010.
...ric Science (2010). A summary of the hydrologic cycle. Retrieved from http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/hyd/smry.rxml. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Westfields, a medium sized wetland region, is located on the outskirts of Limerick city and within the floodplain of the River Shannon (CAAS (Environmental Services) Ltd., 1999). Wetland regions are broadly defined within the Ramsar Convention (1971, 1), as, “areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt including areas of marine water, the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres.” Identified as some of the most diverse habitats on earth, wetlands are also under severe threat, with a “10% decrease in their area occurring worldwide between the years 1990 and 2006” (CORINE, 2006). Westfields is no exception. Known worldwide for the diverse flora and fauna, in particular avifauna, that are present, the area has seen a dramatic decrease in size from its traditional expansive domain to a present area of twenty-six hectares. Thus, this essay aims to examine in detail the biogeographic merits of these declining wetland regions in particular Westfields, record the current condition of this particular wetland, and explore potential ideas for future conservation.
USGS. "Water Resources Inventory Area 1 Watershed Management." USGS Science for a Changing World. U.S. Geological Survey , 18 Jun 2013. Web. 7 Apr 2014. .
The efforts required by reforestation may not initially be cost effective, but it will result in not only the survivability of the environment, but of the country’s economy. Widespread awareness of these ideas will help fight against the natural human tendency towards instant gratification and short-term goals. Different methods of logging can be utilized to allow the rainforests to survive and regrow naturally and at a sustainable
A watershed is an area of land that contributes water to a river, lake, wetland, bay or any other body of water, small or large. Watersheds are also known as basins or drainage basins, as they do “drain” off into a larger body of water. There are watersheds all around us. Small streams and creeks are also considered watersheds; so even if you don’t know it, you too live in a watershed. Watersheds consist of all surface water, as well as all ground and underground water. There are watersheds of many different sizes. We Virginia residents live in one of the largest watersheds in the world. The Chesapeake Bay watershed is said to be larger than 64,000 square miles and embody six different states. The six states to which the Chesapeake Bay watershed surrounds are as follows: New York, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, the District of Columbia, and of course, Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay watershed houses more than 17 million people in total. Another fact—a total of 150 creeks, streams, and rivers drain into the Chesapeake Bay River. The Susquehanna, York, Rappahannock, Potomac,and James rivers are the five largest rivers that flow into the Chesapeake Bay watershed.I will be focusing on the latter in this paper—the James River.
"Step 1. Characterizations of the Watershed." Forest Service: 17 pars. Viewed 7 Nov. 2002. <http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/spl/south_platte_web/step_1.htm>.
As generations come and go and the world continues to age, the effects of pollution become more detrimental to the environment. Due to the constant industrialization of cities and advances in technology, the fault of environmental stems from the overconsumption of humans. This realization has changed the mindset of many consumers who now care about where their products come from and how they are made. Although the print industry may seem like a main cause of this destruction, members of the industry have created ways to regulate and prevent further deterioration. The Forest Stewardship Council and its certifications are prime examples of efforts being put into place to reverse negative effects that have been placed on the Earth.
Environmental issues affect every life on this planet from the smallest parasite to the human race. There are many resources that humans and animal needs to survive; some of the most obvious resources come from the forests. Forests make up a large percentage of the globe. The forests have global implications not just on life but on the quality of it. Trees improve the quality of the air that species breath, determine rainfall and replenish the atmosphere. The wood from the forests are used everyday form many useful resources. Moreover, thinning the forests increases the amount of available light, nutrients and water for the remaining trees. Deforestation (forest thinning) is one of the most critical issues of environmental problems that are occurring today.
One of the most predominate ecosystems is the forest community. Covering about one-fourth of the land area on Earth, forests consist mainly of trees and other woody vegetation, growing closely together. The trees can be large and densely packed, as they are in the coastal forests of the Pacific Northwest, or they can be relatively small and sparsely scattered, as they are in the dry tropical forests of sub-Saharan Africa. Forests are complex ecosystems that also include “soils and decaying organic matter, fungi and bacteria, herbs and shrubs, vines and lichens, ferns and mosses, insects and spiders, reptiles and amphibians, birds and mammals, and many other organisms” (Audesirk, 2003). All of these components constitute an intricate web with many biological interconnections. A bird may depend on the upper branches of a tree for nesting, while the tree may depend on the fungi surrounding its roots to obtain water and nutrients. A forest performs a number of vital environmental services, such as cleansing the air, moderating the climate, filtering water, cycling nutrients, providing a habitat for animals and provides humans with recreation and beautiful scenery. Resources from the forest supply raw materials, such as lumber, paper products, greenery and pharmaceuticals. Some of the developing issues today concerning forests are fires and what we as a society can do to restore the natural ecosystems within the forests around our world. Many aspects are to be considered when looking at the ecology and bioremediation of forests such as, human activities, wildlife, endangerment and environmental changes. This paper will discuss the effect wildfires have on the forest ecosystem.
Though deforestation has increased at an alarming rate throughout the past fifty years, deforestation has been performed during the course of history. According to the World Resources Institute, a majority of the world’s enduring naturally occurring forests are found in Alaska, Canada, Russia and the Northwestern Amazon. Research has demonstrated forests are more likely to be destroyed and repurposed where economic revenues tied to agriculture and pasture are prominent, typically attributed to advantageous weather conditions, or lower expenses of demolishing the forest and delivering merchandises to the global
from different parts of the country to learn about the different aspects of the forest and what qualities they maintain in order to preserve a sustainable forest • The Haliburton forest and Wild Life Reserve Ltd. adopted the goal of educating individuals in what makes a sustainable forest and the benefits that it holds so that this idea can be transferred to other people and hopefully endorsed by parks and forests across Canada and the globe • Haliburton forest and Wild Life Reserve Ltd. has demonstrated ways to keep their forest sustainable by finding little ways to re-use products in a productive and adequate manner • Biochar: After extensive work is done at the sawmill, an evident number of wood chips are left over. These woodchips are taken care of by being burned and put back into the forest soil to increase the productivity and growth of plants and to limit carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere and polluting the forest air and oxygen 7. Haliburton County and Nearby Urban
A State Forest & nbsp; Last autumn, while on a trip, I decided to walk through a State Forest. This huge forest enriches the countryside not far from town and was a place where Indians held hunting rights until recently. Little streams, ancient trees, shaded paths, and hidden places are some of the physical attributes that make the State Forest an enchanting place. & nbsp; I wandered leisurely along the shadowy paths, enjoying the peaceful surroundings. With only the songs of birds for company, I felt completely isolated from the crowds and traffic as I walked over the deep carpet of leaves. It had begun to rain a little when I first started my journey.
Solutions to the Problem of Deforestation Personal: There are many things that one can do personally to rectify the problem of Deforestation. These include such things as using wood sparingly, planting indigenous trees, purchasing the most ecologically sensitive products, recycling paper, reducing consumption of wood related products, communicating your opinions to the proper authorities, calling on forestry companies to act responsibly, and more. Education, however is the most effective catalyst for change, we must respect the forests as living communities not just resources to be exploited. Government: There are many things that governments are doing to rectify this problem. Probably the most effective of these are Forest Protection Schemes, Farm Forestry and plantations, and Raising Awareness/Education.
study of young and old forests says how this is in fact not true. Loggers have
Kusler, Jon A. and Mary E. Kentula. Wetland Creation and Restoration. Island Press: Washington, D.C., 1990.