Chapter 10 Sustaining Biodiversity: Land Use PDF

Chapter 10 – Sustaining Biodiversity: Land Use Exploring Environmental Science for AP (1st edition) Guided Reading Questions 1.​ Core Case Study – Costa Rica a.​ What happened to the forests between 1963 and 1983? -​ Politically powerful ranching families cleared mu...

Chapter 10 – Sustaining Biodiversity: Land Use Exploring Environmental Science for AP (1st edition) Guided Reading Questions 1.​ Core Case Study – Costa Rica a.​ What happened to the forests between 1963 and 1983? -​ Politically powerful ranching families cleared much of the country’s forests in order to graze cattle b.​ What did Costa Rica do in the mid-1970s? What did the government do? Did it work? -​ They established a system of nature reserves and national parks -​ To reduce forestation, the government eliminates subsidies for converting forest land to grazing land, instead, it pays landowners to maintain or restore tree cover -​ Yes, it worked. Costa Rica has gone from having one of the world’s highest deforestation rates to having one of the lowest 2.​ Sustaining Forests and Public Lands a.​ What are the types of forest based on age and structure? How are they different? -​ Old-growth forest - an uncut or regrown forest that has not been seriously disturbed by human activities or natural disasters for 200 years or more -​ Second-growth forest - a stand of trees resulting from secondary ecological succession, they develop after the trees in an area have been removed by human activities -​ Tree Plantation - a managed forest containing only one or two species of trees that are all the same age b.​ What is the first step in harvesting trees? What effects does this have? -​ To build roads for access and timber removal -​ Top soil erosion, sediment run-off into waterways, habitat loss, and biodiversity loss c.​ What are selective cutting, clear cutting and strip cutting? What are the pros/cons of each? -​ Selective cutting - cutting intermediate-aged or mature trees singly or in small groups and leaving the forest largely intact -​ This can allow a forest to produce economically valuable trees on a sustainable basis if trees are not removed faster than they can grow back -​ Clear cutting - removing all the trees from an area -​ Most efficient and the most cost effective -​ Strip cutting - Clear cutting a strip of trees along the contour of the land within a corridor narrow enough to allow natural forest regeneration within a few years -​ Allows a more sustainable timber yield without widespread destruction d.​ What is deforestation? What are the results of forest degradation? -​ Deforestation - the temporary or permanent removal of large expanses of forest for agriculture, settlements, or other uses -​ Deforestation has eliminated almost half of the earth’s old growth forest cover e.​ What sort of ecosystem services to tropical forests provide? -​ They absorb and store about one third of the world’s terrestrial carbon emissions as part of the carbon cycle -​ Water evaporating from trees and vegetation plays a major role in determining the amount of rainfall there f.​ Concepts in Sustainability – The Value of an Intact Forest i.​ What is the global monetary value of all ecosystem services? -​ $125–140 trillion per year  ii.​ What value do the world’s forests provide? How does it compare to the goods produced from harvesting forests? -​ The world's forests provide ecosystem services valued at over $16 trillion annually, including carbon storage, water regulation, and biodiversity support. This is higher than the estimated $400–600 billion generated annually from harvested forest goods like timber and paper g.​ What pattern does deforestation/degradation typically follow? What are some of the underlying causes of deforestation? -​ First, Access roads are into the forest interior, often by an international timber corporation. Then loggers selectively cut down the largest and best trees. When loggers cut one tree, many other trees often fall because of their shallow roots and the network of vines connecting the trees in their forest canopy. -​ Pressures from population growth and poverty push substance farmers and the landless poor into tropical forests, where they cut or burn trees for firewood or try to grow enough food to survive. -​ Fuelwood crisis, in less developed countries the use of fuelwood and charcoal made from wood is used for heating and cooking. Most of these countries suffer from fuelwood shortages because people are cutting trees for fuel wood and forest products 10 to 20 times faster than new trees are being planted h.​ Are all forest fires bad? Why can trying to prevent all of them make matters worse? What are the two types of fires? What are the differences and how do they affect forests? -​ All forest fires are not bad -​ Trying to prevent forest fires can make matters worse by increasing the likelihood of destructive fires due to the accumulation of highly flammable underbush in some forests -​ Surface fire - burns undergrowth and leaf litter on the forest floor, it kills seedlings and small trees, but spares most mature trees and allows most wild animals to escape -​ Their benefits include helping control destructive insects and tree diseases and burn flammable materials such as dry bush to help prevent fires that are more destructive -​ Crown fire - An extremely hot fire that leaps from treetop to treetop burning whole trees i.​ What strategies do ecologists recommend to limit the harmful effects of forest fires? -​ Ecologist recommend to use carefully planned and controlled fires, called prescribed burns to remove flammable small trees and underbush in the highest risk forest areas -​ Use drones, equipped with infrared sensors, to detect forest fires and monitor progress in fighting them -​ Allow some flyers on public lands to burn underbrush and small trees, as long as the fires do not threaten human-built structures or human lives 3.​ Sustaining Grasslands a.​ What are rangelands? What percent of our natural grasslands are used as rangelands? -​ Rangelands - unfenced natural grasslands in temperate and tropical climates that supply forage, or vegetation for grazing and browsing animals -​ 54% b.​ What are pastures? -​ Pastures - managed grasslands or fenced meadows often planted with domesticated grasses or other forage crops such as alfalfa and clover  c.​ What overgrazing and what occurs when that happens? -​ Overgrazing - occurs when too many animals graze an area for too long and damage or kill the grasses and their roots and exceed the area’s carrying capacity for grazing -​ It reduces grass cover, exposes the topsoil to erosion by water and wind, and compacts the soil, which lessens its capacity to hold water, it also promotes the invasion of rangeland by plant species such as sagebrush, cactus, and cheatgrass, which cattle will not eat d.​ How can we prevent overgrazing? What are riparian zones? -​ We can inforce rotational grazing, in which small groups of cattle are confined by portable fencing to one area for a few days and then moved to a new location -​ Riparian zones - a thin strip or patch of vegetation that surrounds a stream 4.​ Sustaining Wetlands a.​ What ecosystem services are performed by wetlands? -​ Feeding downstream waters, reducing flooding by storing stormwater, reducing storm damage by absorbing waves, recharging groundwater supplies, reducing pollution, preventing erosion, and providing fish and wildlife habitat b.​ What is mitigation banking? How has this been effective and how has it not? -​ Mitigation banking - Allows destruction of existing wetlands as long as an equal or greater area of the same type of wetland is created, enhanced or restored -​ The new created wetlands fail to replace lost ones, most of the created wetlands did not provide the ecosystem services that past natural wetlands provided even decades after completion -​ However creating and restoring wetlands has become a profitable business c.​ Case Study – The Florida Everglades i.​ How did the US government attempt to protect the Everglades wetlands? -​ They established Everglades National Park -​ It did not work because of the predicted massive water distribution and land development projects ii.​ What has happened to the Everglades since then? -​ The Everglades is now less than half of its original size and much of it has dried out -​ It's biodiversity has been decreasing mostly because of habitat loss, pollution, and invasive species 5.​ Sustaining Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services a.​ What strategies have we used since the 1960s to sustain biodiversity? -​ Protecting species from extinction, setting aside wilderness areas that are protected from harmful human activities, protecting important ecosystem services, rehabilitating and partially restoring damaged ecosystems, and establishing parks and nature reserves in which people and nature can interact with some restrictions b.​ What percent of the world’s land area is protected against harmful human activities? -​ 6% c.​ What are designated wilderness areas? -​ Wilderness Areas - areas that are undisturbed by humans and are protected by federal laws from harmful human activities d.​ How does popularity affect US national parks? -​ U.S. national parks bring in funding and awareness but face overcrowding, environmental damage, and strain on resources. Measures like visitor caps help balance access and preservation.  e.​ Science Focus – Reintroducing Gray Wolf to Yellowstone National Park i.​ What happened to Gray Wolves between 1850 and 1900? -​ Most of them were shot, trapped, or poisoned by rangers, hunters, and government employees ii.​ What role did the Gray Wolf play in Yellowstone National Park? -​ It was a keystone predator species -​ The wolves culled hearts of bison, elk, moose, and mule deer, and kept down coyote populations -​ By leaving some of their kills partly uneaten, they provided scavengers such as ravens, bald eagles, and foxes with food iii.​ What happened to the park when they disappeared? -​ The number of elk, moose, and mule deer expanded and over-browsed the willow and aspen trees growing near streams and rivers -​ This led to increased soil erosion and declining populations of other wildlife iv.​ Who did the proposal of their reintroduction anger? Why? -​ Protestors from area ranchers who feared the wolves would leave the park and attack their cattle and sheep and from hunters who feared the wolves would kill too many big-game animals -​ Mining logging companies also objected, fearing that the government would hold their operations on wolf-populated federal lands v.​ What happened to the ecosystem when they were reintroduced? -​ The populations of elk decreased, and so did the coyotes, reducing coyote attacks on small animals. f.​ Case Study – Identifying and Protecting Biodiversity in Costa Rica i.​ What is the goal of Costa Rica’s government? -​ To make Costa Rica one of the most biologically diverse countries ii.​ How is each reserve set up? How does this work WITH local people? -​ Each reserve contains a protected inner core surrounded by two buffer zones that local and Indigenous people can use for sustainable logging, crop farming, cattle grazing, hunting, fishing, and ecotourism -​ This approach enlists local people as partners in protecting a reserve from activities such as illegal logging and poaching iii.​ How has this paid off economically for Costa Rica? -​ Costa Rica earners $3 billion a year from the travel and tourism industries g.​ Case Study – Ecological Restoration of a Tropical Dry Forest in Costa Rica i.​ What happened to Guanacaste National Park? -​ It was burned, degraded, and fragmented for conversion to cattle ranches and farms ii.​ What is the key to the ecological restoration and protection of the park? -​ Make the people around the forest believe that they will benefit from the ecological restoration -​ Education, awareness, and involvement is the best way to protect largely intact ecosystems from unsustainable use iii.​ How has this benefited the local economy? -​ Local farmers are paid to remove nonnative species and to plant tree seeds, and local schools, and citizens study the park’s ecology during field trips 6.​ Sustainable and Livable Cities a.​ What percent of the world’s people live in cities/urban areas? -​ 54% b.​ What is the projection for people living in urban areas from now until 2050? -​ The world’s population is projected to grow from 4.0 billion to 6.6 billion c.​ What happened to the US population between 1800 and 2016? -​ It increased from 5% to 82% d.​ What are the benefits of urbanization? -​ Economic development, innovation, jobs, better access to healthcare, family planning, and education -​ Recycling is more economical, preserves biodiversity, and less driving therefore less pollution e.​ What are some disadvantages of urbanization? -​ Unsustainable systems, people consume 75% of the earth's resources and produce 75% of the world's pollution and wastes, have huge ecological footprints, and make excessive noise f.​ What is the urban heat island effect and what causes it? -​ Urban heat island - an urban area where the temperature is significantly warmer than surrounding areas due to human heat-generating activities such as cars, factories, and heat-absorbing asphalt g.​ What are the benefits of cities that grow vertically? -​ They occupy small land areas, and it reduces the need to drive h.​ What is urban sprawl? What country is a prime example of an urban sprawl type of growth? What are some negative effects from it (Fig. 10.26)? -​ Urban sprawl - growth of low-density development on the edges of cities and towns -​ United States -​ Loss of cropland, increased runoff and flooding, increased energy use and waste, and more unemployment in central cities i.​ What is smart growth? How does it relate to the use of cars? -​ Smart growth - a set of policies and tools that encourages more environmentally sustainable urban development with less dependence on cars -​ It can discourage sprawl, reduce traffic, protect ecologically sensitive and important land, and develop neighborhoods that are more enjoyable places to live j.​ What is behind the idea of an eco-city? How is this sort of city designed/planned? -​ Eco-city - a people-oriented, not car-oriented city -​ Residents are able to walk, bike, or use low-polluting mass transit to travel, trees and plants adapted to the local climate and soils planted throughout the city provide shade, beauty, and wildlife habitats. -​ Abandoned lots and industrial sites are cleaned up and used, and much of the food that people eat comes from nearby organic farms, solar greenhouses, or community gardens