Threats to Biodiversity: An Overview Guided Viewing
1: Natural Capital: Forests
2: What are the 3 main types of forests?
Old-forest, second-growth forest and tree plantation
3: What are some of the problems associated with deforestation?
4: What are the methods for harvesting trees?
Selective cutting, clear-cutting & strip cutting
5: Clear-Cutting Forests
Old-forest, second-growth forest and tree plantation
3: What are some of the problems associated with deforestation?
- Decreased soil fertility from erosion
- Runoff of eroded soil into aquatic systems
- Premature extinction of species with specialized niches
- Loss of habitat for native species and migratory species such as birds and butterflies
- Regional climate change from extensive clearing
- Release of CO2 into atmosphere
4: What are the methods for harvesting trees?
Selective cutting, clear-cutting & strip cutting
5: Clear-Cutting Forests
6: What are some solutions for sustainable forestry?
Allow timbers companies to cut medium and large trees in 7%; of the nations forest, must clear away smaller, more fire-prone trees and brush, which can increase the chance for fire
8: Logging in National Forests
- Leave most standing dead trees and fallen timber for wildlife habitat and nutrient recycling
- Certify timber grown by sustainable methods
- Include ecological services of forests in estimating their economic value
- Plant tree plantations on deforested and degraded land
- Shift government subsidies from harvesting trees to planting trees
- Sharply reduce road building into uncut forest areas
- Prohibit fragmentation of remaining large blocks of forest
- Identify and protect forest areas high in biodiversity
- Grow more timber on long rotations
- Rely more on selective cutting and strip cutting
- Stop clear-cutting on steep slopes
- Cease logging of old-growth forests
Allow timbers companies to cut medium and large trees in 7%; of the nations forest, must clear away smaller, more fire-prone trees and brush, which can increase the chance for fire
8: Logging in National Forests
9: What are some causes of tropical deforestation?
Subsidies, population growth, poverty, crop and timber exports, fires, logging, roads and tree plantations
10: Why should we care about the loss of tropical forests?
2,100 of the 3,000 identified are identified as cancer-fighting chemicals.
11: Sustaining Tropical Forests
Subsidies, population growth, poverty, crop and timber exports, fires, logging, roads and tree plantations
10: Why should we care about the loss of tropical forests?
2,100 of the 3,000 identified are identified as cancer-fighting chemicals.
11: Sustaining Tropical Forests
12: Why are rangelands/grasslands so important?
Rangelands and grasslands are so important because it keeps soil formation, erosion control and nutrient cycling
13: How can we sustain rangeland productivity? What are some solutions to overgrazing?
By controlling the distribution of livestock and restoring degrade rangeland
14: What is the 4 point strategy to restoring biodiversity worldwide?
Map local ecosystems, and locate and protect endangered ecosystems as possible,
15: What is a biodiversity hotspot? How many are there worldwide?
Areas that concentrate on rare and potentially endangered species. There are 34 hotspots worldwide
16: What are the top 6 hotspots in the United States?
1) Hawaii
2) San Francisco Bay area
3) Southern Appalachians
4) Death Valley
5) Southern California
6) Florida Panhandle
17: What are the five basic science-based principles for ecological restoration?
1) Identify cause.
2)Stop abuse by eliminating or sharply reducing factors.
3)Reintroduce species if necessary.
4)Protect area form further degradation.
5)Use adaptive management to monito
18: Define:
Preservation: Setting aside areas to protect them from harmful human activity
Remediation: Repairing an ecosystem that has been destroyed
Sustainability: Ability of a system to survive for some specified time
18: What are the eight priorities for protecting biodiversity?
19: Define: Reconciliation/Applied Ecology
To establish new habitats to conserve species in places where humans live
20: Define:
Background Extinction: Continuous, low level of extinction of a species
Extinction Rate: Expressed as a percentage or number of species that go extinct within a certain time period
Mass Extinction: Extinction of many species in a relatively short amount of time
21: What are characteristics of vulnerable species?
H: Habitat destruction. degration. and fragmentation
I: Invasive species
P: Population growth
P: Pollution
C: Commercial harvest
O: Over hunting
23: What can you do about invasive species?
24: What are some characteristics of successful invader species?
25: How is pollution affecting species?
26: What is overexploitation?
When species are killed for their valuable parts or are sold live to collectors
27: What is the U.S. Endangered Species Act?
An act that forbids carrying out or funding projects that would further threatened and endangered species and makes it illegal for Americans to engage in commerce associated with endangered or threatened species
28: What is the CITIES Treaty?
A treaty that bans international trade in elephant products. It was signed by 152 countries and lists more than 800 species that cannot be traded as live specimens or wildlife products.
29: What can you do to help terrestrial biodiversity? What can you do to help protect species worldwide?
Terrestrial biodiversity:
Species Worldwide:
Rangelands and grasslands are so important because it keeps soil formation, erosion control and nutrient cycling
13: How can we sustain rangeland productivity? What are some solutions to overgrazing?
By controlling the distribution of livestock and restoring degrade rangeland
14: What is the 4 point strategy to restoring biodiversity worldwide?
Map local ecosystems, and locate and protect endangered ecosystems as possible,
15: What is a biodiversity hotspot? How many are there worldwide?
Areas that concentrate on rare and potentially endangered species. There are 34 hotspots worldwide
16: What are the top 6 hotspots in the United States?
1) Hawaii
2) San Francisco Bay area
3) Southern Appalachians
4) Death Valley
5) Southern California
6) Florida Panhandle
17: What are the five basic science-based principles for ecological restoration?
1) Identify cause.
2)Stop abuse by eliminating or sharply reducing factors.
3)Reintroduce species if necessary.
4)Protect area form further degradation.
5)Use adaptive management to monito
18: Define:
Preservation: Setting aside areas to protect them from harmful human activity
Remediation: Repairing an ecosystem that has been destroyed
Sustainability: Ability of a system to survive for some specified time
18: What are the eight priorities for protecting biodiversity?
- Take immediate action to preserve world’s biological hot spots.
- Keep intact remaining old growth.
- Complete mapping of world’s biodiversity for inventory and decision making.
- Determine world’s marine hot spots.
- Ensure that the full range of the earths ecosystems are included in global conservation strategy.
- Make conservation profitable
- Initiate ecological restoration products to heal some of the damage done and increase share of earth’s land and water allotted to the rest of nature.
19: Define: Reconciliation/Applied Ecology
To establish new habitats to conserve species in places where humans live
20: Define:
Background Extinction: Continuous, low level of extinction of a species
Extinction Rate: Expressed as a percentage or number of species that go extinct within a certain time period
Mass Extinction: Extinction of many species in a relatively short amount of time
21: What are characteristics of vulnerable species?
- Low Reproductive Rate
- Specialized Feeding Habits
- Feed at high trophic levels
- Large size
- Specialized nesting or breeding areas
- Found only in one place or region
H: Habitat destruction. degration. and fragmentation
I: Invasive species
P: Population growth
P: Pollution
C: Commercial harvest
O: Over hunting
23: What can you do about invasive species?
- Do not allow wild animals to escape.
- Do not spread wild plants to other areas.
- Do not dump the contents of an aquarium into waterways, wetlands, or storm drains.
- When camping use wood near your campsite instead of bringing firewood from somewhere else.
- Do not dump unused bait into the water.
- After dogs visit woods or the water brush them before taking them home.
- After each use clean your vehicle, mountain bike, surfboard, kayaks, canoes, boats, tent, hiking boots, and other gear before heading for home
- Empty all water from canoes, kayaks, dive gear, and other outdoor equipment before heading home. Plant a variety of trees, shrubs, and other plants in your yard to reduce losses from invasive species
- Do not buy plants from overseas or swap them with others using the Internet.
24: What are some characteristics of successful invader species?
- Pioneer species
- Long lived
- High productive rate
- Generalists
- High genetic variability
- High dispersal
- Release growth inhibiting chemicals into soil
25: How is pollution affecting species?
- threatens endangered species
- kills 67 million birds
- 14 million fish killed
26: What is overexploitation?
When species are killed for their valuable parts or are sold live to collectors
27: What is the U.S. Endangered Species Act?
An act that forbids carrying out or funding projects that would further threatened and endangered species and makes it illegal for Americans to engage in commerce associated with endangered or threatened species
28: What is the CITIES Treaty?
A treaty that bans international trade in elephant products. It was signed by 152 countries and lists more than 800 species that cannot be traded as live specimens or wildlife products.
29: What can you do to help terrestrial biodiversity? What can you do to help protect species worldwide?
Terrestrial biodiversity:
- Adopt a forest.
- Plant trees and take care of them.
- Recycle paper and buy recycled paper products.
- Buy sustainable wood and wood products.
- Choose wood substitutes such as bamboo furniture and recycled plastic outdoor furniture, decking, and fencing.
- Restore a nearby degraded forest or grassland.
- Landscape your yard with a diversity of plants natural to the area
- Live in town because suburban sprawl reduces biodiversity.
Species Worldwide:
- Do not buy wood and paper products produced by cutting remaining old-growth forests in the tropics.
- Do not buy birds, snakes, turtles, tropical fish, and other animals that are taken from the wild.
- Do not buy orchids, cacti, and other plants that are taken from the wild.
- Spread the word. Talk to your friends and relatives about this problem and what they can do about it.