Threats to Biodiversity: An Overview Guided Viewing Name: _____________________________________________________ 1: Natural Capital: Forests Ecological Services Support energy flow

and chemical cycling Reduce soil erosion Absorb and release water Purify water and air Influence local and regional climate Store atmospheric carbon Provide numerous wildlife habitats Economic Services Fuelwood Lumber Pulp to make paper Mining Livestock grazing Recreation Jobs

2: What are the 3 main types of forests? - Old growth forest: uncut or regenerated forest that has not been seriously disturbed for several hundred years. - Second growth forest: a stand of trees resulting from natural secondary succession. - Tree plantation: planted stands of a particular tree species. 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. 4: What are the methods for harvesting trees? -Selective cutting - Clear cutting - Strip cutting 5: Clear-Cutting Forests Advantages Higher timber yields Maximum profits in shortest time Can reforest with fast growing trees Short time to establish new stand for trees Needs less skill and planning Good for tree species needing full or moderate sunlight Disadvantages Reduces biodiversity Disrupts ecosystem processes Destroys and fragments wildlife habitats Leaves large openings Increases water pollution, flooding, and erosion on steep slopes Eliminates most recreational value

6: What are some solutions for sustainable forestry? - Identify and protect forest areas high in biodiversity - Grow more timber on long rotations

- Rely more on selective cutting and strip cutting 7: What is the Healthy Forest Restoration Act? What are the PROS and CONS? - Allows timber companies to cut medium and large trees in 71% of the national forests. - In return, must clear away smaller, more fire prone trees and underbrush. - Some forest scientists believe this could increase severe fires by removing fore resistant trees and leaving highly flammable slash. 8: Logging in National Forests Advantages Helps meet countrys timber needs Cut areas grow back Keeps lumber and paper prices down Provides jobs in nearby communities Promotes economic growth in nearby communities Disadvantages Provides only 4% of timber needs Ample private forest land to meet timber needs Has little effect on timber and paper prices Damages nearby rivers and fisheries Recreation in national forests provides more local jobs and income for local communities than logging Decreases recreational opportunities 9: What are some causes of tropical deforestation? - Subsidies - Population growth - Poverty 10: Why should we care about the loss of tropical forests? About 2,100 of the 3,000 plants identified by the National Cancer Institution as sources of cancer fighting chemicals come from tropical forests. 11: Sustaining Tropical Forests Prevention Protect most diverse and endangered areas Educate settler about sustainable agriculture and forestry Phase out subsidies that encourage unsustainable forest use Add subsidies that encourage sustainable forest use Protect forests with debt for nature swaps and conservation easements Certify sustainably grown timber Reduce illegal cutting Reduce poverty Slow population growth Restoration Reforestation Rehabilitation of degraded areas Concentrate farming and ranching on already cleared areas

12: Why are rangelands/grasslands so important?

- Soil formation - Erosion control - Nutrient cycling 13: How can we sustain rangeland productivity? What are some solutions to overgrazing? By controlling the number and distribution of livestock and by restoring degraded rangeland. Overgrazing occurs when too many animals graze for too long and exceed carrying capacity of a grassland area. 14: What is the 4 point strategy to restoring biodiversity worldwide? - Map global ecosystems - Locate and protect endangered ecosystems and species - Restore as many degraded ecosystems as possible - Make development biodiversity friendy 15: What is a biodiversity hotspot? How many are there worldwide?16: What are the top 6 hotspots in the United States? A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans. 34 hotspots identified by ecologists as important and endangered centers of biodiversity. 6 hotspots in the U.S.: - Hawaii - San Francisco Bay area - Southern Appalachians - Death Valley - Southern California - Florida Panhandle 17: What are the five basic science-based principles for ecological restoration? - Identify cause. - Stop abuse by eliminating or sharply reducing factors. - Reintroduce species if necessary. - Protect area from further degradation. - Use adaptive management to monitor. 18: Define: Preservation: setting aside or protecting undisturbed natural areas from harmful human activities. 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 worlds biological hot spots. - Keep intact remaining old growth. - Complete mapping of worlds biodiversity for inventory and decision making. - Determine worlds 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 earths land and water allotted to the rest of nature. 19: Define: Reconciliation/Applied Ecology - Established and maintain new habitats to conserve species in places wher people live, work, and play. - Community based conservation. 20: Define: Background Extinction: Continuous, low level of extinction of 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. We have had 5. 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 22: What is HIPPCO? - Habitat destruction, degration, and fragmentation - Invasive species - Population growth 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. 24: What are some characteristics of successful invader species? - High reproductive rate, short generation time (r-selected species) - Pioneer species - Long lived 25: How is pollution affecting species? Each year pesticides: - Kill about 1/5th of the U.S. honeybee colonies. - 67 million birds - 6-14 million fish. 26: What is overexploitation? - Some protected species are killed for their valuable parts or are sold live to collectors. - Killing predators and pests that bother us or cause economic losses threatens some species with premature extinction. - Legal and illegal trade in wildlife. 27: What is the U.S. Endangered Species Act? - Forbids federal agencies (besides defense department) to carry out/fund projects that would jeopardize an endangered species.

Makes it illegal for Americans to engage in commerce associated with or hunt/kill/collect endangered or threatened species. 28: What is the CITIES Treaty? - convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora. - Banned all international trade in elephant products to protect elephant populations that were being decimated by poachers. - Signed by 152 countries and lists more than 800 species that cannot be commercially traded as live specimens or wildlife products because they are in danger of extinction and 29,000 other species whose international trade is monitored because they are at risk of becoming threatened. 29: What can you do to help terrestrial biodiversity? What can you do to help protect species worldwide? - Adopt a forest. - Plant trees and take care of them. - Recycle paper and buy recycled paper products.