Forestry Notes
Ecosystem-Based Forest Managment
Goal- To harvest resources while minimizing effects on the rest of the ecosystem
Ecologically sensitive areas are carefully monitored and protected: resources are harvested and selective
Ecosystems are complex , so choosing which areas to protect and which to harvest is a challenge
Forests, mostly boreal and tropical rain, cover about 30% of the Earth
Forests Vary
0ld-Growth or Primary: 36% of the world's forests- no human tampering
Second - Growth: 60% of world's forests- some human tampering such as clear cutting or even just cutting some trees
Tree Plantations, tree farms, commercial: 4% of world's forests, may supply most of the industrial wood in the future- forests people plant for the sole purpose of cutting down later
Value of Forests
Ecological Value: Provide habitat, source of biodiversity, prevent erosion, purify water, store carbon, release oxygen
Economic Value: timber for lumber and fuel, source of food, raw material for many medicines
Tree Harvesting Methods
4 methods: clear-cutting, seed-tree or shelterwood approach, selection system, strip cutting.
May result in even-aged or uneven-aged regrowth. Uneven-aged is better for biodiversity.
Clear-cutting- going in and cutting down every single tree. Changes abitotic conditions in the area, including light penetration, precipitation, wind, and temp. Causes erosion and destroys entire communities. But is very cost effective
Seed-tree or Shelterwood approaches- seed-tree: small numbers of mature, healthy trees are left standing, to reseed the area.
Shelterwood: Involves leaving a few mature trees standing to protect seedlings. Less damaging than clear-cutting, but can still lead to even-aged forests
Selection Systems: Relatively few trees are cut at once under a selection system. Selection can involve widely spaced single trees or group
Benefits: more biodiverse, uneven-aged growth, less overall environmental damage
Costs: Machinery disturbs forest interior, expensive and dangerous
Strip-cutting: Cutting down strips of trees every couple of years
Unsustainable Logging is a Major Threat to Forest Ecosystems: Increased Erosion, Leads to Runoff into waterways, Habitat Fragmentation, Loss of Biodiversity.
Deforestation: Unlike timber harvesting, deforestation replaces forested areas with some other land use, such as commercial or residential property. Deforestation in tropical and arid regions has the most negative affects due to the loss of biodiversity and rsik of desertification, respectively. Globally, deforestation adds C02 to Earth's atmosphere.
Fire, Insects, and Climate Change Can Threaten Forest Ecosystem
Surface Fires: Usually burn leaf litter and undergrowth, may provide food in the form of vegetation that sprouts after fire
Crown Fires: Extremely hot: burns whole trees, kills wildlife, increase soil erosion.
Fire Policies
Fire Suppression: Negative effects on ecosystems that depend on fire, fuel for future fire accumulates, suppressing small fires increases the risk of bigger, more dangerous fires later on.
Prescribed Burns: Carefully controlled burning helps reduce fuel buildup and restore ecosystems. Rarely burn out of control, but the few instanced scare the public
I Speak for the Trees!
The Once-ler explains his actions by saying "If I didn't do it, someone else would. Is this a good excuse for what he did? Why?
No, this a horrible excuse. He doesn't know for sure if someone else would cut down all of the trees and even if he did, he is only accountable for himself, not for what other people do. He should have been more accountable and taken care of himself and his actions.
What seems to be Dr. Suess' purpose for writing this fable?
Dr. Suess obviously cares about the environment and he was worried about the future of the environment because people weren't taking care of it, like the Once-ler. He wrote this fable to show people how their actions can affect the environment and how everything is connected to nature. He wanted people to care about trees as much as the Lorax.
There once was a man called Once-ler, who had big plans for the Truffula Trees. They were perfect for Thneeds, his new creation. So the Once-ler went into the woods to chop down trees., but as soon as he chopped down a single tree, a funny little orange man appeared . "I speak for the trees! I understand that you have plans to take this whole forest, but that simply can not be! Animals live here and it takes decades for these trees to grow back!"
"But what about MY needs? I have a family to feed and the only way I can do that is to sell my thneeds!" cried the Once-ler.
"Well," started the Lorax ", you can chop down older trees, they have had a long life, but please leave the babies alone. You need to re-plant the trees you do chop down because the animals need places to leave and fruits to eat."
"But I can't possibly afford all that! How will I ever make a profit? Besides, it's too much work and it takes years for the tress to grow back."
" Just the little bit you can do will help the environment a whole awful lot. Plus, the government will give you an incentive to re-plant trees"
"OK, so I can still feed my family, make thneeds, and the government will give me money! I'll only chop down a selective group of trees and leave the rest and I will re-plant the Truffula trees I do cut down."
And so it was. The Truffula trees, the barbaloots, the swany-swans, and the fish stayed and flourished and the Lorax was appeased and went back home. The Once-ler became very successful and environmentally- educated.
No, this a horrible excuse. He doesn't know for sure if someone else would cut down all of the trees and even if he did, he is only accountable for himself, not for what other people do. He should have been more accountable and taken care of himself and his actions.
What seems to be Dr. Suess' purpose for writing this fable?
Dr. Suess obviously cares about the environment and he was worried about the future of the environment because people weren't taking care of it, like the Once-ler. He wrote this fable to show people how their actions can affect the environment and how everything is connected to nature. He wanted people to care about trees as much as the Lorax.
There once was a man called Once-ler, who had big plans for the Truffula Trees. They were perfect for Thneeds, his new creation. So the Once-ler went into the woods to chop down trees., but as soon as he chopped down a single tree, a funny little orange man appeared . "I speak for the trees! I understand that you have plans to take this whole forest, but that simply can not be! Animals live here and it takes decades for these trees to grow back!"
"But what about MY needs? I have a family to feed and the only way I can do that is to sell my thneeds!" cried the Once-ler.
"Well," started the Lorax ", you can chop down older trees, they have had a long life, but please leave the babies alone. You need to re-plant the trees you do chop down because the animals need places to leave and fruits to eat."
"But I can't possibly afford all that! How will I ever make a profit? Besides, it's too much work and it takes years for the tress to grow back."
" Just the little bit you can do will help the environment a whole awful lot. Plus, the government will give you an incentive to re-plant trees"
"OK, so I can still feed my family, make thneeds, and the government will give me money! I'll only chop down a selective group of trees and leave the rest and I will re-plant the Truffula trees I do cut down."
And so it was. The Truffula trees, the barbaloots, the swany-swans, and the fish stayed and flourished and the Lorax was appeased and went back home. The Once-ler became very successful and environmentally- educated.