question

Many kinds of forests exist. What is a forest?

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A forest is any ecosystem with a high density of trees. Ecologists and forest managers find it useful to classify forests into forest types, categories defined by their predominant tree species.

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Certified Sustainable Paper in Your Textbook: paper in this book is made from trees sustainably grown, managed, harvested, and processed

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; does not deplete mature trees or degrade the forest's ecological functions. ;The mill recycles chemicals and water, and burns waste to help provide power

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What is forest?

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any ecosystem with a high density of trees

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What are the different kinds of forests?

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Boreal forest ( Canada, Scandinavia, and Russia), Tropical rainforest (South and Central America, Africa, Indonesia, and southeast Asia) ,Temperate deciduous forests, temperate rainforests, and tropical dry forests also exist

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Plant communities differ due to soil and climate. Forest types: are defined by:

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predominant tree species

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Forests provides:

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habitat, maintain soil, air and water, and are part of vital biogeochemical cycles—they also provide essential goods for humans

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The eastern U.S. has __ forest types: What are some?

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10; Spruce-fir, Oak-hickory, Longleaf-slash pine

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The western U.S. has __ forest types: What are some?

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13;Douglas fir, Ponderosa pine, Pinyon-juniper

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Forests are ecologically complex. How? : Forests comprise some of the richest ecosystems for biodiversity.

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Forests with a greater diversity of plants tend to host a greater diversity of organisms overall. Older forests host more diversity than younger ones.

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Forests provide ________ _________. Forests are ___________ (necessary/essential) to our survival.

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ecosystem services;indespensible

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Forests provide ecosystem services:Priceless ecosystem services are:

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Prevent erosion, recharge aquifers, purify water, Produce oxygen, influence weather, Return organic material to the soil as litter

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Forests also enhance our quality of life:

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Culture, aesthetics, health, recreation, adventure

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Of all the services that forests provide, their storage of _______ has elicited great interest as nations debate how to control global climate change. Forests provide __________ ____________.

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carbon; valuable resources

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Carbon storage helps limit climate change:Preserving forests keeps carbon out of the atmosphere

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Carbon storage by forests is of great; Trees absorb carbon dioxide and store carbon; Forests store more carbon than the atmosphere; Cutting forests worsens climate change; Dead plants decompose and release carbon dioxide; Fewer trees are left to soak up carbon dioxide

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Forests provide valuable resources:Forests provide economically valuable resources like Medicine, food, fuel, shelter, ships, paper

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Industrial harvesting has allowed us to extract more timber than ever before

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Boreal forests in Canada, Russia are logged Large areas of rainforest are also logged: Brazil, Indonesia

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Most U.S. logging is in southern pine plantations and western coniferous forests

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Agriculture and demand for wood puts pressure on forests. ____________ is the clearing and loss of forests.

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deforestation

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What does deforestation cause?

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reduces biodiversity,changes landscape and ecosystems, soil degradation, and desertification, and it adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.

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________, _________ , and _____ ____ of forests are one of society's primary challenges Especially as our population increases

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alteration, fragmentation, and outright loss of forests

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Forests are being felled most quickly in the ________ ________ of Latin America and Africa, as developing nations in these regions are striving to expand areas of settlement for their burgeoning populations and to boost their economies by extracting natural resources and selling them abroad.

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tropical rainforests

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We deforested much of North America. Deforestation for timber and farmland propelled the growth of the United States throughout the population's phenomenal expansion across the continent over the past 400 years.

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By the 20th century, very little primary forest (natural forest uncut by people) was left in the lower 48 U.S. states.

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The largest trees found in eastern North America, and even most redwoods in California, are secondary forest. What are secondary forests?

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all that remains after the old-growth timber was cut. But secondary growth has been impressive in the eastern part of the country.

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Forests are being lost rapidly in developing nations. Today's advanced technology allows developing countries to exploit their resources even faster than had occurred in North America. Deforestation is occurring rapidly in places such as :

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Brazil, Indonesia, and West Africa.

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Forests are disappearing: The U.N.'s 2010 Global Forest Assessment concluded:

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We are losing 12.8 million acres of the world's forests each year—twice the size of Massachusetts This rate is lower that in the 1990s

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Most deforestation is in Latin America and Africa:

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Settlements for more people, Resource extraction and sales overseas, Fuelwood for cooking and heating

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Once the remaining ancient trees of North America are gone, companies simply move to __________ _______.

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developing nations

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Rapid deforestation in developing nations: What are some countries?

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Uncut tropical forests still remain in many developing countries (Brazil, Indonesia, and west Africa) ;Desperation for economic development and foreign capital means few logging restrictions

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What is concession?

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foreign corporations pay a government for the right to extract resources ;Little incentive to conserve forests

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Economic benefits of deforestation are _____ term. Temporary jobs are soon lost, along with the resources ______ is exported to North America and Europe

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short term; wood

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Asian palm oil plantations:

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Palm oil plantations are replacing tropical forests; Palm oil is used in snack foods, soaps, cosmetics; It also replaces fossil fuels. ;Clearing forests encourages further development , Increases illegal logging, Plantations displace natural forests

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Solutions to deforestation are emerging:

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Conservation organizations are buying concessions To preserve, not cut, forests

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POTICO (Palm Oil, Timber, and Carbon Offsets):

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World Resources Institute (WRI) steers palm oil companies to already logged land, Uncut forests are protected or sustainably logged

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REDD: Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation:

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Wealthy nations pay poor nations to conserve forests, Rich nations get carbon credits to offset emissions

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Solutions are emerging. New solutions are being proposed to address deforestation in developing nations. What are some?

answer

Carbon offsets, are central to emerging international plans to curb deforestation and climate change together.

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Forest Management: Resource managers follow several strategies. Foresters are professionals who manage forests through the practice of ________. __________ _________ describes our use of strategies to manage and regulate the harvest of potentially renewable resources.

answer

forestry;resource management

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Management strategy: maximum sustainable yield . What is it?

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aims to achieve the maximum amount of resource extraction without depleting the resource from one harvest to the next , A population grows fastest at an intermediate size (At half its carrying capacity), Harvesting to keep the population at this size results in maximum harvest while sustaining the population

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Maximum sustainable yield has problems:

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Managed populations are much smaller than they would naturally be, Reducing populations so drastically affects other species ,Changes the entire dynamic of the community,Trees are cut long before they grow to maximum size,Changes forest ecology,Eliminates habitats

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The maximum amount of resource extraction possible without depleting the resource from one harvest to the next is known as the _________ __________ _________.

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maximum sustainable yield

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Today many managers pursue ____________-_______ __________, What is that?

answer

ecosystem-based management which aims to minimize impacts on the ecological processes that provide the resource.

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Management strategy: ecosystem-based management

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minimizes impacts on ecosystems and ecological processes; Certified sustainable forestry plans:Protect certain areas, Restore ecologically important habitats, Consider patterns at the landscape level, Preserve the forest's functional integrity

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It is _________ to implement this type of management Ecosystems are _________. Our understanding of how they operate is limited

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challenging; complex

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4.Systematically testing different approaches and aiming to improving methods through time is the basis of ________ ____________.

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adaptive management

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Management strategy: adaptive management

answer

testing different approaches and aiming to improve methods through time: Monitoring results ,Adjusting methods as needed ,Fuses science and management, Hypotheses about management are explicitly tested

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We extract timber from public and private lands. Today, the U.S. national forest system (U.S. Forest Service, in the Department of Agriculture) consists of __ million ha managed by the U.S. Forest Service and covers over __ of the nation's land area.

answer

77 million; 8%

question

What are national forests? N

answer

public lands set aside to: Grow trees, produce timber, protect watersheds, and ensure future timber supplies, 77 million ha (191 million acres)—8% of U.S. land

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The U.S. Forest Service was established in 1905 :

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Manages forests for the greatest good of the greatest number in the long run. We should wisely and carefully use resources from public lands

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Most logging is on private land. Timber companies cut national and state forests.The Forest Service manages timber:

answer

sales and builds roads, Companies log and sell the timber for profit ;National forest harvesting has declined;Regrown forests are ecologically less valuable

question

We harvest timber by several methods: Most timber has been harvested by ____-_______, in which all trees in an area are cut at once.

answer

clear cutting ;Public aversion to clear-cutting eventually led foresters and the timber industry to develop alternative harvesting methods.

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Harvesting timber: What is clear-cutting?

answer

All trees in the area are cut, Most cost-efficient, May mimic some natural disturbance (e.g., storms)

question

What are the impacts of clear cutting?

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Removes communities, Leads to soil erosion, Pollutes water

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Plantations of fast-growing tree species are planted in single-species __________. Because all trees in a given stand are planted at the same time the stands are ____-____.________ time are between cuts.

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monocultures;even-aged;rotation time

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Plantations are not natural forests. Simple communities that act more like crops

answer

Reduced complexity decreases habitat and biodiversity, Vulnerable to pests, Uneven-aged stands

question

What are uneven-aged stands?

answer

: a mix of tree species and ages, More similar to natural forests

question

Politics influences forestry management:Roadless rule: (2001): President Clinton's executive order protected 31% of national forests from logging was strongly supported by the public

answer

The Bush administration rolled back regulations in 2004, Freed managers from requirements of the National Forest Management Act, Loosened protections and restricted public oversight, Repealed the roadless rule—states could decide how to manage national forests!, President Obama reinstated the roadless rule in 2011

question

What is the roadless rule?

answer

states could decide how to manage national forests!

question

Fire can hurt or help forests. For over a century, the Forest Service and other land management agencies have suppressed fire whenever and wherever it has broken out. Yet,

answer

scientific research shows that many species and ecological communities depend on fire.

question

The Forest Service used to suppress all fires but many ecosystems depend on fires. What can they do?

answer

For seed germination, grassland preservation, animal diversity and abundance; Excess vegetation produces kindling for future fires

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Fire suppression leads to catastrophic fires:

answer

Damages property, hurts forests, threatens people

question

Managing forest fires with:

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wildland-urban interface and Prescribed (controlled) burns

question

In the wildland-urban interface:

answer

housing developments that are near forests are vulnerable to forest fires

question

What are Prescribed (controlled) burns:

answer

burning areas of forests under carefully controlled conditions; Remove fuel loads, nourish soil, encourage growth of new vegetation

question

Once a catastrophic fire burns a forest, it may leave many _____ ______. _______ ________ is the physical removal of small trees, underbrush, and dead trees by timber companies.

answer

dead trees; salvage logging

question

What is salvage logging?

answer

removal of dead trees following a natural disturbance (fire, windstorm, insects, disease)

question

Salvage logging seems logical, but is really destructive. How?

answer

Snags (standing dead trees) provide food, nesting and roosting cavities for animals; Removing timber from recently burned areas increases erosion and soil damage, Impedes forest regeneration and promotes future fires

question

______ change is altering forests. This is occurring by bringing warmer weather, and driving the dynamics of certain pests.

answer

climate

question

Climate change is altering forests:

answer

Climate change is worsening wildfire risk, Pests kill huge areas of trees, particularly even-aged plantations, Some species will benefit, others will be harmed, Drier woodlands, shrublands, or grasslands may replace dense, moist forests

question

Sustainable forestry is gaining ground. What is Sustainable forest certification:

answer

forests, companies, and products made using sustainable methods. Several organizations examine timber company practices and offer sustainable forest certification to products produced using sustainable methods.

question

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has the strictest standards:

answer

Products are costly, but consumers willingly pay more; Home Depot and others sell sustainable wood, encouraging better logging practices.

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Why create parks and reserves?

answer

We must preserve functional ecosystems by setting aside protected lands

question

People establish parks and reserves to:

answer

Preserve enormous or unusual scenic features, Offer recreational value: hiking, fishing, hunting, etc. , Generate revenue from ecotourism, Offer peace of mind, health, exploration, wonder, etc. , Provide benefits and ecosystem services, Preserve biodiversity

question

Federal parks and reserves began in the U.S. What are national parks?

answer

public lands protected from resource extraction and development, Open to nature appreciation and recreation, Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872

question

The National Park Service (NPS):

answer

administers parks, 392 sites on 84 million acres ; Historic sites, recreation areas, seashores, etc. National parks are the "best idea we've ever had"

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What is National Wildlife Refuge:

answer

havens for wildlife, Begun in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt, Administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Allows hunting, fishing, birding, wildlife observation, photography, education

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What are Wilderness areas:

answer

off-limits to development, For hiking, nature study, other low-impact recreation

question

A ______ _______ ________ is another type of protected area and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

answer

National Wildlife refugee

question

In response to the public's desire for undeveloped areas of land, in 1964 the U.S. Congress passed the ___________ ______, which allowed some areas of existing federal lands to be designated as wilderness areas. T

answer

Wilderness Act; these areas are off-limits to development, but open to hiking, nature study, and other low-impact public recreation.

question

Not everyone supports land set-asides

answer

Some western states want resource extraction and development; wide-use movement

question

What is the wide-use movement?

answer

individuals and industries opposed to environmental protection; Want to protect private property, oppose government regulation, Want federal lands transferred to state or private hands, Want motorized recreation on public lands. ; Made up of farmers, ranchers, loggers, mineral, and fossil fuel industries

question

Agencies and groups help protect land:

answer

Each U.S. state has agencies that manage resources on public lands and so do counties and municipalities,The Nature Conservancy: the world's largest land trust, Thousands of volunteer groups care for protected land

question

What are land trusts?

answer

local or regional organizations that purchase land to protect it

question

Many nations have established national parks They benefit from ecotourism. Parks do not always receive necessary funding.

answer

They can't protect resources or provide recreation.

question

What are some internationally protected areas?

answer

paper parks, biosphere reserves, world heritage sites, transboundary parks, peace parks

question

def. paper parks

answer

areas protected on paper but not in reality.

question

def. biosphere reserves

answer

Biosphere reserves: land with exceptional biodiversity managed or designated by the UN, Couple preservation with sustainable development, Must benefit local people

question

def. world heritage parks

answer

another type of international protected area, Listed for their natural or cultural value ;Over 900 sites in 150 countries

question

def. transboundary parks

answer

protected land overlapping national borders, Example: 3 African nations share a mountain gorilla reserve

question

def. peace parks

answer

transboundary parks that ease tensions by acting as buffers between quarreling nations, Ocean protected areas and reserves are also being created

question

Habitat fragmentation makes preserves still more vital. What is habitat fragmentation?

answer

Expanding agriculture, residential development, highways, logging, and other impacts divide large expanses of habitat into small disconnected ones.

question

When forests are fragmented, many species suffer. Habitat fragmentation is affecting our national parks.

answer

The problem may lie with edge effects, impacts that result because the conditions along a fragment's edge are different than conditions in the interior.

question

What are edge effects?

answer

conditions created along a fragment's edge (Parasites and predators easily attack bird nests, Interior bird species can't reproduce when forced near the edge of a fragment)

question

______________ is the main reason for decline of populations of North American songbirds

answer

Fragmentation

question

Habitat fragmentation is affecting parks

answer

Parks are islands of natural habitat surrounded by farms, ranches, and roads

question

Reserve design has consequences for biodiversity.Conservation biologists debate the_____ _________ (single large or several small). Climate change threatens protected areas.

answer

SLOSS dilemma (single large or several small)

question

Results of forest fragmentation: Researchers in the Brazilian rain forest found that:

answer

Species diversity declines in fragments (More species are lost in small fragments (even 250 acres) or fragments distant from continuous forests ), Species can use regrowing secondary forests as corridors to move between fragments,

question

Edges and secondary forests allow new species (usually generalists) into fragments,Sun, heat, and wind along edges kills trees adapted to dark, moist forest interiors

answer

...

question

Climate change threatens protected areas: Global climate change threatens to undo our efforts to design, establish, and guard protected areas. As temperatures warm, species' ranges shift northward

answer

Species can't move in a fragmented habitat, High-elevation species are most at risk, There is no place for them to go, Corridors that allow movement become very important, Reserves must be connected with corridors to save species, Saving biodiversity must go beyond protecting areas

question

________ of protected land that allow animals to travel between islands of habitat have become more important than ever.

answer

CORRIDORS

Chapter 9: Forests, Forest Management, and Protected Areas – Flashcards

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