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Rangeland. How Should We Manage and Sustain Grasslands?. Important ecological services of grasslands: Soil formation Erosion control Nutrient cycling Storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide in biomass Maintenance of diversity. How Should We Manage and Sustain Grasslands?.
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How Should We Manage and Sustain Grasslands? • Important ecological services of grasslands: • Soil formation • Erosion control • Nutrient cycling • Storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide in biomass • Maintenance of diversity
How Should We Manage and Sustain Grasslands? • Almost half of the world’s livestock graze on natural grasslands (Rangelands) and managed grasslands (Pastures). • We can sustain rangeland productivity by controlling the number and distribution of livestock and by restoring degraded rangeland.
Some Rangelands Are Overgrazed • Overgrazing occurs when too many animals graze for too long and exceed carrying capacity of a grassland area. • Grass/shrubs are damaged beyond repair • Reduces grass cover • Leads to erosion of soil by water and wind
Some Rangelands Are Overgrazed • Desertification - The degradation of land that results in a desert • Caused by overgrazing, deforestation, or overuse • The worlds deserts are getting bigger • Prevention of overgrazing: • Rotational grazing • Replant barren areas • Apply fertilizer • Reduce soil erosion
Forests Vary in Their Make-up, Age, and Origins • Old-growth forest: Original forests that have not been disturbed for logging, road building, or development • Sometimes called primary, ancient, virgin, or primeval forests • 36% of world’s forest • High biodiversity because of many specialized niches
Forests Vary in Their Make-up, Age, and Origins Second-growth forest: • Area which has re-grown after a major disturbance such as fire, insect, or timber harvest • 60% of world’s forest • The area is reclaimed by the natural process of secondary succession • Small shrubs and trees followed by the larger trees
Tree plantation (tree farm): Planted stands of a particular tree species that are maintained, harvested, and replanted • Typically used for paper or particle board
Economic and Ecological Services Estimated annual value: Economic services $1.8 trillion Ecological services $4.7 trillion
Unsustainable Logging is a Major Threat to Forest Ecosystems • Building roads into previously inaccessible forests paves the way for increased erosion, habitat fragmentation, loss of biodiversity, and invasion by non-native species. • For this reason, many federal wilderness areas do not allow the construction of roads.
Three major tree harvesting methods: • Selective cutting • Clear-cutting • Strip cutting
Selective Cutting: • Mature trees are harvested individually from diverse forests • Younger trees left to harvest later • Reduces crowding • Removes diseased trees • Encourages growth of younger trees
Clear-cutting: • Removing all trees in a single pass.
Strip-cutting: • A type of clear cutting that involves clear trees along the contours of the land. • Less erosion
Deforestation in the tropical rainforest Amazon and the Congo
Tropical Forests Are Disappearing Rapidly • Large areas of tropical forest are burned to make way for cattle ranches and crops. • Soil in the rainforest is very poor • Farmers burn the trees down to provide nutrients for the soil • Heavy rain leaches away the nutrients so they move to another area and burn again
Tropical Forests Are Disappearing Rapidly • At least half of the world’s terrestrial plants and animals live in tropical rain forests. • About 2,100 of the 3,000 plants identified by the National Cancer Institute as sources of cancer-fighting chemicals come from tropical rain forests.
We Can Improve the Management of Forest Fires • Fire prevention programs have been very effective…too effective. • Large amounts of highly flammable underbrush have accumulated • Leads to larger, more destructive crown fires • To reduce fire damage: • Set controlled surface fires (Prescribed Fires). • Allow fires to burn on public lands if they don’t threaten life and property. • Clear small areas around property subject to fire.
Threats • Logging interests cut down rain forest trees for timber used in flooring, furniture, and other items. • Power plants and other industries cut and burn trees to generate electricity. • The paper industry turns huge tracts of rain forest trees into pulp. • The cattle industry uses slash-and-burn techniques to clear ranch land. • Agricultural interests, particularly the soy industry, clear forests for cropland. • Subsistence farmers slash-and-burn rain forest for firewood and to make room for crops and grazing lands. • Mining operations clear forest to build roads and dig mines. • Governments and industry clear-cut forests to make way for service and transit roads. • Hydroelectric projects flood acres of rain forest.
Solutions • Sustainable-logging regimes that selectively cull trees rather than clear-cut them would save millions of acres of rain forest every year. • Campaigns that educate people about the destruction caused by rain forest timber and encourage purchasing of sustainable rain forest products could drive demand down enough to slow deforestation. • Encouraging people who live near rain forests to harvest its bounty (nuts, fruits, medicines) rather than clear-cutting it for farmland would save million of acres. • Government moratoriums on road building and large infrastructure projects in the rain forest would save many acres. • From National geographic