Threats to Biodiversity: An Overview Guided Viewing Name: Selena Felix 1: Natural Capital: Forests Ecological Services Economic 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 Economic Services Fuel wood Lumber Pulp to make paper Mining Livestock grazing Recreation Jobs

2: What are the 3 main types of forests? Old-growth forests, 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 and premature extinction of species with specialized niches. 4: What are the methods for harvesting trees? Selective cutting, clear cutiing, and strip cutting. 5: Clear-Cutting Forests Advantages Most Efficient Higher timber yields Maximum profits in shortest time Can reforest with fast- growing trees Short time to establish new stand of trees Needs less skill and planning Disadvantages Does considerable damage Destroys habitats Kills animals Reduces biodiversity Disrupts ecosystem processes Destroys and fragments wildlife habitats

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 Shift government subsidies from harvesting trees to planting trees Certify timber grown by sustainable methods Sharply reduce road building into uncut forest areas

7: What is the Healthy Forest Restoration Act? What are the PROS and CONS? A Healthy Forest Restoration Act is an act that 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 fire 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

9: What are some causes of tropical deforestation? Subsidies, population growth and 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 Restoration Reforestation

Educate settlers about sustainable agriculture and forestry Phase out subsidies that encourage unsustainable forest use Add subsidies that encourage sustainable

Rehabilitation of degraded areas

Concentrate farming and ranching on

forest use Protect forests with debt-for-nature swaps and conservation easements Certify sustainably grown timber Reduce illegal cutting Reduce poverty Slow population growth Slow population growth Reduce poverty Reduce illegal cutting Certify sustainably grown timber

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 endangeredecosystems & species Restore as many degraded ecosystems as possible Make development biodiversity- friendly 15: What is a biodiversity hotspot? How many are there worldwide?6: What are the top 6 hotspots in the United States? A biodiversity hotspot is identified by ecologists as important and endangered centers of biodiversity. Worldwide there are 34 hotspots. 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. 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 21: What are characteristics of vulnerable species? Specialized feeding habits Specialized feeding habits Low reproductive rate Large size Found only in one place or region 22: What is HIPPCO? HIPPCO is a way conservation biologists summarize the most important causes of premature extinction. 23: What can you do about invasive species? Do not allow wild animals to escape. 24: What are some characteristics of successful invader species? High reproductive rate Short generation time Pioneer species Long lived 25: How is pollution affecting species? They are killing species. 26: What is overexploitation? Over exploitation is the exploitation to the point of diminishing returns. 27: What is the U.S. Endangered Species Act? The U.S. Endangered Species Act is one of the worlds most far-reaching and controversial environmental laws from the 1973 U.S. 28: What is the CITIES Treaty? The CITIES Treaty is one of the most powerful treaties in the 1975 Convention on International Trade of

Endangered Species. 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 Restore a nearby degraded forest or grassland Buy sustainable wood and wood products