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CHAPTER 7

The Use and


Restoration of
Ecosystems

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Introduction to ecosystem restoration
• Pacific halibut live in northern parts of the Pacific
Ocean
• In bottom waters of the continental shelf
• It has supported a commercial fishery since the
1800s
• It has been heavily regulated since the 1920s
• The fishing fleet fished until the total allowable
catch (TAC) was reached
• In 1990, the season lasted only six days
• Intensive fishing caused lost and damaged gear
• Endangered the crew and vessels

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A new management strategy for
halibut
• Canada and the U.S. adopted the individual quota
(IQ) management strategy
• Owners of vessels were allocated a percentage of
TAC
• They decide when to fish within the season
• The number of vessels decreased
• Income increased
• Fish stocks improved
• This strategy involved the fishing community

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Ecosystem capital
• Biomes: reflect organism responses to climatic
conditions
• Terrestrial biomes: forests and woodlands,
grasslands and savannas, croplands, wetlands,
desert lands, and tundra
• Oceanic ecosystems: coastal ocean and bays,
coral reefs, open ocean
• Human economy and well-being directly depend on
exploitation of natural goods (provisioning
services)
• Ecosystems provide all food, fuel, wood, fibers, etc.
• Natural services (regulating and cultural services)
process energy and circulate matter
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Services from various types of
ecosystems

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Ecosystems perform natural services
• Normally functioning ecosystems provide free
natural goods and services
• Global ecosystems provide $41 trillion/year
• A functioning mangrove swamp provides
$14,450/acre
• Storm protection, forest products, spawning grounds
• If converted to a shrimp farm, it provides
$3,376/acre
• But pollution and land degradation cost $2,200/acre
• For a net income of $1,175/acre!
• Benefits of conversion are local, short, and specific
• Loss of services is regional, long-term, and diffuse
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Shrimp aquaculture farms in Thailand

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Ecosystems as natural resources
• If natural services are so valuable, why are they
destroyed?
• A natural area is protected only when the society
values its services higher than the value
assigned to a direct human use of the resource
• Natural resources: natural ecosystems and
their biota
• Are expected to produce something of value
• The most commonly understood value is
economic
• Referring to natural systems as resources makes
it easy to lose sight of their ecological value
• Ecosystem capital avoids this mistake
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Valuing ecosystems
• Markets assess economic value
• But not the monetary value of ecosystem services
• Instrumental value works for provisioning services of
ecosystems (timber, fish, crops)
• Regulating and cultural services (ecological
services) are less local and harder to price
• They are public goods, essential for human well-being
• Cutting forests provides immediate economic
benefits
• But has a long-term loss in regulating and support
services

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Private vs. public lands
• Natural ecosystems are maintained when they
provide the greatest economic (direct-use) value for
their owners
• Corporate-owned Maine forests are used for
lumber and paper
• Land sold to developers would become house lots
• Some ecosystems are publically owned (state,
federal lands) or cannot be owned (oceans)
• They are still exploited
• Sustainable exploitation maintains natural services
• Ecosystems can also be restored

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Domesticated nature
• Humans have dominated most landscapes
• 50% of the land is now used for crop and livestock
production
• Half of the world’s forests have been lost
• Domesticated ecosystems still provide services
• But at our consent and for our benefit
• As populations increase, so will pressures on
ecosystems
• Maintaining ecosystem capital will become harder
• The ability of ecosystems to sustain future
generations can no longer be taken for granted
• 15 of 24 natural services are declining worldwide
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Conservation, preservation,
restoration
• Renewable resource: ecosystem’s and biota’s
ability to regenerate
• Ecosystems can replenish themselves
• They are sustainable
• Conservation of biota and ecosystem manages or
regulates use so it does not exceed the capacity of
the species or system to renew itself
• Has a well-defined goal

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Preservation is not conservation
• Its goal is to ensure species and ecosystem
continuity regardless of their potential utility
• May preclude making use of the species or
ecosystem
• Old-growth (virgin) forests must be preserved (not
cut)
• Second-growth forests can be conserved (cut
sustainably)
• Conservation and preservation can conflict
• Endangered Muriqui monkeys of Brazil need second-
growth forests
• Conservation of forests is essential for preservation
of this monkey
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Muriqui monkey

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Patterns of human use of natural
ecosystems
• Consumptive use: people harvest natural
resources for food, shelter, tools, fuel, clothing
• Not in a country’s calculated market economy
• People barter or sell goods to meet their own needs
• This “wild income” is important to the world’s poor
• Bush meat: wild game in Africa that provides protein
• Largely unregulated and involves poaching
• Contributes to the decline of 30 endangered species
• Commercially killed primate meat is found in New
York, London, Paris, etc.
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Consumptive use

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Productive use
• Productive use: the exploitation of ecosystem
resources for economic gain
• Products are harvested and sold
• An important source of revenue and employment
• For example, commercial trade in wood products
generated $468 billion in 2006
• Employing 13.7 million people
• Wild animals and plants provide initial breeding
stock
• Sources of genes for crop plants or animals
• Sources of new medicines

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Productive use

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The four types of tenure
• Consumptive and productive uses of natural
ecosystem resources are the consequences of the
rights of tenure (property rights) over land and
water
• Private ownership: restricts access to natural
resources
• Commercial ownership: permits use of natural
resources by members of the community
• State ownership: implies regulated use
• Open access: resources can be used by anyone
• Each has the potential for abuse or stewardship

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Maximum sustainable yield
• The central question in managing a renewable
resource:
• How much continual use can be sustained without
undercutting the ability for renewal?
• Maximum sustainable yield (MSY): the highest
possible rate of use the system can match with its
own rate of replacement or maintenance
• MSY applies to harvesting biota, air/water quality, soils
• Used in timber cutting, fishing, park visitation, pollution
• MSY is just before the point at which use begins to
destroy the system’s regenerative capacity

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Optimal populations
• Carrying capacity of an ecosystem: the maximum
population the ecosystem can sustainably support
• A population below carrying capacity grows
• This yield can be harvested
• In a population approaching carrying capacity,
competition between individuals reduces
recruitment
• In a population near or at carrying capacity,
thinning reduces competition and obtains optimal
growth
• MSY is not obtained with a population at the
carrying capacity
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Maximum sustainable yield

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Obtaining MSY is difficult
• The optimal population for harvesting at MSY
is halfway to the carrying capacity
• Using MSY is complicated
• Carrying capacity and optimal population vary
• Replacement of harvested individuals varies
• Humans adversely affect habitats, carrying
capacity, sustainable yields, etc.
• Accurate estimates must be made
• Data on population size and recruitment rates are
often hard to obtain

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The precautionary principle
• MSY is used to set a fixed quota
• In fisheries, it’s the total allowable catch (TAC)
• Inaccurate data overestimate TAC
• Fishers and politicians pressure to keep harvests high
• With uncertainties, overuse, and resource depletion,
managers turn to the precautionary principle:
where there is uncertainty, managers must favor
resource protection
• Exploitation limits are set below MSY
• Conflicts arise between users and managers

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Using the commons
• A common-pool resource: owned by many people
• Or by no one (open access)
• Commons: a system with open access
• Use by one does not subtract from use by others
• Examples: knowledge, federal grasslands, fisheries,
groundwater, atmosphere, some forests
• Exploitation of the commons causes serious
problems
• Tragedy of the commons: ruin of the resource
• Sustainability: maintaining common-pool resources
to yield benefits for present and future users

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Garrett Hardin’s Tragedy of the Commons
• Original commons: pastures used by anyone to
graze cattle
• Whoever grazed the most cattle benefited the most
• Those who reduced their cattle suffered lost profits
• The commons were overgrazed
• Problems arise
• With open access to a common-pool resource
• But with no (or an ineffective) regulating authority
• Along with no functioning community
• Then profit becomes the only motive in exploiting a
resource
• This tragedy can be avoided only by limiting access
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Limiting freedom
• Private ownership can mitigate the tragedy of the
commons
• Restricts access to a renewable natural resource
• It should be exploited to guarantee continued harvest
• But this theory does not work when an owner
maximizes immediate profit (e.g., corporations)
• Regulating access to a commons allows for
• Protection for sustained benefits
• Fairness in access
• Mutual consent of the regulated
• Best if locally controlled by those who benefit most

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Maine lobsters
• Lobsters are found in Northern Hemisphere cold
marine waters
• The lobster fishery is a common-pool resource
• Management of Maine’s lobster fishery involves
state and local regulation
• State: establishes laws protecting juveniles and
breeding females and sets the number of traps
allowed
• Fishers: know and monitor each other and determine
who can fish in a given area
• The state fishery is thriving, despite more fishers

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Exploiting the commons

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Public policies
• To achieve objectives of conservation when
harvesting living resources
• Consider the concepts and limitations of MSY
• Consider the social and economic factors causing
overuse and degradation
• Establish and enforce protective public policies
• Natural resources can be sustainably used
• Sometimes exploitation and degradation have
gone too far
• Restoration ecology: restoration of damaged
ecosystems

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Ecosystem restoration
• Restoration ecology repairs damaged lands and
waters
• Returning ecosystem integrity, resilience, productivity
• A worldwide, $70 billion industry
• A thorough knowledge of ecosystem and species
ecology is essential to successful restoration efforts
• Ecological problems that can be solved include
• Soil erosion, strip mining, wetland draining, hurricane
damage, agricultural use, deforestation, overgrazing

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Everglades restoration
• Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan
(CERP)
• Approved by Congress in 2000
• Will take 36 years and $11 billion
• Funded by federal and state governments, tribal and
local agencies
• Managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Created the system that makes restoration necessary
• The Everglades has been reduced to half its size
through development and wetlands draining
• It holds wildlife refuges and national parks

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The Everglades restoration plan

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In bondage
• Water in Florida slowly moves south from Lake
Okeechobee
• The river of grass: 40 miles wide, 100 miles long
• Viewed as an unproductive swamp
• People built levees, locks, dams, spillways
• Cities and sugar croplands divert water
• Winter water shortages leave too little for natural
systems
• Summer rains divert too much water to the
Everglades
• Agricultural runoff of nutrients (phosphorus) has
degraded the water
• Invasive species have overrun native vegetation
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Water release
• Goals of the 1996 task force to restore the
Everglades
• “Getting the water right” (CERP’s role)
• Restoring, protecting, preserving habitats and
species
• Promoting compatibility of natural and human
systems
• The plan calls for removing levees and canals
• Capturing water through reservoirs and wells
• Restoring the river of grass to a healthy system will
address the second goal

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Land buyout
• In 2008, U.S. Sugar agreed to sell its land and
facilities to the state of Florida for $1.7 billion
• 187,000 acres southeast of Lake Okeechobee
• Water stored in recreated wetlands will flow into the
Everglades during the dry season
• Because of the 2008-2009 recession, this plan was
scaled back to $530 million for 72,500 acres
• Future options allow the state to buy more land

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Pending restorations
• As values of natural ecosystems becomes
recognized, efforts to restore damaged or lost
ecosystems become more important
• Large systems are the focus of restoration projects
• California Bay Delta, Chesapeake Bay, Platte River
Basin, the Mississippi Delta
• Other restoration sites include the Galápagos
Islands, Illinois River, Brazilian Atlantic forest,
Tampa Bay

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Forest ecosystems under pressure
• Forests grow in areas receiving enough
precipitation for tree growth
• The most productive land systems
• They perform vital natural services
• Conserve biodiversity, moderate climate, prevent
erosion, store carbon and nutrients, provide
recreation
• Provide goods: lumber, paper, fodder, fibers, gums,
latex, fruit, berries, nuts, fuel
• The major threat: not only exploitation but total
destruction

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Forest resource assessments
• The UN’s 2009 State of the World Forests found
that
• Forests cover 30% of total land area
• Deforestation (the removal of forest and replacement
by another use) continues
• The most important product is wood, and plantation
forests have increased
• 9% of the world’s forests are protected and 65%
have protection as a designated function
• Recognition of forest roles in climate change
• The 2010 report will use high-resolution satellite
images
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World forest biomes

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Net changes in forest area

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Forests as obstacles
• Forests are obstacles to conversion to pastures
and agriculture land
• Consequences of clearing a forest
• Reduced productivity, nutrients, biomass,
biodiversity
• Erosion and drying of soil
• Changed hydrologic cycle
• Loss of a major carbon dioxide sink
• Loss of forest products and livelihood of people
• Countries manage forests in many different ways

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Logging operations

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Types of forest management
• Silviculture: the practice of forest management
• For crop production (hardwood, pulp, etc.)
• Rotation: a cycle of decisions about a stand of
trees
• From its early growth to harvest
• Even-aged management: trees of a uniform age
are managed, cut down, and then replanted
• Clear-cutting: removing an entire stand at one
time
• Clear-cutting creates a fragmented habitat
• Impacts biodiversity and ecosystems
• Efficient and does not need much management
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Other management methods
• Uneven-aged management: results in a more
diverse forest
• Uses different harvesting strategies
• Selective cutting: some mature trees are removed
• Leaves diversity and ecosystem functions
• Replanting is unnecessary
• Shelter-wood cutting: mature trees are cut in
groups
• Leaves some trees to provide seeds and shelter
seedlings
• These methods need more management and skill
but can lead to a sustainable forest
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Sustainable forestry
• Sustained yield: production of wood is the primary
goal
• Wood is harvested without destroying the forest
• Similar to MSY: maximize harvest rates
• Ignores ecosystem properties of forests
• Sustainable forest management: managing
forests as ecosystems
• Maintains forest biodiversity and integrity
• Meets social, economic, cultural, and spiritual needs
of present and future generations

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Elements of sustainable forest
management
• Forest resources: reduce deforestation, restore
landscapes, maintain carbon storage, support
conservation efforts
• Biological diversity: conserve all levels of diversity
• Forest health and vitality: protect from fire, pests, etc.
• Productive functions: wood and nonwood products
• Protective functions: provide valuable ecosystem
services
• Socioeconomic functions: cultural, spiritual,
recreational
• Legal, policy, and institutional framework: fair and just
use of forests; proper law enforcement
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Tropical forests
• Deforestation of tropical forests is of special
concern
• They provide habitat for millions of species
• Between 1960 and 1990, 20% was converted to
other uses
• Countries need economic development
• They also have rapid population growth
• The major cause of deforestation: conversion to
pastures and agriculture
• Governments encourage colonization of forested
lands
• Indonesia, Africa, Brazil
• After slowing, deforestation rates are once again
rising © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
Forests provide revenue
• Developing countries sell logging rights to
multinational logging corporations
• They harvest timber without regard to regeneration
• Chinese and other Asian companies log millions of
acres in Belize, Suriname, Papua New Guinea
• Weak regulations and corruption
• Millions of people live in forests or on their edges
• Extracting forest goods
• There are encouraging trends in forest
management in developing countries

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Encouraging trends in forest
management
• Practicing sustainable management: 6% of tropical
forests are under a formal management plan
• Designating areas for conservation: 11% of forests
• Establishing plantations for wood or other
products: reduces pressure on natural forests
• Setting aside extractive reserves for nontimber
uses
• Preserving forests as part of a national heritage
or for tourism: can generate more money than
logging
• Putting forests under control of indigenous
people: to use sustainably © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
A plantation forest

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Certification
• The Forest Stewardship Council: an alliance of
nongovernmental organizations, industry, and
scientists
• To promote sustainable (responsible) forestry
• Certifies forest products for the consumer market
• By 2010, 110 million hectares (242 million acres) in
81 countries were certified
• Consumers can choose wood products that have
been sustainably harvested

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Ocean ecosystems under pressure
• Oceans cover 75% of Earth’s surface
• They provide priceless goods and services
• Human activities have severely impacted these
ecosystems
• Commercial shipping, resource extraction, nutrient
runoff from land, fishing, species invasion,
greenhouse gas emissions
• Marine fisheries provide jobs for 200 million
people
• Account for 15% of human protein consumption
• Fishery: a limited marine area or exploited
species
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Human impact on ocean ecosystems

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Overfishing
• By the 1960s, regions of the sea were seriously
depleted
• By factory ships and modern fish-finding technology
• In the mid-1970s, the Law of the Sea expanded a
nation’s jurisdiction to 200 miles offshore
• Established in the U.S. by the Magnuson Act of 1976
• Most fisheries fall under authority of particular
nations
• Some areas recovered
• But nationally based fleets increased to exploit the
fisheries

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The catch
• The UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)
reports the annual harvest from fisheries and fish
farms
• The harvest has increased remarkably
• Aquaculture accounts for 36% of fish supplies
• Accounts for the increased fish production
• “Capture” fisheries leveled off in the 1990s
• 37% are species like whiting, herring, anchovy used
to feed farm-raised fish
• Salmon and shrimp aquaculture use more fish
protein than they produce

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The global fish harvest

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The limits
• The world fish catch may appear stable, but many
species and areas are overfished
• 16% of fish stocks are overexploited and will
decline
• 8% are depleted
• One-third of the catch is used for fish meal and oil
• Aquaculture is growing in developing countries
• Alleviating poverty
• Capture fisheries are at their upper limit
• Restoring fisheries requires limiting/reducing fishing
• Marine protected areas must be established
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Georges Bank
• New England’s richest fishing ground
• Cod, haddock, flounder (groundfish)
• These species declined from overfishing
• Increased “rough” species: dogfish (sharks), skates
• Declines in these species have led to their
regulation
• Prized fish species declined because of poor
management
• Regional management councils create
management plans
• National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) provides
advice and information
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Management councils
• The New England Fishery Management Council
(NEFMC)
• Set TAC quotas
• Fishermen said the TACs were too low
• Were allowed to use nets that let smaller fish
escape
• Results were disastrous
• The NEFMC set regulations to reduce fishing
pressure
• Boats were restricted in days spent fishing and were
excluded from certain areas
• TACs were lowered
• Cod were still overfished and harvests were reduced
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Fishery in distress

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Other cod fisheries
• The Grand Banks, off the coast of Newfoundland,
were the richest fishing grounds in the world
• With government encouragement, cod were
decimated
• Closing the fishery in 1992 cost 35,000 jobs
• The cod population has not rebounded
• Europe’s North Sea cod fishery is declining
• It is only 15% of what it was in the 1970s
• Fishing nations fiercely resist harvest reductions

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Problems with fisheries
• Too many boats, rigged with high technology, give
fish little chance of escaping
• The industry has become too efficient
• Better management is needed
• The size of the fleet must be reduced
• Access must be limited
• Catch shares: gives fishers transferrable “property
rights”
• Fishers determine how and when they harvest
• Scientists obtain accurate population measurements

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Bottom trawling

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Fisheries law reauthorized
• The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Reauthorization Act (2006)
• Regional councils set catch limits based on science
• Limits must be below MSY
• Use precautionary principles in setting limits
• End overfishing within two (no longer 10!) years
• Rebuild and maintain depleted stocks and limit
bycatch
• Have clear accountability measures
• It does not require an ecosystem-based approach
• Improves science-based approach to management

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Other fisheries issues need to be
addressed
• Banning of shark finning for shark-fin soup
• Accurate certification of “dolphin-safe” tuna
• Shrimping in the Gulf of Mexico that kills
endangered sea turtles and generates huge
bycatch
• Declining stocks of swordfish and tuna
• Aquaculture demands placed on ocean fish
• The ground meal from ocean fish harvests is fed to
pen-raised fish

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Marine reserves
• Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): coasts and open
oceans closed to all commercial fishing and mineral
mining
• Most allow small-scale fishing, tourism, recreational
boating
• Not all are rigorously managed
• Benefits: ecosystem protection, tourism, fish and
larvae spill over into surrounding fisheries
• Creation of reserves is the most direct path to
restoration
• President G. W. Bush established three huge MPAs
surrounding the South Pacific Islands in 2009
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International whaling
• Whales were heavily depleted until the 1980s
• The International Whaling Commission (IWC)
banned whaling any species with low populations
• Immediately protected right, bowhead, and blue
whales
• In 1986, a moratorium was placed on all whaling
• Japan, Iceland, Norway still whale
• Indigenous people in Alaska, the Russian
Federation, and Greenland also whale
• The main threats:
• Entanglement with fishing gear
• Collisions with ships
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Current whaling operation

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Protecting whales
• Some species (bowhead, gray, and Southern right)
seem to be recovering
• The ethical controversy over whaling has shifted
from conservation to animal rights
• Many think it is wrong to kill such unique mammals
• Whaling nations say their cultures include eating
whales—just as others eat cows or turkeys

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Whale stakes
• Japan, Iceland, and Norway have pressured to
reopen whaling for consumption and “scientific
purposes”
• Whaling minke and larger fin whales
• Japanese people are losing their taste for whale meat
• It ends up in pet food or school dinners
• The Japanese wrongly say whales eat too many fish
• The IWC will study whale sanctuaries and research
whaling
• Australia says Japanese are whaling in their whale
sanctuary
• Greenpeace and the Sea Shepherd Conservation
Society harass Japanese whaling ships
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Whale watching
• The best hope for protecting whales is the rising
sentiment against whaling along with opportunities
for whale watching
• Whale watching is an important tourist enterprise
• Generating $30 million/yr in New England
• $1 billion/yr in 87 countries
• People congregate to watch whales
• Whales seem to enjoy entertaining the visitors
• Whale watching provides aesthetic, entertainment,
and scientific value

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Whale watching

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Coral reefs
• Coral reefs occupy shallow coastal waters
• Atolls: islands formed by corals
• One of the world’s most diverse ecosystems
• Zooxanthellae: photosynthetic algae that live in a
symbiotic relationship with coral animals
• Corals build and protect land and attract tourists,
fish, and shellfish
• 20% of the worlds corals have been destroyed
• Temperature increases due to climate change will
bring on more coral bleaching (corals expel their
algae)
• Ocean acidification from excess CO2 also kills
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Bleached coral

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Exploitation
• Poverty and greed damage coral reefs
• Islanders search for fish, shellfish, etc.
• They use cyanide and dynamite to flush fish to
catch for food and the pet trade
• Asian countries must police reefs and retrain fishers
• Sustainable management of reefs must involve
local people
• Outside help may be needed
• Include coral reefs in Marine Protected Areas
(MPAs)
• Effective management and enforcement are vital

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Mangroves
• Trees inland of coral reefs growing in shallow sediments
• They protect coasts from storm damage and erosion
• Under assault from development, logging, aquaculture
• Half of the world’s mangroves have been lost
• Black prawns (shrimp) are a multibillion dollar industry
• Shrimp ponds become polluted, so new ponds are dug
• Flushing of ponds degrades nearby habitats
• Deforestation also causes siltation of sea grasses and
reefs, ruining local fisheries
• Local and international pressure for protection is
increasing

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Protected lands
• Increasing population, industrial expansion, and
conversion of natural resources will always provide
reasons to exploit ecosystems
• Protection by law is the last resort for species and
ecosystems
• Management is aimed at achieving specific
objectives
• These sites = 13% of Earth’s land area
• Ranging from strict preserves to managed resource
use
• Protected areas are not always properly managed

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Public and private lands in the United
States
• President Obama signed the Omnibus Public
Lands Management Act (2009)
• Protects 2.1 million more acres of wilderness
• Increases the wild and scenic river system by 50%
• Provides for the National Landscape Conservation
System, a new federal land system
• Almost 40% of the U.S. is publicly owned
• Managed by state and federal agencies for a variety
of purposes
• Most protected land is in Alaska and western states

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Distribution of federal lands in the
United States

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Wilderness
• Wilderness: land given the most protection
(preservation)
• Authorized by the Wilderness Act (1964)
• 109 million acres in 700 locations
• Permanently protects undeveloped and unexploited
areas
• Structures, roads, vehicles, logging are prohibited
• Some mining and grazing may be allowed
• Hiking and similar activities are allowed
• Any federally owned lands can be designated
wilderness
• Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service,
Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service
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National parks and national wildlife
refuges
• National parks: 84 million acres
• Administered by the National Park Service
• National wildlife refuges: 96 million acres
• Administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service
• Areas of great scenic or unique ecological value
• Protect wildlife species
• Provide public access for recreation, etc.
• Popularity leads to parking problems and habitat
destruction

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Working together to manage natural
sites
• Agencies, environmental groups, and individuals are
working to manage natural sites as part of larger
ecosystems
• The Greater Yellowstone Coalition conserves
Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks
• Plus seven national forests, three wildlife refuges, and
private land
• It has addressed logging, sprawl, and road building
• It has curtailed shooting of bison that leave parklands
• Cooperation is important to maintain biodiversity
• Protects land outside protected areas
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Greater Yellowstone ecosystem

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National forests
• 67% is managed for commercial timber harvest
• 75% is privately owned, mostly in the East
• 25% is managed by the federal government in the
West
• Deforestation is no longer a problem in the U.S.
• Second-growth forests have regenerated
• The Forest Service manages 193 million acres
of national forests
• The Bureau of Land Management manages 258
million acres
• Prairies, deserts, forests, mountains, wetlands,
tundra
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Multiple use vs. new forestry
• Multiple use: the Forest Service’s old management
principle
• Allowed resource extraction (grazing, logging, mining)
• Also allowed recreation, watershed protection, wildlife
• Intended to balance these uses, but emphasized
extraction
• New forestry: the Forest Service’s new principle
(late 1980s)
• Protects ecological health and forest diversity
• Cuts trees less frequently; leaves stream buffer zones,
dead logs, and debris; protects landscapes
• Involves private landowners in management decisions
• Ecosystem management is now the official paradigm
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National forest timber sales

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The roadless controversy
• President Clinton’s Forest Service chief embraced
the ecosystem management paradigm
• Roadless Area Conservation Rule: banned new
logging roads, protecting 58 million acres
• The Bush administration allowed governors to ask
the Secretary of Agriculture to open land to roads
and development
• Resulted in conflicting court decisions
• While campaigning for president, Barack Obama
promised to establish the roadless rule as law

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Fires
• Forest fires have become much more extensive
• Drought in western and southern states
• Higher fuel loads: dead trees and dense vegetation
• Due to fire suppression and logging practices
• President Bush’s Healthy Forests Restoration Act
(2003)
• Allowed logging companies to thin fireprone forests
• Larger trees were harvested cheaply
• Restricted environmental reviews and judicial
oversight
• Salvage logging harvests timber from burned forests
• Increases fire risk and kills seedlings
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Protecting nonfederal lands
• Between 1996 and 2005, voters approved $25
billion to protect land for open space and parks
• Indicates huge support for keeping open space
• Private land trust: protects land from development
• A nonprofit organization accepts gifts of land
• Easements: land owners give up development, but
not ownership, rights
• Can also buy land to protect it
• For example, land trusts in Maine protect over 1
million acres

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Final thoughts
• Ecosystems everywhere are being exploited
• Wetlands, rangelands, rivers, etc.
• Pressure will increase with increased human
population
• In developing countries, the needs of people must
be met in ways that do not destroy ecosystems
• Requires wise leadership and international aid
• Information on what is happening and consequences
• In 2000, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said,
“We are plundering our children’s heritage… we
need a new ethic of stewardship.”

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CHAPTER 7

The Use and


Restoration of
Ecosystems

Active Lecture Questions

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Review Question-1

Which of the following is NOT a natural service


provided by ecosystems?

a. modification of climate
b. maintenance of the hydrologic cycle
c. erosion control and soil building
d. production of pollutants

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.


Review Question-1 Answer

Which of the following is NOT a natural service


provided by ecosystems?

a. modification of climate
b. maintenance of the hydrologic cycle
c. erosion control and soil building
d. production of pollutants

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.


Review Question-2

The highest possible rate of use that a system


can match with its own rate of replacement or
maintenance is the

a. extractive limit.
b. optimum yield.
c. wise-use threshold.
d. maximum sustainable yield.

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Review Question-2 Answer

The highest possible rate of use that a system


can match with its own rate of replacement or
maintenance is the

a. extractive limit.
b. optimum yield.
c. wise-use threshold.
d. maximum sustainable yield.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.


Review Question-3

The aim of conservation is to

a. preserve the environment in a pristine state.


b. actively manage the environment for
optimum resource extraction.
c. ensure the continuity of the system,
regardless of its potential utility.
d. fragment the system for human use.

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Review Question-3 Answer

The aim of conservation is to

a. preserve the environment in a pristine state.


b. actively manage the environment for
optimum resource extraction.
c. ensure the continuity of the system,
regardless of its potential utility.
d. fragment the system for human use.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.


Review Question-4

The main difference between consumptive and


productive use is

a. consumptive use is applied to secondary consumers,


whereas productive is applied to producers.
b. consumptive use is applied to bacteria, whereas
productive use is applied to primary consumers.
c. consumptive use refers to the use of natural systems
for basic human needs, while productive use implies
use for economic gain.
d. consumptive use refers to the value of an organism
to humans, whereas productive use is based on the
value of the organism in and of itself.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.


Review Question-4 Answer

The main difference between consumptive and


productive use is

a. consumptive use is applied to secondary consumers,


whereas productive is applied to producers.
b. consumptive use is applied to bacteria, whereas
productive use is applied to primary consumers.
c. consumptive use refers to the use of natural
systems for basic human needs, while productive
use implies use for economic gain.
d. consumptive use refers to the value of an organism
to humans, whereas productive use is based on the
value of the organism in and of itself.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.


Review Question-5

___________ refers to the problems that arise


when the exploitation of common pool
resources causes the eventual ruin of the
resource.

a. Shakespearean tragedy
b. Conservation pooling
c. Tragedy of the commons
d. Restoration pooling

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.


Review Question-5 Answer

___________ refers to the problems that arise


when the exploitation of common pool
resources causes the eventual ruin of the
resource.

a. Shakespearean tragedy
b. Conservation pooling
c. Tragedy of the commons
d. Restoration pooling

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.


Interpreting Graphs and Data-1

According to Fig. 7-6, when a population is at


carrying capacity,

a. yield is reduced by
competition.
b. maximum sustainable
yield is possible.
c. yield is reduced by
decreased population
sizes.
d. recruitment is low.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.


Interpreting Graphs and Data-1 Answer

According to Fig. 7-6, when a population is at


carrying capacity,

a. yield is reduced by
competition.
b. maximum sustainable
yield is possible.
c. yield is reduced by
decreased population
sizes.
d. recruitment is low.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.


Interpreting Graphs and Data-2

According to Fig. 7-14, between 1960 and 2006


the world’s total fish harvest was

a. in decline year
after year.
b. increasing year
after year.
c. staying approximately
the same.
d. fluctuating dramatically.

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Interpreting Graphs and Data-2 Answer

According to Fig. 7-14, between 1960 and 2006


the world’s total fish harvest was

a. in decline year
after year.
b. increasing year
after year.
c. staying approximately
the same.
d. fluctuating dramatically.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.


Thinking Environmentally-1

Which of the following is the current major


cause of deforestation of the tropics?

a. conversion to pastures and agriculture


b. conversion to municipalities
c. restoration of plantations
d. all of the above

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.


Thinking Environmentally-1 Answer

Which of the following is the current major


cause of deforestation of the tropics?

a. conversion to pastures and agriculture


b. conversion to municipalities
c. restoration of plantations
d. all of the above

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.


Thinking Environmentally-2

Fishers are currently prohibited from hunting


large whales under the __________ Act.

a. Marine Reserves
b. Endangered Species
c. Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Reauthorization
d. Wild Species Restoration

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.


Thinking Environmentally-2 Answer

Fishers are currently prohibited from hunting


large whales under the __________ Act.

a. Marine Reserves
b. Endangered Species
c. Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Reauthorization
d. Wild Species Restoration

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

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