Chapter 11 Forestry and Resource Management Lesson 1

Chapter 11: Forestry and Resource Management

Lesson 1: Resource Management

I. Renewable Resource Management § People need to manage the harvesting of renewable resources in order to ensure their availability § Several types of renewable resources are vital to our civilization o Ex: Soil, fresh water, wild animals, and timber

§ Resource management is the managing of resource harvesting so that resources are not depleted. § Considering the entire ecosystem, rather than a specific resource, makes resource management more complicated, but may be the best way to protect a resource in the long term.

§ Soil o Soil is always being made by natural processes such as the weathering and erosion of rocks and the decomposition of organisms. o Topsoil is the fertile top layer of soil that plants grow in – Made very slowly – Nourishes the plants

§ Fresh water o Continually supplied by natural processes o Necessary for life, agriculture, and wildlife

§ Wild Animals o Animals that can be hunted legally are called game o In the US, state and federal wildlife managers regulate the hunting of game to maintain populations of these animals at desired levels.

o Despite management of fisheries, populations of many aquatic animals have dropped drastically due to fleets of trawlers that use sonar, mechanized nets, and satellite images to find fish. o The poaching of wild animals continues in both developing and developed nations – people kill animals for food and sport in illegal and unsustainable ways. o The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has reduced the poaching of endangered animals.

§ Timber o Timber = wood from trees o The harvesting of timber is essential to our standard of living o While some management has been a success, the world is still losing forestland

II. Management Approaches § Maximum sustainable yield, ecosystembased management, and adaptive management are three approaches to resource management.

§ Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) o The aim of MSY is to harvest the maximum amount of a resource without reducing the amount of future harvests o The goal of harvesting for MSY is to keep a population at an intermediate size, where it will grow fastest o A population managed for MSY is kept far below its carrying capacity and is not consuming, being consumed by, or competing with other organisms as much as it would if it were not being harvested – Could result in changes for other populations o A matter of trial and error

§ Ecosystem-Based Management o Goal is to harvest resources in ways that minimize impact on the ecosystems and ecological processes that provide resources. – Ex: 1995 Clayoquot Sound’s forest plan o Challenging for managers to determine how best to put it into action – Can result in inconsistent management

§ Adaptive Management o Involves scientifically testing different management approaches in an area, one after the other, and then customizing an approach based on the results. o Intended as a true union of science and management because hypotheses about how best to manage resources are tested under controlled conditions o Requires managers and scientists to closely monitor current practices and continually adjust them

Lesson 2: Forests and Their Resources

I. Forest Resources § Forest resources have great ecological and economic value § Forests provide a wide variety of services and products: conservation of biodiversity, protection of soil and water quality, maintenance of biogeochemical cycles, food, medicine, recreation, tourism, education, and conservation of culturally important sites.

§ Ecological value o Forests provide habitats for many plants and animals – great biodiversity o In general, forests with a greater diversity of plants have a greater diversity of other organisms as well; mature forests also have more biodiversity than younger forests. o Forest plants help prevent soil erosion, slow runoff, reduce flooding, purify water, store carbon, and release oxygen.

§ Economic and Medicinal Value o Forests provide timber, which can be made into thousands of economically valuable products o Timber is also used as fuel in fires o Forest plants provide food – fruits, nuts, spices, and herbs o Cancer treatments and treatments for other illnesses have been derived from plants

II. Timber Harvesting § There are costs and benefits to every method of timber harvesting § Today, most commercial timber harvesting (logging) takes places in Canada, Russia, and other nations with large boreal forests, and in nations with large tropical rain forests, such as Brazil.

§ Timber harvesting methods include clearcutting, seed-tree approach, shelter wood approach, and selection system. These methods fall into two categories: even-aged stands or uneven-aged stands. o Even-aged stands result from the regrowth of trees that were mostly all cut at the same time o Uneven-aged stands result from the regrowth of trees that were cut at different times – Typically have more biodiversity § Most logging methods increase soil erosion and runoff, sometimes causing flooding or landslides.

§ Clear-Cutting o A method in which all of the trees in an area are cut at once o The most cost-efficient method for timber companies o Greatest impact on forest ecosystems

o Results in even-aged stands o Changes in light, precipitation, wind, and temperature conditions can result in a new microclimate that allows different types of plants to replace those of the original forest.

§ Seed-Tree and Shelterwood Approaches o Seed-tree approach: small numbers of mature and healthy seed-producing trees are left standing so that they can reseed the logged area o Shelterwood approach: small numbers of mature trees are left in place to provide shelter for seedlings as they grow o Less harmful than clear-cutting o Result in mostly even-aged stands

§ Selection Systems o Only some of the trees in a forest are cut at once o Single-tree selection: trees spaced widely apart are cut one at a time o Group selection: small patches of trees are cut at a time o Moving trucks and machinery over roads and trails to get to individual trees compacts the soil and disturbs the forest floor o More expensive for timber companies

III. Deforestation § Deforestation may help nations develop, but it can be ecologically destructive in the long run. § Deforestation is the clearing of a forest and the replacement of it by another land use. o Provides warmth, shelter, and trade for human communities

§ The negative effects of deforestation are greatest in tropical regions because of the potential massive loss of biodiversity, and in arid regions because of loss of soil productivity § Adds carbon dioxide when plant matter is burned or decomposed, and less vegetation remains to use carbon dioxide.

§ In the United States o The deciduous forests of the East were virtually stripped by 1850 to make way for small farms. o Wood was used to fuel the Industrial Revolution

o By the early 1900 s, very little old-growth forest – forest that has never been logged – remained in the United States o Once old-growth forest is cut, it may need hundreds of years of undisturbed growth in order to recover.

§ In developing nations o Old-growth tropical rain forests still remain in many developing nations o Advanced technology has resulted in rapid deforestation

Lesson 3: Forest Management

I. U. S. National Forests § Logging in national forests is managed by the Forest Service, but profits go to timber companies. § The deforestation that had happened by the early 1900 s caused fear of a “timber famine” which led to the formation of our national forest system. o Public lands set aside to grow trees for timber and to protect watersheds. § Forest Service employees plan and manage timber sales and build roads to provide access for private logging companies.

§ National Forest Management Act o The national forest management is guided by the policy of multiple use – forests are managed for recreation, wildlife habitat, mining, and other uses, in addition to timber.

o The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) was passed in 1976 – Required that plans for renewable resource management be drawn up for every national forest – Consider both economic and environmental factors – Provide for diversity of plant and animal communities – Ensure research and monitoring of management approaches

– Allow increases in harvest levels only if sustainable – Ensure that timber will be harvested only where soils and wetlands will not be irreversibly damaged, land will be replanted quickly, and harvest methods will not be determined solely on the basis of financial return – Ensure that logging will occur only where possible impacts have been assessed

– Cuts will depend on the shape of the land – Maximum size limits of cut trees will be established – Cuts will be carried out in a manner consistent with the protection of soil, watershed, fish, wildlife, recreation, and aesthetic resources

o Logging has declined in national forests since the 1980 s o In 2006, tree regrowth outpaced tree removal on these lands by more than 11 to 1. o In 2005, the “roadless rule” that limited the building of new roads in national forests was repealed. In 2009 this rule was reinstated.

II. Private Land § Most logging in the United States today takes place on tree plantations owned by timber companies. § These plantations are typically monocultures, or large-scale plantings of a single crop, and even-aged stands.

§ Stands are cut after a certain number of years, called the rotation time, and then the land is replanted with seedlings. § Plantations do not offer as much habitat variety as forests and have a lower biodiversity

III. Fire Policies § Suppression of all wildfires can endanger ecosystems, property, and people. § For more than a hundred years, the Forest Service suppressed all fires, both natural and human-caused. § Current scientific research shows that many ecosystems depend on fire and that diversity and abundance of species decline without it. o Ex: the jack pine’s seeds only germinate after a fire and the Kirtland’s warbler only nests in young jack pines.

§ In the long term, suppression of small, natural fires can lead to larger, more dangerous fires o Limbs, sticks, and leaf litter build up on the forest floor § To reduce fuel buildup and improve forest health, the Forest Service and other land management agencies have recently been burning areas of forest under carefully controlled conditions – prescribed burns/controlled burns

§ Shortly after the devastating 2003 California fires, Congress passed the Healthy Forests Restoration Act. o Goal is to makes forests less fire-prone o Promotes the removal of small trees, underbrush, and snags by timber companies – The removal of snags following a natural disturbance is called salvage logging.

§ The insects that feed on snags provide food for wildlife, and many animals depend on holes in snags for nesting and roosting. § Removing timber from recently burned land can cause severe erosion and soil damage, and also slow forest regrowth.

IV. Sustainable Forestry Products § The response of timber companies to consumer demand is helping to promote sustainable forestry. § Organizations that examine the practices of timber companies offer sustainable forestry certification to products produced using methods they consider sustainable. § The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has the strictest standards and the most widely accepted certification process