1. 11 Forestry and Resource Management CHAPTER

2. Battling Over Clayoquot’s Big Trees Since 1993, environmentalists, loggers, and British Columbia’s government have struggled to find a balance between the ecological and economic roles of the forests in Clayoquot Sound. Today, environmental advocates are working together with timber companies to develop and maintain sustainable logging practices. Talk About It What does sustainable resource use look like, and how can we achieve it?

3. Lesson 11.1 Resource Management Overfishing has reduced populations of North Atlantic cod, an economically important fish, by 60% over the last 40 years.

4. Renewable Resource Management Resources are either renewable, such as soil, or nonrenewable, such as fossil fuels. Goal is sustainability— resource use that occurs only as fast as can be naturally replaced. Must balance human and ecological needs Did You Know? More than 8 million hectares of forest were lost between 1990 and 2005. Lesson 11.1 Resource Management

5. Tragedy of the Commons Was first described by biologist Garrett Hardin in 1968. Describes how shared resources are overused and eventually depleted. Video Examples: Grand Banks Fisheries Bluefin Tuna Passenger Pigeons Ocean garbage gyres Earth’s atmosphere Gulf of Mexico Dead zone Traffic congestion Groundwater in Los Angeles Unregulated logging Population growth

6. Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) Goal: To harvest maximum resources without compromising future harvests Population sizes are kept far below carrying capacity, enabling fast growth. MSY can affect interactions between species and alter entire ecosystems. Determining target population size is largely a matter of trial and error. Lesson 11.1 Resource Management

7. Ecosystem-Based Forest Management Goal: To harvest resources while minimizing effects on the rest of the ecosystem Ecologically sensitive areas are carefully monitored and protected; resources are harvested selectively. Ecosystems are complex, so choosing which areas to protect and which to harvest is a challenge. Lesson 11.1 Resource Management

8. Adaptive Forest Management Goal: To gather data from areas managed in different ways, and develop a customized management plan based on the results Management practices are continually monitored and adjusted. Can be time-consuming and may require changing established practices Lesson 11.1 Resource Management

9. Lesson 11.2 Forests and Their Resources Forests, mostly boreal forests and tropical rain forests, cover about 30% of Earth’s land.

11. There are Several Different Forest Biomes Tropical Rainforest: warm all year, daily rain, infertile soil (all nutrients in plant life), most bio- diverse of all biomes Temperate Forest: rain spread throughout year, seasonal temperatures, deciduous trees, fertile soil Boreal Forest: cool, dry; long, cold winters; coniferous trees; acidic soil Most left are tropical or boreal. Temperature Forests have disappeared because people have cleared them for living space/agriculture

12. Value of Forests Lesson 11.2 Forests and Their Resources Ecological value: Provide habitat for organisms Source of biodiversity Prevent erosion Purify water Store carbon, release oxygen Economic value: Timber for lumber and fuel Source of food Raw material for many medicines

13. Habitat for Organisms

14. Biodiversity Forests contain more biodiversity then other biomes due to being structurally diverse…has a lot of niches to fill. Needed for ecosystem health by… Resisting environmental change Being able to bounce back to regain function after a change occurs

15. Timber Harvesting Most commercial harvesting occurs in Canada/Russia (Boreal forests) as well as Brazil (Tropical Rainforest) In the U.S. most timber harvesting occurs in the conifer forests of the West and pine plantations of the South

16. Timber Harvesting Methods Three methods: Clear-cutting, seed-tree or shelterwood approach, and selection system May result in even-aged or uneven-aged regrowth Even-aged regrowth tends to be less biodiverse than uneven-aged regrowth. Did You Know? Today most commercial logging in the U.S. occurs in western coniferous forests and southern pine plantations. Lesson 11.2 Forests and Their Resources

17. Clear-Cutting Involves cutting down all trees in a region, resulting in even-aged stands of regrowth Changes abiotic conditions in the area, including light penetration, precipitation, wind, and temperature (Creates a new MICROCLIMATE) Sets Secondary Succession in motion Benefit: Cost efficient Costs: Entire communities usually displaced or destroyed; causes soil erosion. Lesson 11.2 Forests and Their Resources

19. Seed-Tree and Shelterwood Approaches Seed-tree: Small numbers of mature, healthy trees are left standing, to reseed the area. Shelterwood: Involves leaving a few mature trees standing to provide shelter for seedlings Benefit: Less damaging than clear-cutting Cost: As with clear-cutting, leads to mostly even-aged regrowth Lesson 11.2 Forests and Their Resources

20. Selection Systems Relatively few trees are cut at once under a selection system. Selection can involve widely spaced single trees or groups. Benefits: More biodiverse, uneven-aged growth Less overall environmental damage Costs: Machinery disturbs forest interior. Expensive process More dangerous for loggers Lesson 11.2 Forests and Their Resources

21. Deforestation Unlike timber harvesting, deforestation replaces forested areas with some other land use, such as commercial or residential property. Deforestation in tropical and arid regions has the most negative effects due to loss of biodiversity and desertification risk respectively. Globally, deforestation adds CO 2 to Earth’s atmosphere. Lesson 11.2 Forests and Their Resources

22. Deforestation in the United States Deforestation for timber and farmland facilitated U.S. expansion. Wood felled for buildings and fuel during the pre- and early Industrial Revolution periods. By the early 1900s, very little old-growth forest (forest that has never been logged) remained in the United States. Lesson 11.2 Forests and Their Resources Did You Know? Once old-growth forest is logged, it may need hundreds of years to regrow.

23. Deforestation in Developing Nations Timber from old-growth tropical rain forests is a source of income in developing nations. Advanced technology enables deforestation to occur far faster than it has in the United States. Advanced technology Deforestation of tropical rain forests has an enormously negative effect on global species diversity. Lesson 11.2 Forests and Their Resources The border bewteen Haiti (left) and the Dominican Republic (right) shows Haiti’s deforestation.

24. Lesson 11.3 Forest Management Most logging in the U.S. takes place on private land, but timber companies are also allowed to harvest trees in National Forests under supervision by the U.S. Forest Service.

25. U.S. National Forests The national forest system was established in 1905 out of the fear of a timber famine. Originally set aside to grow trees for timber and to protect watersheds Today, managed by the U.S. Forest Service, for timber, recreation, wildlife habitat, and mining (multiple use) Timber is harvested by private timber companies Forest Service (government) plant and manage timber sales and build road Lesson 11.3 Forest Management

26. National Forest Management Act (1976) Lesson 11.3 Forest Management Requires that renewable resource management plans be made for each national forest Plans are required to be consistent with the principles of multiple use and maximum sustainable yield. Logging has declined in national forests since passage of the Act, but policies are vulnerable to political influence. Example: Roadless rule limited building of new roads in national forests…it was repelled in 2005

27. Logging on Private Land Most logging in the U.S. takes place on privately owned tree plantations. A tree plantation is typically an even-aged monoculture with little habitat variety or biodiversity. Use of plantations for timber protects National Forests from being logged. Lesson 11.3 Forest Management

28. Fire Policies Lesson 11.3 Forest Management Fire Suppression: Negative effects on ecosystems that depend on fire (example: Jack pine and Kirtland’s Warler) Fuel for future fires accumulates (limbs, sticks, and leaf litter). Suppressing small fires increases likelihood of larger, dangerous fires. Prescribed Burns: Carefully controlled burning helps to reduce fuel buildup and to restore ecosystems. Rarely burn out of control, but occasional accidents frighten the public.

29. Healthy Forests Restoration Act (2003) Encourages prescribed burns Promotes salvage logging— removal of small trees, underbrush, and snags by timber companies Seen as harmful by many scientists and environmental advocates Salvage logging can slow forest regrowth, promotes wildfires (roads/machinery), and destroys snags— habitat for wildlife. Lesson 11.3 Forest Management

30. Sustainable Forestry Products Independent organizations certify that wood products are produced sustainably. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has the strictest standards and most widely accepted certification process. Certified wood costs more to produce, but will be supplied by timber companies if there is demand. Lesson 11.3 Forest Management Did You Know? In British Columbia, Canada, 70% of the annual timber harvest is certified.