Ch. 12 AP Environmental Science (Resource Management, Forestry, Land Use, and Protected Areas)

SLOSS Dilemma

Debate over whether its better to make reserves large in size and few in number or many in number but small in size

Shelterwood approach

Where smalls numbers of trees were left in place to provide shelter for seedlings as they grow. Similar to Seed tree approach.

Deforestation

The loss or destruction of forests, mainly for logging or farming. Adds carbon dioxide to environment and can result in a rapid decrease in biodiversity in an area.

Maximum sustainable yield

The maximum level at which a natural resource can be routinely exploited without long-term depletion. A guideline in resource management. (At the inflection point -Pg.331).

New Forestry

The name for a new variety of timber harvesting practices to increase the likelihood of sustainability, including recognition of the dynamic characteristics of forests and of the need for management within an ecosystem context .

Rotation time

The number of years that pass between the time a forest stand is cut for timber & the next time it is cut

Clear cutting

The process of cutting down all the trees in an area at once.

Forestry

The science of planting and caring for forests and the management of growing timber

Wilderness Act

1964 Act that authorized the government to protect undeveloped tracts of public land as part of the national wilderness system.

National Forest Management Act

1976 Act that stated that every National Forest must have a specific amount of sustainable resources. These plans were to derived from the concepts multiple use & sustainable development. Must also comply with NEPA.

John Wesley Powell

A U.S. soldier, geologist, and explorer of the American West. He is famous for his 1869 Geographic Expedition, a three-month river trip down the Green and Colorado rivers that included the first passage through the Grand Canyon. He warned that traditional agriculture could not succeed west of the 100th meridian.

Primary Forest

A forest in its more natural state, and undergoing only normal ecological processes

Seed tree approach

A forestry strategy that leaves a few mature trees to produce seeds for next generation leave behind trees that will make seeds so you can come back and get many years later (lead to even-aged stands) Little ecological value of forest (--Many of the same impacts as clear cutting)

Sustainable forestry certification

A form of ecolabeling that identifies timber products that have been produced using methods the consider sustainable.

Bureau of Land Management

A governmental agency that is part of the U.S Department of the interior. It's purpose is to administer public lands owned by the federal government. The nations single largest landowner, its inexpensive fees may encourage overgrazing.

Northwest Forest Plan

A series of federal policies and guidelines governing land use on federal lands in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It covers areas ranging from Northern California to western Washington. Basically allowed limited logging and let science guide management.

Corridors

A strip of natural habitat that connects two adjacent nature preserves to allow migration of organisms from one place to another

Wilderness areas

An area of undeveloped land affected primarly by the forces of nature where man is a visitor who does not remain,most areas meeting these standards are in the Western US and Alaska.

Healthy Forest Restoration Act

Act which allows timber companies to cut down medium and large trees in 71% of the country's forests in return for clearing away smaller, more fire prone trees and underbrush

National Wildlife Refuge

An area set aside to serve as a haven for plants and animals and also sometimes to encourage hunting, fishing, photography, environmental education, and other public uses

National forest system

Created in part by Pinchot. Expanded by Roosevelt as a way to protect the landscape for continued, rational lumbering. Contains 155 national forests and 22 national grasslands which are managed by the US Forest Service. Approximately 8% of nation's land area,

Biosphere Reserves

Designated by the UN, these are regions intended to maintain biodiversity and evaluate techniques for sustainable human development while maintaining local cultural values.

Albert Bierstadt

German painter known for his large landscapes of the American west, foremost painter of Westward Expansion scenes, part of Hudson River School, "Storm in the Rocky Mountains", "Looking Down Yosemite Valley", "The Oregon Trail"

Salvage logging

Harvesting timber killed by fire, disease, or wind throw. May increase erosion and lead to soil damage.

Controlled burns

Managed fires that are set periodically to control the amount of vegetation underneath the dominant forest tree species

Adaptive management

Monitoring and assessing a project over time to determine relevant policies and regulations as impacts may arise. Examples include Forest Service management plans or other plans involving wildlife habitat that require monitoring.

Land Trusts

Nonprofit organizations that are dedicated to conserving land for the protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services

Resource Management

Practice of harvesting potentially renewable resources in ways that do not deplete them.

Antiquities Act

Passed in 1906, this act allows the President to protect areas of scientific or historical interest on federal lands as national monuments

World heritage sites

Sites receiving designation from the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in recognition of their high cultural or biological significance.

Ecosystem based management

The attempt to supervise the harvesting of resources in ways that minimize impact on the environment and the ecological process that provide the resources.

Rafflesia arnoldii

The world's largest flower with a blossom 3 feet wide. Found only in Asia it looks and smells like rotting meat.

Paper parks

These sites represent a failure of efforts to protect resources and ecosystem. "A legally established protected area where experts believe current protection activities are insufficient to halt degradation.

Second Growth

Trees that have sprouted and grown to partial maturity after old growth timber has been cut.

Selection System

When only some of the trees in a forest are cut at once. They include single tree selection in which trees are spaced widely apart are cut at one time and group selection in which small patches of trees are cut at once. Results in uneven aged stands.

Uneven aged

When stands of trees in timber plantations that are of different ages; this type of stands more closely approximate a natural forest.

Even aged

When trees in a stand are planted at the same time, they are all trees with the same age. Seen more as crop agriculture than ecologically functional forests.

Wise use movement

favors extracting more resources from public lands, obtaining greater local control of lands, and obtaining greater motorized recreational access to public lands.