In your opinion, what have we learned about ecological succession and disturban
In your opinion, what have we learned about ecological succession and disturbance that can be used to manage forests and other natural areas in a sustainable manner? Are there ways to mimic nature? Please do some additional research on this topic, starting with the reading and resources below:
Here’s a little background reading to start you off:
Millions of acres of forest across the U.S. are regenerating from intensive logging of decades past. Historic timber harvesting typically either involved clear-cutting (cutting all trees in a forest at once) or high-grading (cutting the larger, merchantable, trees while leaving smaller trees to continue growing). With either approach, secondary succession soon produces a dense young forest of small, similarly sized trees.
These young forests can be very uniform over large areas, creating little of the habitat diversity needed to support high numbers of plant and animal species (species diversity). In addition, the high density of young trees means they compete intensely for resources, resulting in slow growth and potentially high mortality rates. Little sunlight reaches the forest floor, limiting growth of understory plants.
In contrast, the old growth forests (not previously logged) that existed before were structurally complex and diverse. Trees in such forests were generally larger in size and spaced further apart, allowing sunlight to filter through the canopy and support understory shrubs, ferns and wildflowers. Small scale disturbances by wind, fire and insect infestations would periodically kill small blocks of trees, creating sunny openings within which early successional plants could colonize. Additional habitat diversity was provided by large standing dead trees (snags) and fallen logs. Numerous small animals could make use of these structures for shelter, predator escape and nesting. The presence of those small animals, in turn, attracted their predators.
With enough time, natural succession will usually restore old growth conditions in previously logged forests. However, this process may take decades to centuries to complete. Many forest managers are consequently interested in accelerating this process, or at least managing younger forests so as to mimic some of the beneficial characteristics of old growth forests. The Vermont Land Trust video (linked below) details one such effort.
As you watch the Vermont Land Trust video, think about the forest management principles that are discussed and how they relate to succession concepts learned after the Mt. St. Helens eruption in 1980 (see the Mt. Saint Helens article and interactive website in the Unit 5 resources). Even though the details of these two successions are very different, some of the same concepts and lessons apply. Your initial discussion board response should address the following specific succession concepts: disturbance, pioneer species, biological legacies, snags, downed trees, habitat diversity, species diversity. You should also explicitly address the lessons of BOTH the Vermont Land Trust forest and Mt. St. Helens.
For inspiration, please view the following video from the Vermont Land Trust and review the material on Mt. St. Helens in the study guide.
In order to access the following resource, click the link below.
Vermont Land Trust. (2020, December 30). Ecological forest management in action: Creating a disturbance to mimic nature [Video]. cielo24. https://c24.page/92uhzqf3xta76up297ryvmqk24