Protected Land: Disturbance, Stress, and American Ecosystem Management (Springer Series on Environmental Management)

Since John Muir and Gifford Pinchot championed the protection of land a century ago, ecologists and conservationists have struggled with simple questions of ecological management: exactly what aspects of our natural resources should we protect, and how should we protect them? At the heart of this debate lies the concept of the ecosystem—a term that has ironically grown more difficult to define as our understanding of ecological relationships has evolved. In this compelling book, Doug traces the notion of the ecosystem from its early application in American land conservation through the modern approach to natural resources management. Doug makes the case that the classic ecosystem concept is as deeply ingrained in the American conservation movement as it is deeply flawed. As a result, many present-day land protection efforts are fixated on the preservation of an ideal set of species as a coherent and sustainable unit, even as ecological research increasingly suggests that no such unit exists. Through critical analysis of ecosystem management in theory and practice, Protected Land presents an argument for re-framing the human relationship with ecological systems to embrace, rather than suppress, the forces of change. By many measures, Earth's ecosystems are stressed. Actually, it may be more accurate to say that Earth's remaining ecosystems are stressed. The fact is that most of the planet's biomes support only a fraction of the biological communities they once did, primarily because humans have converted large areas of land to alternate uses. More than two-thirds of the global temperate forests, half of the grasslands, even a third of desert ecosystems have been conscripted for human uses like agriculture, construction, harvest and extraction. Cultivation alone covers a quarter of the habitable terrestrial surface. Aquatic ecosystems have not fared any better. An estimated half of the world's wetlands are gone, particularly those of coastal regions or on arable land. About a fifth of the coral reefs and a third of the m- grove swamps of a century ago have been lost in just the last few decades. The volume of water impounded by dams quadrupled over the same period – it now far exceeds the volume of water in unimpeded rivers (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005; Mitsch and Gosselink 2007). So any assessment of ecosystem status is necessarily an analysis of fragments and remnants, and many of these are degraded by one or more anthropogenic stressors. This is a book about ecosystems: the ways in which we perceive them, conceptualize them, protect them, and manipulate them. Ecosystems have been given considerable attention in recent literature, and with good reason. Our growing comprehension of irreplaceable and imperiled ecosystem services has made it clear that we are in the midst of an ecological crisis. In response, various organizations, agencies, and individuals have dedicated themselves to the preservation, restoration, and maintenance of ecological systems. The United States is a world leader in this regard, building upon the legacy of giants like Thoreau, Muir, and Leopold. And yet, even as we scramble to rehabilitate and sustain ecosystems, the debate on their nature continues. In one corner are proponents of holism - those that see ecosystems as definable units with recognizable and regenerative stable states Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Front Matter....Pages 15-15 Four Ecosystems, Four Questions....Pages 1-13 Front Matter....Pages 15-15 The Ecosystem Idea and Ideal....Pages 17-35 A Thing is Right....Pages 37-53 Disturbance, Stress and Resilience....Pages 55-69 Invasion....Pages 71-84 Front Matter....Pages 85-85 Very Small Ecosystems....Pages 87-97 Forested Ecosystems....Pages 99-113 Grassland Ecosystems....Pages 115-127 Freshwater Ecosystems....Pages 129-142 Saltwater Ecosystems....Pages 143-154 Protecting the Shifting Quilt....Pages 155-162 Back Matter....Pages 163-164 Four ecosystems, four questions Ecosystems in theory: The ecosystem idea and ideal ; A thing is right ; Disturbance, stress and resilience ; Invasion Ecosystems in practice: Very small ecosystems ; Forested ecosystems ; Grassland ecosystems ; Freshwater ecosystems ; Saltwater ecosystems ; Protecting the shifting quilt.