Tonya Ballman History 110 05 The Destruction of the Bison by Andrew Isenberg describes the decline and near extinction of the bison in the United States due to the conversion of Natives to Equestrian Nomadism, the establishment of the fur trade, and other abiotic factors combined with overgrazing and several other natural factors. Fortunately for the bison, however, an interest was taken in their preservation and they were brought back from the brink of extinction through breeding and protective programs. In the early 18th century, “the bison hunter Robert M. Wright and General Philip Sheridan calculated that 100 million bison roamed the Great Plains.” (Page 23) The bison were thriving on the abundant amount of shortgrass in the area. Although there were certain environmental obstacles that threatened the livelihood of the bison, such as wolves, blizzards, and drought, the carrying capacity of the plains allowed them to reproduce quickly enough to where their population remained the same and even grew in some years. It wasn’t until the introduction of the horse and equestrian related practices to Native Americans in the plains that the bison population would become threatened.
Physical changes include; changes in climate, succession, disease and natural disasters. Human factors in change include; urbanisation, deforestation, cultivation and tourism. Which are arguably the most important factors in changes to vegetation. The British Isles were largely covered in deciduous forests, until around 5000 years ago when humans began to cut down these trees to build their homes, which can be seen as first stages of ‘urbanisation’. However the trees they cut down were put to use in firewood and fuel for cooking.
Over the past 50 years forest managers have developed a policy of either preventing or putting forest fires out quickly. This has led to a build-up of fuels for fires to burn. In Colorado there are 24 million acres of forest that are overgrown, diseased or old because of fire suppression or other forest management practices. Disturbance is critical to preserving the diversity of species and maintaining natural processes that keep the forests healthy. Increasingly the federal government is considering the importance of wildfire disturbance in shaping their policies.
Wasting Away Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is slowly eating away at much of the population of white-tail deer, moose, and elk in North America. CWD deteriorates the brain of an animal. It is infecting many of the deer in the Midwest and spreading all over the nation with a rapid pace. This horrific disease has been found as far north as Wisconsin and all the way down to New Mexico. There are many things that cause CWD, and it needs to be stopped before our white-tail deer population is considerably damaged.
How is the endangerment of Polar Bears a threat to biodiversity? Biodiversity is used to describe all the organisms and ecosystems on Earth and is essential to life on Earth as it is crucial for the functioning of all ecosystems which provide us with products such as oxygen, fresh water and food which are crucial for survival. However with the endangerment of the Ursus maritimus, commonly known as the Polar Bear, there may be negative effects on the Earths biodiversity. The U. maritimus is an essential part of the food chain in the arctic ecosystem and with its extinction not only will biodiversity be affected but it will have a chain effect on other organisms of the carefully constructed food web of the Arctic alongside human causes such as global warming and minimal reproduction rates. The Ursus maritimus most commonly known as the Polar Bear, ranges from seven to nine feet long, making them on of the largest mammals on earth.
Rising temperatures in the arctic tundra have led more permafrost and snow to melt than usual causing the tundra to be converted to wetlands. Also, the arctic tundra has a lot of carbon in its soil, since the permafrost is melting it is releasing the carbon and changing the climate of the earth even more through global warming. 2. Climate change has had several impacts on the plants of the arctic tundra. The height of shrubs has increased even doubling in some places.
This was a genre of wood that was highly valued in all of Europe. They started to deforest the atlantic forest of brazil to sell all the brazil wood in the markets in europe and asia. This deforestation continued and eventually reached areas all around the world, including South Africa. Many things have changed in the South African rainforest due to deforestation. Tropical rainforests are rapidly disappearing in a way that will greatly have an impact on planet earth.
The ecology of the Pacific Northwest is very interesting. Animals and plants are the reason why it is how it is today. An animal in the Pacific Northwest ecology is the Northern Spotted Owl. This owl is an endangered animal and is one of three subspecies of spotted owls.It is dark to chestnut brown in color with white, round spots all around its neck, back, head, and under parts. Their natural habitats are old-growth forests and these can be found in places that range from northern California, all the way to British Columbia, Canada.
Mission 66 brought new buildings, overlooks, employee housing, campgrounds, and visitor centers to Rocky Mountain National Park. During the 1960's, congress passed significant environmental laws to protect the landscape all across America. Many of these affected the management of both natural and cultural resources in the National Parks. Every year, more and more things are being identified and protected in Rocky Mountain National Park. Today a team of cultural and natural resource specialists work together to protect the park's resources.
Genetically engineered trees should be used in Canadian Forestry. Human populations are continuing to increase and as a result the pressure on our natural forests and farmed forests will evermore feel the strain of our increasing needs for lumber. Today, forestry is following the same path that agriculture has followed in the past in regards to originally gathering resources from the ecosystem, to the planting and herding of crops and eventually to the transferring of crops to other geographical locations (Sedjo 2004). Forestry however has only recently transitioned from harvesting from natural forests to the planting and managing of forests, whether it for commercial or ecological benefit (Sedjo 2004). Canada’s forest products industry is