Week 7 02/24/22Coral SpectacleIcePlaced together alongExtreme environments (location- remote)CoralEcotourism- fringes of human existenceCute, beautiful, vibrantApproachable- HumanesqueWeek 8 03/01/22Fire EcologyWildfires as anEcosystemAdaptations To FireEcosystem Services forFire: ProvisioningFire As a Regulatory●Historical fire regimes: those in which human influence is absent○Fires affected ecosystems long before human existence■Resulting in evolutionary adaptation of organismsto fire●Anthropogenic fire regimes: those modified by human activities○Complete suppression of fire is the unnatural state●Organismal Adaptation to fire are some of the clearest evidencethat fire has been exerting selection of ecosystems●Temminck's Courser is a savannah bird found in sub-saharan Africawith ash-black eggs that only nests in recently burned grasslands●Many conifers produce serotinous cones that can hang on a pinetree for years, long after the enclosed seeds mature. Only when afire sweeps through, melting the resin, do these heat-dependentcones open, releasing seeds that are then distributed by wing andgravity.●Fire can be used to flush out game. Human societies have engagedin this throughout history. Birds will also hunt at a fires edges andsome species are known to intentionally spread fire●Fire-prone ecosystems select for plants with ability to resproutfollowing a vegetation burn. Storage of resources below groundfacilities re-sprouting, and many bulbs and tubers employing thisstrategy (yam, potato, taro) are fire resistant species. SUchcarbohydrate rich foods are also a source of food for humansocieties●Fire can help reduce the burden of pest species●One study found that lungworm, loads in Stone’s (native to British
ServiceFire Regulates FireCatastrophic Fire IsOften TheConsequences OfComplete FirePrevention GroupsCalifornia'sFire-AdaptedEcosystemColumbia sheep were up to 10 times smaller when sheep hadaccess to recently burned areas●Fire suppression increases transmission of pathogens carried byparasites like ticks and mosquitoes●Indengenous peoples countries to use fire to manage wildfires●Strategic lighting of small, cool fires early in the fire season canprevent hot, damaging wildfires later in the season○In 2006 traditional burning was reinstated in West ArnhemLand○Mimal Rangers reduce greenhouse gas emissions form lateseason wildfires through traditional burning in the earlyseason○This generates Australian Carbon Credit Units for thecarbon market, which is used to help fund the program●US policy of fire suppression that began in the early 1900’scoinciding with the development of the national forests for thepreservation of commercial timber and following several massiveblazes●The Civilian Conservation Corps was founded in 1933, in theaftermath of the Great Depression, putting thousands to workbuilding fire breaks and fighting fires●The Forest Services “10 am” policy was established in 1935,stating that every fire should be suppressed by 10 am the dayfollowing its report●To prevent fires, the Forest Service also opposed the practice oflight bruning, even though many ranchers, farmers, and timbermenfavored because it improved land conditions●Chaparral○Many species of plants sprout, grow, and spread rapidlyafter fire○Others are specifically adapted to fire- for example, amn yspp. Of Ceanothus have leaves coated with flammable
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Term
Fall
Professor
Maneevone
Tags
Greenhouse gas
