Restoration Ecology Flashcards
1
Q
What are the characteristics of coastal ecosystems?
A
- structural characteristics are intact marsh and mudflat e.g. estuary
- come in form of hydro-period, accretion and migration inland with sea level rise
- functional characteristics (i.e. ecosystem services)
- come in form of biodiversity, carbon storage, food production and raw materials, waste treatment, nutrient filtration, erosion control and recreational uses
2
Q
What are the different types of carbon?
A
- black: coal burning, tar sands mining
- grey: vehicle emissions
- green: forest biomass
- blue: ocean and coastal
3
Q
What are the drivers that affect structure and function of a coastal ecosystem?
A
- external drivers
- sea level rise
- storm frequency and intensity
- local tides
- freshwater discharge
- precipitation
- surface drainage
- sediment and nutrient input
- internal drivers
- interrelationships between biological factors and microtopographic
4
Q
Examples of recuperation of a coastal ecosystem:
A
- recovery
- discontinue mosquito control measures
- mitigation
- allow the gate on a tidal control device stay open to minimize control
- restoration
- removal of dykes, ditches and tidal gates
- enhancement
- open water marsh management where channels are created to increase open water for mosquito predators
5
Q
Problems associated with tidal salt marshes:
A
- consequences of restriction and sea level rise = salt marsh prevented from migrating inland leading to loss of wetland
- tidal salt marshes can only survive if it can vertically accrete and move inland with sea level rise
6
Q
Restoration history of BC:
A
- first silviculture planting in mid 1930s
- interest in restoring Garry Oak meadows on Vancouver Island in early 1990s
- Watershed Restoration Program created in 1995 by Forest Renewal
- BC chapter of Society for Ecological Restoration formed in 1999 = still active
- GOERT (Garry Oak Ecosystem Recovery Team) = still active
- GCC (Grasslands Conservation Council) = still active
- Terrestrial Ecosystem Restoration Program (TERP) = no longer active
7
Q
What is ecological restoration?
A
- fully restore the components and processes of a damaged ecosystem
- target may be previous historical site or contemporary standard or desired condition
8
Q
What are some restoration measures?
A
- reinstating natural disturbances or removing unatural disturbances
- allowing sea water to re-enter marsh
- reintroducing native species, soil and/or water amendments and herbicide use
9
Q
What is conservation?
A
- preservation of existing species, landscapes or ecosystems
10
Q
What is mitigation?
A
- reduction of environmental damage by reducing specific pollution sources
- introduces concept of environmental credits, cap and trade and carbon credits
11
Q
What is stewardship?
A
- maintaining or protecting a natural area or natural resources
- linked to sustainability
12
Q
What is enhancement?
A
- refers to manipulating habitat to allow a selected species to exceed its historical population levels in that particular area
- socio-economic motive
13
Q
What is open marsh water management?
A
- where suitable habitat is created for larvivorous (mosquito eating) fish
14
Q
What are some general sources of damage to an ecosystem?
A
- habitat loss and fragmentation
- pollution
- alien species invasion
15
Q
What are some specific sources of damage to an ecosystem?
A
- urbanization
- overgrazing
- logging
- fire suppresion
- damming
- off-road vehicles
- roads and utility corridors
These can lead to soil compaction, soil erosion and siltation.
16
Q
How do you restore a Garry Oak meadow?
A
Restore essential ecosystem characteristics including:
- spatial integrity i.e. habitat fragmentation
- biotic integrity i.e. exotic species
- fire disturbance i.e. vertical and horizontal structures
17
Q
What is spatial integrity?
A
- deals with habitat fragmentation
- Vancouver Island and Maple Bay were once prime GO habitat
- less than 2.5% of the original GO ecosystems remain and they have 30 red and 17 blue listed species
18
Q
What is the difference between red listed and blue listed species?
A
- Blue listed: ecological communities, indigenous species and subspecies of SPECIAL CONCERN
- Red listed: ecological communities, indigenous species and subspecies that are EXTIRPATED, ENDANGERED or EXTINCT
19
Q
What is biotic intergrity?
A
- deals with exotic species
20
Q
What are some examples of native grasses?
A
- lemmon’s needlegrass
- california brome
- pacific brome
- alaska brome
- california oatgrass
- blue wildrye
- roemer’s fescue
- alaska oniongrass
21
Q
What are some examples of exotic grasses?
A
- Colonial Bentgrass
- Sweet Vernalgrass
- Brome species:e. g., Rip-gut
e. g., Soft Brome - Early hairgrass
- Silver hairgrass
- Hedgehog Dogtail
- Common Velvet-grass
- Orchard Grass
- Kentucky Bluegrass
- Barren Fescue
22
Q
What are some examples of exotic shrubs?
A
- english hawthorne
- scotch brome
- daphne
- english ivy
and many more….
23
Q
What is fire disturbance?
A
- high frequency burning introduced by First Nations every few years with spring and fall fires with low severity (cool burning)
- prevented dominance by conifers and promoted grasslands and Garry Oak savannah landscapes
24
Q
What are the problems associated with no burning?
A
- without periodic fire, most oak dominated savannah and woodland will convert to CDF forest
- oak stands have increased tree density
- grassy understories have decreased and have been replaced by invasive native (snowberry and indian plum) and exotic shrubs (scotch broom, himalayan blackberry)
- causes a COPPICE effect = increased stem density due to cloning
25
Q
What is the classification of plants?
A
- physionogmic
- NO species but has structure of community
- floristic
- species are INCLUDED
