Evaluate the Importance of Ecosystem Management and Protection Essay

Evaluate the importance of ecosystem management and protection Every living thing on Earth belongs to an ecosystem. An ecosystem can be as small as a puddle or as large as an ocean. No matter its size, every ecosystem is vital to life on Earth, and requires human respect, support, management and protection. The term â€Å"ecosystem† refers to a community of plants and animals that share a common space and common resources, and are all dependent on one another for survival. Ecosystems are characterised by the complex interactions between these abiotic and biotic environments which involves a number of major systems such as the biosphere, the lithosphere, the hydrosphere and the atmosphere. Ecosystems are delicately balanced. If one component fails to thrive, the others become weakened, and may fail as well. If one ecosystem fails, neighboring ecosystems become threatened as well. Ecosystems are under constant and increasing threat of disruption from natural forces, invasive species and human development. Although ecosystems are dynamic, they are also fragile. Natural forces such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions can destroy ecosystems. Depending on the severity, ecosystems may take a long time to recover, such as the slow rate of recovery from volcanic eruption. However natural disturbances do not occur often, or are on a regular basis, such as the El Nino or tornado. Human disturbances to the ecosystem however, occur on a regular basis. For example, the logging of the Amazonian trees at the rate of one football field per second. The constant degrading to the environment means there is no time for the ecosystem to resist the change hence resulting in a simplified, modified and eventual disclimax ecosystem Human have modified natural ecosystems in many ways intentionally and unintentionally but the distinction is not always clear. An example of an intentional modification to ecosystems would be construction of a dam on a river. The unintentional changes that could result from this might be the extinction of some species that needed shallow water to survive. There are other ways that humans have changed the ecosystems such as destroying, degrading and simplifying ecosystems. Agricultural land use often requires the wholesale clearing of land to grow single crops or graze animals. This monoculture system simplifies the complex interrelationships existing in natural ecosystems and is maintained through pesticides and fertilisers. Urban land creates greatly modified ecosystems. The vast quantities of fertilisers, herbicides and esticides are required to sustain the yields of the crops. The runoff pollutes streams, lakes and oceans and causes changes to their ecosystems. Human-induced changes in one ecosystem usually have cascading and unpredictable effects on other inter-related ecosystems through their nutrient cycles. Human-induced modifications to nutrients cycles are numerous and vary in scale from local to global. The clearing and removal of timber from a rainforest disrupts the nutrient cycle in these low-fertility ecosystems. The apparent richness of the rainforest ecosystem is a result of the recycling of nutrients stored in the trees and leaves. The soils are typically shallow and leached because of heavy rainfall. If the timber is removed, the nutrients are not recycled and the soil is not replenished. In addition, once the protection offered by the trees and their root systems is removed, rapid erosion occurs, removing the shallow topsoil and making regeneration of the rainforest a long, slow process that may take centuries, if it is allowed to happen. Ecosystems have various key features that determine the relationship between their biophysical components and that include interdependence, diversity, resilience, adaptability, unpredictability and limits set by abiotic and biotic factors. Human simplify ecosystems and attempt to control them for their own purposes. There are many complex interrelationships between biophysical components in natural ecosystems that are disrupted through human activities. Some of these disruptions create feedback loops that adversely affect activities. If crocodiles were not protected in Australia, for example, their role as a keystone species would be threatened. When hunting of crocodiles was permitted, the saltwater species was on the brink of extinction. Since the protection, their numbers have built up to pre-hunting levels and the estuarine ecosystems where they live are more balance. All of the Earth’s plants and animals rely on ecosystems to provide food and habitat. Ecosystems must maintain a delicate balance in order to stay vital. For example, a deer living in the meadow ecosystem needs water to drink, vegetation to eat and shrubs and bracken to sleep and hide in. If the deer population increases too much for their current ecosystem to provide these things, the extra deer will have to search for food and shelter elsewhere, encroaching on the habitats and ecosystems of other species. Humans also rely on ecosystems to provide food and natural resources. For example, the wood used to create lumber for building and pulp for paper comes from the Earth’s many forest ecosystems. When natural resources are harvested out of an ecosystem, it can disrupt the delicate balance if not done in a responsible way. According to the United Nations funded researches, 60% of the ecosystems on Earth are being used up faster than they can replenish themselves. Recent advancement in science and technology has help humans become more aware of the need to protect and manage the inestimable value of the ecosystem for humans and the world in terms of their genetic, utility, intrinsic, and heritage values, as well as perceiving the need to allow natural change and thus evolution to proceed. The ecosystems of the Earth can be protected through various ways such as responsible use. Heavily cultivated lands planted in single crops can be replaced with diverse cropping systems that help maintain soil productivity and prevent erosion. As homeowners, humans can plant native species that provide food and shelter to animals. These native species tend to grow with less supplemental water and little need for fertilization, which both conserves and protects our water sources. As consumers, humans can buy sustainably grown goods, use fewer disposable products and purchase products with minimal packaging or recyclable packaging. Each act of conservation in our homes, yards and workplaces reduces the stress on our ecosystems and helps maintain the necessary balance to maintain them. Therefore it is very important to protect and manage ecosystems properly for the benefit of all living species including us human beings. Ecosystems rich in diversity generally have greater resilience and are, as a result, able to recover more readily from naturally induced stress, such as drought and fire, and human-induced habitat degradation. Where diversity is diminished, the functioning of ecosystems and by association the wellbeing of people is put at risk. Biological diversity or biodiversity covers these areas – genetic diversity, species diversity and ecological diversity. Genetic diversity is the variety of genetic material contained in all individual plants, animals and micro-organisms. Ecosystems rich in genetic diversity generally have greater resilience and therefore are able to recover more readily from natural and human stresses. Where diversity is low, ecosystem functioning is often at risk. Ecosystems have utility value and this is concerning the usefulness of ecosystems in monetary terms. Recent study estimated that total value of goods and services provided by the earth’s ecosystems is US$33 trillion. This means that all the living and the non-living components of the earth’s ecosphere have either an existing or potential utility value or usefulness. By maintaining and protecting ecosystems we maximise humanity’s ability to adapt to change. The sheer diversity of life represents a vast store of genetic material that can be tapped as human needs change. The loss of a species – whether plant, animal fungus, bacterium or virus denies humanity possible future source of food, medicine, chemicals, fibres and other materials. Their protection is critical to the physical wellbeing of humanity. Ecosystems are endowed with their own intrinsic and ethical value, that is, they have the right to exist irrespective of their utility value. While few would disagree with such a sentiment, and most people would support the view that we need to protect ecosystems for the benefit of future generations, there is still no generally agreed mechanism or strategy by which this could be achieved. Central to the notion of the intrinsic value of ecosystems is a recognition that the biophysical environment provides for many of the inspirational, aesthetic and spiritual needs of people. Heritage protection of areas seen as having outstanding universal value. In Australia, the Royal National Park was dedicated as an area of outstanding heritage as early as 1879. The latter half of the 20th Century saw the emergence of great concern for the heritage value of ecosystems. The Australian heritage Commission views natural heritage, worthy of National Estate listing, to include those places, being components of the natural environment of Australia or the cultural environment of Australia, that have aesthetic, historic, scientific or social significance or other special value for future generations, as well as for the present community. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the heritage areas named by the World heritage listings. Because of the numerous values and benefits of ecosystems, they need to be managed properly using management strategies such as exclusion/preservation strategy. That is the habitat and species are totally protected from human activity of any kind. For instances, Wildlife Management and this is where humans make use of the wildlife either through ecotourism as in the African game parks or through hunting as in many of north American parks. The aims of managing wildlife are to manipulate wildlife populations and their environments for their survival and for human benefits. Conservation is one strategy that could be used to manage ecosystems. There is limited impact on ecosystems through sustainable use of resources. Scientists believe a minimum of 10% of the land area of the Earth needs to be protected to conserve ecosystems, their biodiversity and integrity from human activities. Some developing countries have little of their land protected. The major priority in selecting a site for a reserve is to protect fragile ecosystems under threat. Some of these take thousands of years to form and can never be recreated if lost. In an ideal world, the management strategies would select the best combination of these factors to preserve the ecosystems at risk. In reality however, the choice of site is often limited to what is available after other human demands have been satisfied. This compromise puts ecosystems at risk further pressure. Some difficulties confronting management of ecosystems include institutional difficulties. This involves varying regulatory arrangements applied to different land uses in adjacent areas making it difficult to achieve conservation on a landscape scale. Not only that limited corporation between public and private sectors in long-term environmental management to name a few. Ecosystems are modified by humans for sustainable use such as commercial agricultural. Again ecosystems are exploited regardless of the consequences. This results in species extinction, ecosystem destruction and reduction, and possible ecosystem collapse. The way to management and protect ecosystems is to provide public with education that could help decrease this exploitation and destruction of ecosystems. Rehabilitation and restoration of ecosystems are probably the most obvious management strategies that deal with ecosystems that have been damaged or degraded. Examples of such ecosystems are mined, farmed, logged, grazed and burned for a long period of time. Given enough time, the natural processes of ecological succession will eventually repair the ecosystem. But this depends upon the degraded ecosystems being protected and managed so that the natural processes can occur and the ecosystem be sustained. All this is costly and time consuming. If species are extinct, the ecosystem will never return to the pre-disturbance state. One way of protecting and managing ecosystems is o make laws to protect ecosystems. Traditional management of ecosystem is one way of managing ecosystems. Other strategies include restriction on species caught, closed seasons, taboo areas and species, designated areas for hunting groups and individuals, limits to population growth and sustainable methods of hunting were used and resources were not wasted to name a few. To conclude, ecosystems are very hard to manage, protect and conserve especially in the developing countries where populations are exploding and the pressure on the land is intense. The crippling debt most developing countries have and the urge to develop their ecosystem resources represent the real threat to the integrity of global ecosystems. So management strategies needed to protect ecosystems are at a local, national, regional, continental and global level. The management strategies to preserve and conserve ecosystems at risk recognize the need to manage whole ecosystems. This may involve strategies that range from total preservation to sustainable development Furthermore, the management of ecosystem is important to ensure sustainable development, preservation and minimized disturbances and recognition of ecosystem’s importance. Ecosystems change when they are controlled or disturbed. This may be the result of human or natural factors and may be intentional or inadvertent. Intentional changes can produce a number of unforeseen consequences, which creates the need for responsible management. .Management strategies change over time. This is due to changes in environmental quality, technological advances, economic, social and political attitudes.