Re: "I'm not against artificial wetlands, indeed they have tremendous use in
wastewater treatment and habitat creation, but quite often the language
equating different forms of wetlands is diffuse."
Exactly. The question remains: What terminology will be used to draw
crucial and relevant distinctions (as in golf-course wetlands versus swamps
and prairie potholes, for example)? Lacking terminology that is universally
accepted, the practice of definition of terms upon each occasion of use will
be necessary.
WT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Amartya Saha" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2008 10:39 AM
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ecosystems and faux ecosystems Re: [ECOLOG-L]
Wetland creation
Hi Bill, the answer might depend on the spatial extent and intensity of
the fire ( assuming that the fire happens in a fireprone ecosystem, where
fires have been natural occurances as well), if there has been active fire
suppresion in the area allowing fuel buildup, and so on. If an arson fire
got out of control and burned a whole ecological reserve down, including
islands of vegetation that are normally safe from groundlevel fires, then
it would be destruction. Whether that destruction is reversible would
depend upon the success of species coming in from the surroundings to
recolonize.
Now, if this supposedly arson fire were actually caused by lightening, and
if the area has seen fire suppresion for decades, the fuel buildup could
cause a much hotter fire than normally would be the case. Then it would
also be seen as destruction ( the management leading to fire suppresion ).
If the area has had no intervention in the form of fire suppresion or
hydrological modifications leading to drier conditions, then it would be a
natural process...
To Jer's comment
"Find out which ecosystem we have degraded/destroyed most over the years
and you will probably find the ecosystem most often "restored"."
Its a bit hard to do that, since barring a few isolated spots on the
globe, almost all ecosystems have been degraded/destroyed, and not much
restored.
And to the original idea of thread, i do not know the extent of
artificial wetlands, but like Wayne, I'd like to point out that too often
the general public ( developers, polititians and the like ) glibly equate
a created wetland with one that has been in place for centuries or even
longer. Rarely can an artificial wetland approach the species diversity
and resilience of a natural wetland (in the same bioregion) in the early
( read that as 20 years, my guess), and the rate at which diversity builds
up would depend on the existence and proximity of other wetlands for
colonizing species to arrive, succession to take place, hydrological
inputs and outputs that maintain the wetland ( as opposed to succeeding to
a bog and then land ), and so on...there lies the most severe criticism of
the "no net loss" policy of wetland mitigation.
I"m not against artificial wetlands, indeed they have tremendous use in
wastewater treatment and habitat creation, but quite often the language
equating different forms of wetlands is diffuse.
cheers
amartya
William Silvert wrote:
A question comes to mind. If an area is burned to the ground as a result
of human carelessness, would we consider it degraded or destroyed? But if
we then find that the fire was actually started by lightning, and the
natural cycle that involves the return of nutrients to the soil and even
the release of seeds that only sprout when burnt, would we change our
view?
Bill Silvert
----- Original Message ----- From: "JEREMIAH M YAHN" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2008 1:55 PM
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Ecosystems and faux ecosystems Re: [ECOLOG-L]
Wetland creation
Although I do enjoy and agree w/ Wayne's definitions, I think perhaps we
have lost the way of the original post. I certainly do not have the
answer nor the free time to pursue the answer, but I would imagine that
there would be some value in looking into what we have lost over the
years. Find out which ecosystem we have degraded/destroyed most over the
years and you will probably find the ecosystem most often "restored".
