Environmental Services | Preserving Biodiversity

One of the often overlooked areas of vegetation management, and it’s related environmental services, is it’s role in preserving the environment through preserving biodiversity. The biggest threat to our environment is the loss of native species, to species which are not native to our area. Good vegetation management practices help to keep our forests, lakes, and meadows native and diverse.

Major Cause: A smaller world

The world has become very small! International travel, the movement of people and goods from one place to another has made it so. Global travel has also made it possible for plants to move in and out of countries with relative ease. Many of these exotics find a new home, and some thrive beyond our normal abilities to control. If these plants, and often other life forms, are allowed to grow unchecked, they will eventually destroy all native vegetation in a region!

Biodiversity: Not just a rain forest issue.

Just as the destruction of large areas of forest lands in tropical areas destroys biodiversity in the area, the movement of some of these tropical plants into other countries can destroy the biodiversity of their new found home. Vegetation management has become a very important part of stopping this spread, and as the numbers escalate, will become even more important each day.

How this works.

In the world of physics, two objects can not occupy the same space and point in time. In the world of biology, the same rule holds true. One will gain dominance, and in the case of invasive exotic weeds and vines, one may dominate the entire ecosystem. When this occurs, the less competitive species may be completely eliminated from the environment and the area loses biodiversity.

Role of vegetation management.

The two major roles for vegetation managers are, the protection of the infrastructure, and preserving biodiversity.

JohnsonGrass was once thought to be good for cattle grazing

Biodiversity services, that is, natural biodiversity services as opposed to human efforts to control aspects of the environment, are the services that nature in a given location supplies to itself. Included are such things as pollination, soil replacement, self fertilization, microbial activities for self composting, planting, and the self production of self sustaining fungal activities to name only a few. These activities themselves are dependent on the continued biodiversity of a given region. They are self sustaining only as long as each element in the environment remains intact, and productive.

Placing values on services provided by nature

Much is now being written on the valuation of the services, that is, the pricing of the services that nature naturally provides in sustaining itself, and the value it provides with regard to the effect of it’s continuation, or loss on the lives and productivity of human beings.

Following are a few of the elements that should be considered in this valuation:

• Food production benefits of preserving natural biodiversity services

As an example, consider that new crops for food production are being discovered on a fairly regular basis, and this needs to continue in order to meet growing global demands for food, and changing global climatic conditions. These are lessons that humans should have learned during the little ice age. As weather conditions change, crop viability changes as well, longer winters mean shorter growing seasons, requiring food crops which can be grown and harvested within those limitations.

• Biomedical benefits of preserving natural biodiversity services

Other considerations are such things as biomedical research. How do we place a specific value on a thousand acres of pristine forest with regard to the potential discovery of new material of value to human beings as it relates to human health, or discoveries of value to industry? This also reaches into the area of human health on other levels. A decrease in the numbers and varieties of available species to host a pathogen, may cause the pathogen to mutate in order to survive in another species, and a decrease in biodiversity may mean a decrease in the predators available to destroy disease carrying insects and vermin.

• Pest Control benefits of preserving biodiversity services

Preserving species has a direct impact on insect populations. It has been determined that 99% of crop destroying, and disease carrying insects can be controlled by natural predations, by such normal biological controls as birds and bats. This service, that nature provides free of charge, can be adversely altered by severe changes in a regions biodiversity.

• Shade and evapotranspiration which also helps to preserves local climates through water cycling.

The earths vegetation uses vast amounts of water, which are then transpired through foliage, and evaporate back into the atmosphere. This not only purifies the water, and cools the region, it also has an effect on regional weather patterns, some of which are needed for the local environments continued health and production.

• Water and air filtration.

We all know that plants “breathe” carbon dioxide, and “exhale” oxygen and water. Vegetation is our most efficient air scrubber, cleansing the air that is needed to support animal life, and storing away carbon.

• Breaking down of waste products and production of soil nutrients

The necessary ingredients for breaking down plant and animal wastes exist in abundance in nature, and are needed for continued soil nutrient production, as well as soil stability.

• Erosion control

The control of erosion on the planet is largely a function of plant life. Both the tops and the roots of vegetation prevent water from washing soil away. The quantity of rainfall on the earth each year is so high, that it could completely cover the worlds entire landmass. Regional vegetation is the most efficient control for the erosion that this huge quantity of water would otherwise cause.

• Crop and forest pollination

Both the pollen that is needed for pollinating crops and forests, and the creatures needed for performing the pollination are produced as a result of biodiversity. This process is necessary for the sustainability of crops and continuation of of the process. When invasive vegetation destroys the biodiversity of a region, the native pollinators may decide to leave the region to seek more appropriate vegetation.

• Replanting and plant migration

The diffusion of a plant species from an area of greater concentration, where it has less chance of getting the sunlight needed to grow to maturity, to an area of lesser concentration, where it can become established, to a great extent depends on the diverse animal life present. Mammals and birds in particular, help to spread seed to new locations. If the area lacks the diversity needed to maintain such species, they will move on. This, then leaves the plant species with little means of locomotion aside from wind and water.

• The value of nature for natural beauty

This is one of the truly undervalued aspects of the service that nature provides. It may be a little ethereal,  but it is important psychologically. Imagine a world without it!

Sustaining sustainability

The primary concern should be the continuation of these services, without which all other potential gains are lost.

Preserving biodiversity for advancing science.

There are more reasons for preserving regional biodiversity than for discovering new medications and food crops. Even on this account, there is more than what we can glean at the present. Looking into the future, and the way that various localized species interact and evolve in a given set of parameters such as physical location, and micro climates, has much to offer. The current tools for scientific investigation, are themselves evolving, and as they evolve, supplying a consistent, purely native setting to study is very important.

In our quest for new and practical genetic material of interest, we need to remember the fact that if these areas do not remain stable in their biodiversity, future benefits will be lost. After all, what good would further advances in scientific methods do, if there were nothing left to study?

• From a practical stand point, what we must do, is identify the problems. In our ecosystem in the Southern United States, that will be invasive exotic species.

• We must Isolate the problem to prevent any further spread.

• We must eradicate the problem using the most effective means, with the least impact to the rest of the habitat.

• We must prevent future infestations.

Biodiversity services for preserving natural biodiversity services

Non native Asian Privet invading East Texas

Biodiversity Services

Preserving biodiversity may be the major ecological and environmental issue of this century. Whether it is in the worlds rainforest regions, the Pacific Islands, Europe, Asia, Africa, or right here on the North American continent, in East Texas. Any species that cannot continue to exist due to fire, chainsaw, or even other, invasive plants, has the potential to have a major impact, both now, and far into the future. This is one of the few occasions where thinking globally, and acting locally, are the same thing! All biodiversity is local.

Large scale biodiversity protection and preservation projects are different than smaller scale, even neighborhood level projects mainly in scope. Both types are desperately needed.  Local problems rarely stay local. They migrate much like the invasive exotics that sometimes cause them. Both the plants, and the problems move.

Often, drastic measures need to be taken to preserve local biodiversity. This involves the identification of invasive exotic species, and the elimination of such species to preserve the local biodiversity. We provide biodiversity services for this reason.

Our biodiversity services include the identification and elimination of non native exotic species, and revegetation with appropriate species if desired. We offer both terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity services, ranging from small backyard habitats, to much larger commercial projects.

These services are provided for commercial and residential clients.