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2009 COURSE SYLLABUS
Week 1 :Deforestation and Ecological Collapse
Week 2: Cultural Implications of Deforestation
Week 3: Ecological Principals of Restoration I
Week 4: Ecological Principals of Restoration II
Week 5: Case Study: Sadhana Forest, Tamil Nadu, India
Week 6: Post-Restoration: Agroforestry and Socioeconomics
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Week 1: Introduction to Deforestation, Desertification and Ecological Collapse
Forests are the ultimate result of hundreds or thousands of years of growth of plants, animals, fungi on land. Forests are known to scientists as "climax communities", the result of long-running ecological succession. Forest composition differs greatly with latitude, ranging from equatorial shrub lands to sub-tropical rain forests, from temperate hardwood forests to the boreal forests of the north. Climate, soil composition and water sources play a large role in the health of a forest. Clear-cutting, or deforestation, not only removes the trees, it removes everything that lives within or depends on its branches and roots, and has cascading effects of climate, soil and water.
- Can you describe for us the role of Earth's forests with respect to biodiversity?
- What are the basic goods & services provided by forests?
- What role do healthy forests play in the regulation of the global climate?
- Does deforestation jeopardize climate processes? How can this be determined?
- What effects does deforestation have on the terrestrial environment (soil and groundwater)?
Traditional Resources
- Cramer, Wolfgang; Bondeau, Alberte; Schaphoff, Sibyll; Lucht, Wolfgang; Smith, Benjamin; Sitch, Stephen. 2004 Tropical forests and the global carbon cycle: impacts of atmospheric carbon dioxide, climate change and rate of deforestation. Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences 359(1443): 331-343.
- Fearnside, Philip M. 2005 Deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia: History, Rates, and Consequences Conservation Biology 19(3):680-688.
- Binkley, Dan, and Thomas C. Brown. 1993. Forest Practices as Nonpoint Sources of Pollution in North America. Water Resources Bulletin 29(5):720-729.
- Brook, BW; Sodhi, NS; Ng, PKL. 2003 Catastrophic extinctions follow deforestation in SingaporeNature 424(6947):420-426.
- Lees, Alexander C., Peres, Carlos A. 2006 Rapid avifaunal collapse along the Amazonian deforestation frontier. Biological Conservation Biol. Conserv. 133(2):198-211.
Web & Multimedia
Week 2: Cultural Implications of Deforestation
Last week we studied the role of forests and the effects of deforestation on the physical environment. This week we would like to focus on the history of deforestation both industrial and pre-industrial and its effects on human societies.
- Are there any examples of an ancient society collapsing due to deforestation and/or environmental degradation?
- What are the tools/methods and anthropologist uses to determine the historical occurance of deforestation?
- Could you describe to use the changing role of forests as a resource at the inception of the industrial revolution?
- Is there any way of assessing how much forest has been lost due to human activity over the centuries?
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Traditional Resources
- Justine M. Shaw (2003). CLIMATE CHANGE AND DEFORESTATION: Implications for the Maya collapse. Ancient Mesoamerica, 14: 157-167.
- Williams, Michael 2000 Dark ages and dark areas: global deforestation in the deep past Journal of Historical Geography 26:1 (28-46)
- Dodds, D. 1998 Lobster in the Rain Forest: The Political Ecology of Miskito Wage Labor and Agricultural Deforestation. J. Political Ecology 5: 83-108.
- KINGSBURY, Nancy D.2001Impacts of land use and cultural change in a fragile environment: indigenous acculturation and deforestation in kavanayén, gran sabana, venezuela. INCI 26(8): 327-336.
Multimedia
Weeks 3 & 4: Ecological Principals of Restoration
Last week we studied the historical implications of deforestation. This week and next we will look into the more optimistic subject of land restoration. Proceding deforestation, land tends to move in two directions: conversion for agriculture and development or abandoned and left ecologically degraded. Currently there is an uptrend in environmental restoration for degraded lands.
- What is the role of water quality in forest management? (Discuss this question on the blog)
- What is the role of conservation buffers? How do they function?
- How do soils change when the land is restored or reforested?
- Does restoration involve long-term stewardship?
Traditional Resources
- Bentrup, G. 2008. Conservation buffers: design guidelines for buffers, corridors, and greenways. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-109. Asheville, NC: Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 110 p.
- KR Islam, RR Weil 2000 Land use effects on soil quality in a tropical forest ecosystem of BangladeshAgriculture, Ecosystems and Environment
- Schoenholtz, S.H. 2004. Impacts of forest management on water quality. pp. 377-388 in Burley, J., J. Evans, and J. Youngquist, eds. Encyclopedia of Forest Sciences. Elsevier Ltd., Oxford, U.K.
- D BINKLEY, SC RESH 1999 Rapid Changes in Soils Following Eucalyptus Afforestation in Hawaii Soil Science Society of America 63(1): 222-225
- Hayes, J.P., S.H. Schoenholtz, M.J. Hartley, G. Murphy, R.F. Powers, D. Berg, and S.R. Radosevich. 2005. Environmental Consequences of Intensively Managed Forest Plantations in the Pacific Northwest. Journal of Forestry 83-87.
- Schoenholtz, S.H., J.A. Stanturf, J.A. Allen, and C.J. Schweitzer. 2005. Afforestation of agricultural lands in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley: The state of our understanding. pp. 413-432. In L.H. Fredrickson, S.L. King, and R. M. Kaminski, eds. Ecology and Management of Bottomland Hardwood Systems: The State of our Understanding. University of Missouri-Columbia. Gaylord Memorial Laboratory Special Publication No. 10.
- E Hooper, R Condit, P Legendre 2002 Responses of 20 native tree species to reforestation strategies for abandoned farmland in Panama.Ecological Applications. 12(6): 1626-1641.
Web & Multimedia
Week 5: Case Study: Sadhana Forest in Tamil Nadu, India
Last Week we rounded our studies in basic restoration principles. This week we will focus on the example set by Sadhana Forest in Tamil Nadu, India. The Sadhana Forest is an ongoing reforestation effort on 70 acres severely eroded land. It's volunteers are working to restore dry tropical evergreen forest to a critical area. Below is an interview with it's founders Aviram and Yorit Rozin:
Describe to us the history of this land and the condition it was in when you arrived.
What were the basic methods you used for tree planting and water and soil conservation?
In the five years of this project how has the environment changed? Have your reforestation methods changed?
What were the infrastructure needs for sustaining the project?
Do you see the Sadhana Forest methods being transferred to other arid climates?
Rather than answer questions this week, we encourage participants to use the web to seek out reforestation projects similar to the Sadhana Forest. As a group will will collaborate a networking list for these projects. Sharing methods and information may help them all to make better progress!
Multimedia
Web: Sadhana Forest
Video: Aviram Rozin, founder of Sadhana Forest, speaking of the human aspects of the project.
Week 6: Post-Restoration: Agroforestry and Socioeconomics
In the past weeks we have covered the important role of original forests, the detrimental effects of deforestation and new concepts in land restoration. This week will focus on the successes of restoration and the sustainable use of forests.
Can existing forests be used for sustainable food sources rather than be clear-cut for agriculture?
Are there agroforestry crops that grow well in arid climates where food security is a problem?
Does agroforestry have a place in permaculture?
Can forestry concepts be used in urban areas?
Resources
Shepard, M L. Producing Forest-Based Food Products in Permaculture Systems. North American Conference On Enterprise Development Through Agroforestry: Farming the Agroforest for Specialty Products Minneapolis, MN, October 4-7, 1998
Young, A. Agroforesty for Soil Conservation. Science and Practice of Agroforestry. ICRAF, 1989
Nowak, D. The Effects of Urban Trees on Air Quality Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 4 (115-123) 2006
Multimedia & Web
Video: Willie Smits Restores a Rainforest
BBC Report: 'Trees of Life' Are Vital Food Source
Lecture: Agroforestry Concepts - Univ. of Hawaii
Lecture: Agroforestry Overview - ATTRA
Web: Agroforestry Publications,& Guides Library
About Land Restoration and Afforestation
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