9.

5 The need for sustainable management of forests:

Besides providing habitat, food, drugs, and medicines, forests perform a variety of ecological services:

1. Carbon sink and carbon store

Young forest absorbs more CO2 during photosynthesis than it releases by respiration, this is referring to
carbon sink.

Mature forest takes and releases the same amount of CO 2 during phtotsynethesis and respiration; this is
referring to carbon store.

2. Role in water cycle:

Trees reduces the surface run-off by the effect of interception, thus increases infiltration as well as
increase the amount of water vapor by transpiration.

3. Prevention from soil erosion:

Trees conserve and maintain soil structure: they act like winds breakers reduce surface run-off, roots
keep soil structure, and dead leaves and branches enrich the soil with organic matter.

4. Ecotourism:

Forests can be source of tourism attraction, in which people pay many for luxury and time, which later
can be invested in conservation of ecosystem.

9.6 strategies for conserving the biodiversity and genetic resources of natural ecosystems:

Conservation is the protection, preservation, restoration and management of natural ecosystem

1. Sustainable harvesting of wild plant and animal species, sustainable forestry and agroforestry:

Wild plants and animals could be source of medical drugs as well as genetic stock for developing new
strain by genetic modification.

Sustainable harvesting could be done by a management plan as follow:

Firstly: assessment of plant abundance.

Secondly: investigation of growth rate.

Finally: species should be harvested in less than the growth rate, and monitored.

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2. National parks, wildlife reserves and ecological corridors:

National parks and ecological reserves are defined areas devoted for preservation and protection by the
action of laws and regulations posed by the government, they mainly difference in size.(ecological
reserves are much larger). The main objective is protection NOT TOURISM, or even using of natural
resources there.

Laws are usually implemented than ban or limited such hunting and logging, fine and imprison in case of
violence of laws.

The nature of laws and regulations vary from country and national parks.

Wild life corridors are areas of land that link large reserves or other wildlife areas.

Corridors are critical for the maintenance of ecological processes including allowing for the
movement of animals and the continuation of viable populations.

3. Extractive reserve:

Is attempt to find a balance between using of resources to meet economic benefits without destroying
the ecosystem.

Conservation and management is done by local people with help of government.

4. World biosphere reserves:

Are another ways try to strike a balance between conservation and meeting the people needs.

They are mainly divided into 3 areas (zones): fig (9.19) pg. 208

A. Core area: where protected ecosystem is exist.( no human activities but protection, conservation, and
monitoring.

B. Buffer zone:

C. Transition (multi-used): where local people, government, and conservation organizations work
together to manage the area to benefit local people.

One benefit of biosphere reserves they are recognized internationally via the United Nations
Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNSECO), that make support of fund much easier.

-Beside (UNSECO) many organizations seek their efforts for environmental conservation such like:

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), an
international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in
specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

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