use as rangelands for grazing, as natural grazing is limited or replaced. Also, the use
of improper fire regimes for land use management can cause successional imbalance.
In some places—e.g. South Africa and Australia—demand for the cut-flower
trade from heathland’s spectacular floral wealth can compromise the sustainability of
wild populations of popular species. Because many heathland species are very
narrow endemics, even small-scale changes can affect local species compositions
and result in numerous species extinctions.
In those areas where the ultimate natural vegetation potential is wooded,
e.g. much of Europe, the semi-natural ecosystems are often replaced with tree
plantations where such heaths and shrublands have been abandoned.
The question of what these very dynamic ecosystems will look like in the future is
difficult to answer. However, the relatively high number of different habitat types,
structures, and species highlights the importance of conservation planning and
management of these areas.
Restoration of areas where heathland was historically extirpated, and rehabilitation where it has been degraded, are major current topics of research and practitioner
experimentation. Areas that were under woody invasives for significant time periods
often still have surprisingly resilient seed banks that favour rehabilitation of the
original vegetation, although assistance is usually required with supplementary
sowings. Given that many plant species have substantial underground storage
organs, it suggests that there is great value for carbon sequestration.
The time which is needed to re-establish dwarf shrub or shrub communities is
normally shorter than the time needed to grow old forest. This fact can also be seen
as a chance, especially if a rare or threatened species can live in both heath/shrubland
and forest. Therefore, the establishment of relating structures might be included in
the planning and management at landscape scales.
5.2.6 Forests and Woodlands
Ongoing forest biodiversity loss has significant detrimental impacts on a wide range
of ecosystem functions and services, making forest biodiversity conservation relevant for society. Yet, dramatic losses of forest area alongside over-exploitation and
forest management intensification counteract global agreements on sustainable
development and biodiversity goals.
Consequently, a further decline of primeval forests must be immediately stopped
to ensure the survival of genetic reservoirs of a huge amount of biome-specific forest
species. In this context, it is important to note that losses of evolutionarily distinct
species, and species losses from small families, may have particularly strong effects
on ecosystem function, because of a significant reduction of functionally important
interspecific species interactions.
Besides an increase in strictly protected forest areas (wilderness areas) across
forest biomes, a profound shift in forest management practices towards an
ecosystem-based perspective that focus on forest integrity with respect to the
whole food web rather than economics seems to be a vital way to maintain both
476
C. Hobohm et al.
of improper fire regimes for land use management can cause successional imbalance.
In some places—e.g. South Africa and Australia—demand for the cut-flower
trade from heathland’s spectacular floral wealth can compromise the sustainability of
wild populations of popular species. Because many heathland species are very
narrow endemics, even small-scale changes can affect local species compositions
and result in numerous species extinctions.
In those areas where the ultimate natural vegetation potential is wooded,
e.g. much of Europe, the semi-natural ecosystems are often replaced with tree
plantations where such heaths and shrublands have been abandoned.
The question of what these very dynamic ecosystems will look like in the future is
difficult to answer. However, the relatively high number of different habitat types,
structures, and species highlights the importance of conservation planning and
management of these areas.
Restoration of areas where heathland was historically extirpated, and rehabilitation where it has been degraded, are major current topics of research and practitioner
experimentation. Areas that were under woody invasives for significant time periods
often still have surprisingly resilient seed banks that favour rehabilitation of the
original vegetation, although assistance is usually required with supplementary
sowings. Given that many plant species have substantial underground storage
organs, it suggests that there is great value for carbon sequestration.
The time which is needed to re-establish dwarf shrub or shrub communities is
normally shorter than the time needed to grow old forest. This fact can also be seen
as a chance, especially if a rare or threatened species can live in both heath/shrubland
and forest. Therefore, the establishment of relating structures might be included in
the planning and management at landscape scales.
5.2.6 Forests and Woodlands
Ongoing forest biodiversity loss has significant detrimental impacts on a wide range
of ecosystem functions and services, making forest biodiversity conservation relevant for society. Yet, dramatic losses of forest area alongside over-exploitation and
forest management intensification counteract global agreements on sustainable
development and biodiversity goals.
Consequently, a further decline of primeval forests must be immediately stopped
to ensure the survival of genetic reservoirs of a huge amount of biome-specific forest
species. In this context, it is important to note that losses of evolutionarily distinct
species, and species losses from small families, may have particularly strong effects
on ecosystem function, because of a significant reduction of functionally important
interspecific species interactions.
Besides an increase in strictly protected forest areas (wilderness areas) across
forest biomes, a profound shift in forest management practices towards an
ecosystem-based perspective that focus on forest integrity with respect to the
whole food web rather than economics seems to be a vital way to maintain both
476
C. Hobohm et al.