44
Baselines, patterns and process
3 Are baselines important for conservation approaches
based on ecosystem services?
4 Does the widespread occurrence of non - native
species mean that compositionalist approaches to conservation that focus on restoring past baselines are no
longer viable?
5 How does the size of a protected area infl uence the
type of conservation management (e.g. for function or
for composition) that is adopted?
SUGGESTED READING
Agnoletti , M. ( 2007 ) The degradation of traditional landscape
in a mountain area of Tuscany during the 19th and 20th
centuries: implications for biodiversity and sustainable
management . Forest Ecology and Management , 249 , 5 – 17 .
Bayliss - Smith , T. , Hviding , E. & Whitmore , T. ( 2003 ) Rainforest
composition and histories of human disturbance in
Solomon Islands . Ambio , 32 , 346 – 352 .
Bush , M.B. ( 2002 ) Distributional change and conservation
on the Andean fl ank: a palaeoecological perspective . Global
Ecology and Biogeography , 11 , 463 – 473 .
Callicott , J.B. , Crowder , L.B. & Mumford , K. ( 1999 ) Normative
concepts in conservation . Conservation Biology , 13 , 22 – 35 .
Sabine , E. , Schreiber , G. , Bearlin , A.R. , Nicol , S.J. & Todd , C.R.
( 2004 ) Adaptive management: a synthesis of current
understanding and effective application . Ecological
Management and Restoration , 5 , 177 – 182 .
period, compared to 20 – 40 per cent in the present day,
and between 13 and 19 per cent over a 4,900 year
period, compared to 4 – 36 per cent in the present day.
They also found that recent increases in elephant
abundance did not appear to have exceeded the resilience of the woody vegetation, since no dramatic
decreases in woody vegetation had occurred.
Their data demonstrate that the ‘ highest ever ’ woody
vegetation cover is indeed dependent on the length of
the temporal record used. A more useful TPC might
therefore be developed, based on changes in mean tree
abundance over time or changes in the patchiness of
tree cover. The study also revealed that the variability
and abundance of tree cover was different at the two
study sites, highlighting the importance of developing
TPCs that are site - specifi c and sensitive to local conditions (Gillson & Duffi n, 2007 ).
FOR DISCUSSION
1 What is the signifi cance of a ‘ natural ’ habitat to the
modern conservation movement?
2 In the light of present - day levels and rates of environmental change, how useful is the information
derived from long term ecology for contemporary conservation practice?
Baselines, patterns and process
3 Are baselines important for conservation approaches
based on ecosystem services?
4 Does the widespread occurrence of non - native
species mean that compositionalist approaches to conservation that focus on restoring past baselines are no
longer viable?
5 How does the size of a protected area infl uence the
type of conservation management (e.g. for function or
for composition) that is adopted?
SUGGESTED READING
Agnoletti , M. ( 2007 ) The degradation of traditional landscape
in a mountain area of Tuscany during the 19th and 20th
centuries: implications for biodiversity and sustainable
management . Forest Ecology and Management , 249 , 5 – 17 .
Bayliss - Smith , T. , Hviding , E. & Whitmore , T. ( 2003 ) Rainforest
composition and histories of human disturbance in
Solomon Islands . Ambio , 32 , 346 – 352 .
Bush , M.B. ( 2002 ) Distributional change and conservation
on the Andean fl ank: a palaeoecological perspective . Global
Ecology and Biogeography , 11 , 463 – 473 .
Callicott , J.B. , Crowder , L.B. & Mumford , K. ( 1999 ) Normative
concepts in conservation . Conservation Biology , 13 , 22 – 35 .
Sabine , E. , Schreiber , G. , Bearlin , A.R. , Nicol , S.J. & Todd , C.R.
( 2004 ) Adaptive management: a synthesis of current
understanding and effective application . Ecological
Management and Restoration , 5 , 177 – 182 .
period, compared to 20 – 40 per cent in the present day,
and between 13 and 19 per cent over a 4,900 year
period, compared to 4 – 36 per cent in the present day.
They also found that recent increases in elephant
abundance did not appear to have exceeded the resilience of the woody vegetation, since no dramatic
decreases in woody vegetation had occurred.
Their data demonstrate that the ‘ highest ever ’ woody
vegetation cover is indeed dependent on the length of
the temporal record used. A more useful TPC might
therefore be developed, based on changes in mean tree
abundance over time or changes in the patchiness of
tree cover. The study also revealed that the variability
and abundance of tree cover was different at the two
study sites, highlighting the importance of developing
TPCs that are site - specifi c and sensitive to local conditions (Gillson & Duffi n, 2007 ).
FOR DISCUSSION
1 What is the signifi cance of a ‘ natural ’ habitat to the
modern conservation movement?
2 In the light of present - day levels and rates of environmental change, how useful is the information
derived from long term ecology for contemporary conservation practice?