Oral Abstract Details

Author(s):
Ed Macie

Affiliation:
US Forest Service

Presentation Type:
Oral

Topic Area:
Topic Not Specified

Abstract Text:
This presentation is a review of a Forest Service ecosystem analysis project, conducted by American Forests and Michael Gallis and Associates, intended to measure and describe human induced changes to natural systems at the landscape scale within the Piedmont Region of the Southern US (from Atlanta to Richmond VA). This systems based analysis was conducted in 4 distict phases: 1) Understanding Ecosystem Deterioration. The main focus of the environmental community has been the measuring and bench marking of environmental change. These efforts only prove that the environment is continuing to deteriorate at even more rapid rates. While studies of the environment are the foundation for environmental action and are vital to understanding the impacts on the environment, they do not reveal the forces or the factors that are causing the destruction of the ecosystems. 2) Understanding the Human Network. The primary factor causing the deterioration of the environment is the global human network. This network extends around the earth and across the US and continental North America. It is the foundation for economic activity and urbanization as it represents the pattern of reads, rails, airlines, shipping and communications. While the agency has information on the ecosystem and the forests, it does not have expertise or knowledge of the growth and development of the human network. Yet it is the network that is causing dramatic changes in the forest environment and without an understanding of the pattern and dynamics of the network effective environmental management may be impossible. 3) Defining the Relationship of the Environment and the Human Network. An initial assessment of the impact of the human network on the environment reveals five distinct categories. The five impacts are fragmentation, depletion, pollution, erosion and extinction. While these are currently treated as separate problems they are in fact interrelated affects all stemming from the same cause and together having a devastation impact on the environment. 4) Identifying the gaps between current programs and the problems of sustaining the environment in the 21st Century. The Resource Assessment is providing information needed to create a new framework for internal and multi- agency discussion to identify and address the gaps between current practices and realities of managing natural systems in the 21st century. Results and experiences of this analysis will provide a foundation for a new framework for managing the human network and restoring natural systems in the future.