Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Outline


Patrick Douglas
Geography 5 Lab
TA Jenny Goldstein
Final Project Outline
Ecosystem: Coniferous Forest: Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, CA
Partner: No
References:       http://ceres.ca.gov/snep/
                                http://www.sierraclub.org/habitat/ecosystems/sierra-nevada.aspx
                                http://www.watershed.org/?q=node/257
Outline:                1. The spatial scale of the Sierra is regional, as a region of California.
2. This ecosystem historically is very young, and has gone through many drastic changes in recent history. (Recent in geologic terms meaning formation about 10 million years ago)
3. The human impact on the Sierra is relatively good, however, there is negative human impact. Most of the human impact is caused by the timber market which cuts down lots of trees in the Sierra. Also, the number of old growth forests have become increasingly rare.
4. The benefits of the Sierra Nevada are endless, with some of the world’s best protected hiking, rock climbing, fishing and snow sports.
5. There are multiple protected areas within the Sierra, namely Yosemite National Park which is protected from all commercial activities. There are also many National Forests and state parks within the Sierra.
6. Yosemite’s status as a protected area is good, being a National Park. But it does have environmental issues such as air pollution and non native invasive species. Also, the immense visitor population as well as the accommodating buildings and parking lots take its toll on the landscape.
7. In the future, the Sierra Nevada as an ecosystem will most likely continue on an upward trend because of the new laws and regulations aimed at protecting our national parks.
8. There already is a good balance between people and this ecosystem, however, there can be more done to help maintain the balance between people and the Sierra. Seeing as though there are already many state parks, national parks and national forests protecting the Sierra, most of the Sierra is already in good balance with sustenance and useful land for visitors. To improve the balance, there could certainly be more restrictions in visitation numbers to Yosemite, as it looks like Disneyland on a crowded weekend, which certainly takes its toll on the ecosystem.

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