Mitchell Groenhof
Is ecological restoration a
necessity to save our planet or is the ever changing biodiversity in today’s
world caused by human dominated disturbances simply another piece of the natural
selection puzzle? Starting in the not so distant past mankind gained the
ability to more easily travel vast distances allowing for increased movement of
both flora and fauna to new and exotic habitats shifting the balance of native
organism ranges. This begs the question, should something be done about this
human influence on organism home ranges and newly formed invasions or should it
simply be considered ‘natural’?
Ever since I have learned to
respect and care for the earth around me I have wanted to restore and preserve
it the way it was before human disturbances. Extensive disturbances including
wildfires, tornadoes, and hurricanes do occur naturally on the planet, it’s
just establishing whether or not mankind’s disturbances should be considered to
be natural and we will deal with the consequences or to fix our actions that
some think degrade the planet.
The introduction of nonnative
species happens more often than I like to acknowledge but it is those that
become invasive which most restoration professionals take not of. Species such
as Purple Loosestrife, Reed Canary Grass, and Common Reed(Phragmites) can create
extensive monocultures allowing for little native vegetation to survive and further
reducing native biodiversity and habitat
diversity. The invasion of these new species clogs niches and can change the
structure and balance of native ecosystems. These disruptions cause the native
flora and fauna to struggle to survive in a niche they may have once thrived in.
Is the immediate protection and slight
reversal of Earth’s habitat alterations due to humans necessary for the overall
survival of living organisms in today’s world or is it simply the desire of
those people who notice these changes to try and keep the native diversity?
This is an important question and one that is thrown back into my consciousness
quite often in my everyday life. During my recent summer internship the
question of why it was necessary to restore native habitats to the lands I was
working on was posed to me and it was one of the hardest questions I have ever
faced. To answer with a clear and concise answere for everyone to understand
was much harder than I had ever imagined. As I am an Ecosystem Restoration Major
this question should be fairly easy for me to answer but it seems harder than I
previously expected.
Clear-cut forests, forests that
have been overridden by Buckthorn, and lowlands dominated by Teasel are all
examples of extraordinary changes in habitat structure and composition allowing
for further change to the biodiversity and ecosystem services once provided.
Are these symptoms of a problem facing our Earth today and is this a problem we
should worry about? Frankly, I’m quite positive that the earth will survive our
changes to the land and organisms will go on to live on this planet for quite
some time. The real question is will we as humans survive all of the changes?
