Habitat Restoration - Class 2

Management - the act or manner of managing, handling direction, control

The idea of management is usually associated with human input. Prior to human evolution (Approx. 1 mya) things "happened".
As humans evolved and radiated they had the same effect upon their environment as any new species
Use resources
Increase population
Cope with problems associated with pop. Increase e.g. competition, waste increase, resource decrease.
Find a balance or die out

Human impact is important to understand to put any management/restoration into context
Tim Flanery - "The Future Eaters"
Humans -colonise new area
-utilise resources and eliminate threats
-fight amongst themselve for reduced/scarse resources
-adjust to new conditions and maintain a balance

In Australia (approx. 60-100 000 ya)
Humans entered Australia where there was an abundance of resources especially megafauna
Megafauna generally herbivorous (except reptile that have different metabolic requirement) with no natural predators and no "experience" of humans, therefore "easy game"
Megafauna eliminated - used as food and also removed as a threat (anything bigger than me is a threat)
Population increase
Changes in ecosystem function - reduced nutrient cycling, less disturbance/space
Large population and changed ecosystem function probably lead to fighting and population crash
Surviving population develop new strategies to live in balance with the ecosystem e.g. fire, population control
"people living in harmony with their environment", however the environment is quite different to the one they first encountered

New strategies for humans survival may promote changes in the ecosystem e.g. increase fire frequency will promote plants that can survive fire, these plants may in turn promote fire to increase their survival.

Europeans confronted a strange environment full of opportunity. They continued to eliminate threats (including making Australia more like home) and use reoureces to build up the population.

What action in the last 200 years have lead to "land degradation"

Tree/land clearing
Agricultural practice
Horticultural practices
Mining
Introduction of exotic species
Concentration of human populations
Pollution

What problems have these actions created

Species loss
Erosion
Salinity
Acid rain
Consider a degraded site. What sort of information do you need to know in order to restore it?