Biodiversity and Endangered Species
Hotspots of Biodiversity:
http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org
The most important ecosystems on the planet.
Forestry: We can't live without wood, but let's get it the right way?
Old growth forest - a stand of trees that hasn't been cut in hundreds of years; at the peak of successional cycle
Three types of logging:
1. clear cutting - cutting all trees down in an area; good for business, bad for habitats, bad for runoff
2. selective cutting - the best way to get timber, more expensive, but worth it (opinion)
3. strip cutting - logging in strips; not ideal but better than clearing
In the US we have the Healthy Forest Restoration Act to regulate
H.I.P.P.O:
Habitat Loss; Invasive Species; Pollution; Population Growth (Human); Overharvesting
What makes an organism prone to extinction?