Presented at VII International Congress of Ecology
Florence, Italy
19-July-1998
Introduction
Extending reserves for specific endangered species is a monocular view at least as destructive to humankind as an ever-expanding human population growth without regard to adequate food, shelter and quality of life. Harvests from forests and fields are necessary to sustain the human population. To curtail these harvests for wildlife needs most certainly has an impact on the human species depending on these resources. The world is made up of finite resources. It can sustain only a finite population of species.
This paper describes the development of a two-level analytical model as a pilot trial. The objective is to develop an understanding of the relative impacts of varying goals on human, wildlife and ecosystem dynamics assuming limited geographic dispersion and resources. Oregon and Washington in the United States may be considered a macro level in this trial. Nineteen United States National Forests within these two States may be considered micro models at the second level. Sustained yields of forest products and services are simulated for 100-year periods from each micro model. The sustained yields of these forests are affected by the kind of silvicultural systems being applied in order to meet the demands for ecosystem management.
If the geographic extent of the macro model is constrained, then what human population dynamics can be sustained given the outputs from the forest models. The attempt here is to determine what balance is necessary between the human species and its environment within a specific geographic area. Drawing additional resources from outside the model would be depleting someone else’s balance.
The objective of this paper is to draw attention to the quantifiable aspects of ecosystem management and what is already known about demands for and production of forest resources.