Detecting Ecosystem Stress and Declining Integrity: Indicators and Benchmarks

NR 205 – Ecosystem Management

What do we measure to tell us if we have a healthy ecosystem?

Indicator = a characteristic of the environment that, when measured, quantifies the magnitude of stress, habitat characteristics, degree of exposure to the stressor, or the degree of ecological response to the exposure (US EPA)

Ecosystem Indicators

• An ecosystem indicator can be any measure that provides information about the quality or condition of the ecosystem or the effectiveness of management.

• Because all ecosystem components and processes cannot be measured and evaluated, ecological indicators are used to determine ecosystem condition with a reduced set of measurements that can represent or “indicate” the overall state of the system.

(Watzin, Smyth, Cassell, Manning, Hession, and Wang )

Ecological Integrity: have to specific about what “integrity” means and how it is measured

ICBEMP (1996):

Integrity defined as “a mosaic of plant and animal communities consisting of well-connected, high-quality habitats that support a diverse assemblage of native and desired non-native species, the expression of potential life histories and taxonomic linkages, and the taxonomic and genetic diversity necessary for long-term persistence and adaptation in a variable environment. Generally, conditions before Euro-American settlement (pre-1800s) provide the standard for evaluating the presence and

functioning of ecological components and processes.”

Indicator Characteristics

• Ecologically relevant

• Politically/socially relevant

• Measurable• Statistically Sound• Interpretable• Cost-effective

• Nondestructive

• Historical data available

• Anticipatory

• Appropriate scale

• Not redundant of other indicators

PRESSURE STATE RESPONSE FRAMEWORK

Human activities exert PRESSURES on the ecosystem

The STATE of the ecosystem is impacted

Management RESPONSE seeks to reduce negative impacts on the ecosystem

Little Moose Lake Trib. 1: Full Stand Visualization

Park Total % of Park

Hamlet 53,415 0.92%

Moderate Intensity 101,968 1.75%

Low Intensity 269,833 4.64%

Rural Use 1,015,962 17.45%

Resource Management 1,553,594 26.69%

Industrial Use 12,290 0.21%

Wilderness 1,071,217 18.40%

Canoe Area 17,634 0.30%

Primitive 45,670 0.78%

Wild Forest 1,288,528 22.14%

Intensive Use 19,508 0.34%

Historic 530 0.01%

State Administrative 1,554 0.03%

Pending Classification 34,931 0.60%

Water 334,550 5.75%

County Total 5,821,183

Private 3,007,062 51.66%

State 2,479,571 42.6%

Water 334,550 5.75%

Parkwide acreage totals as of March 2003:

Total Park 5,821,183

Adirondack Park Land-Use

Land use in the park

Management Issue

Ecological Indicator

Meets which indicator criteria?

How does the indicator meet these criteria?

Which part of the “pressure-state-

response framework”?

Development pressures on private lands

inside the park

1.

2.

Competing recreational demands:

motorized vs. non-motorized

1.

2.

Acid Deposition 1.

2.