Microplastics in soils of wilderness areas: What is the significance of outdoor clothing and footwear?

Geoderma ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 378 ◽  
pp. 114612
Author(s):  
Nicola A. Forster ◽  
Matthew K. Tighe ◽  
Susan C. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Wilderness Areas

California Greenin'

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Vogel
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Gold Mining ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Environmental Standards ◽  
Automobile Emissions ◽  
Oil Drilling ◽  
Business Interests ◽  
Environmental Deterioration ◽  
Natural Beauty ◽  
Wilderness Areas

Over the course of its 150-year history, California has successfully protected its scenic wilderness areas, restricted coastal oil drilling, regulated automobile emissions, preserved coastal access, improved energy efficiency, and, most recently, addressed global climate change. How has this state, more than any other, enacted so many innovative and stringent environmental regulations over such a long period of time? This book shows why the Golden State has been at the forefront in setting new environmental standards, often leading the rest of the nation. From the establishment of Yosemite, America's first protected wilderness, and the prohibition of dumping gold-mining debris in the nineteenth century to sweeping climate-change legislation in the twenty-first, the book traces California's remarkable environmental policy trajectory. It explains that this pathbreaking role developed because California had more to lose from environmental deterioration and more to gain from preserving its stunning natural geography. As a result, citizens and civic groups effectively mobilized to protect and restore their state's natural beauty and, importantly, were often backed both by business interests and by strong regulatory authorities. Business support for environmental regulation in California reveals that strict standards are not only compatible with economic growth but can also contribute to it. The book also examines areas where California has fallen short, particularly in water management and the state's dependence on automobile transportation.

Monitoring air quality in class I wilderness areas of the northeastern United States using lichens and bryophytes

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison C. Dibble ◽  
James W. Hinds ◽  
Ralph Perron ◽  
Natalie Cleavitt ◽  
Richard L. Poirot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Class I ◽  
Northeastern United States ◽  
Wilderness Areas

Mehr Mut zur Wildnis (Essay) | A more courageous attitude to wilderness (essay)

2010 ◽  
Vol 161 (8) ◽  
pp. 286-290
Author(s):  
Adrian Borgula
Keyword(s):  
Forest Area ◽  
Expert Assessment ◽  
Natural State ◽  
Nature Protection ◽  
Forest Reserves ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Wilderness Areas ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Basic Functions ◽  
Total Forest Area

Where nature protection is concerned, the expert assessment of an environment poses questions about its natural and cultural heritage and its potential, about how representative it may be, about biodiversity in all its facets and about its development or potential threats to its existence. Although the forest was the dominant habitat in the original natural European landscape, for a long time nature protection has devoted too little attention to it. There are diverse threats and deficiencies. However, in the Swiss forests positive developments are discernible. Thus nature protection is one of the basic functions of the forest, nature reserves are being created, the area of the forest is increasing, as are reserves of deadwood, and greater importance is being given to regeneration suited to the site. Nevertheless much remains to be done to really achieve the goal of biodiversity and sus-tainability. For this purpose segregative and integrative measures are required. Since diversity needs surface area, in the first place it must be possible to set aside as forest reserves a quarter of the total forest area, spread over the whole country and preferably as natural forest reserves, in order to start the process of a long-term restoration to the natural state. Here the conservation of natural self-regulating processes supersedes classical nature protection. With a series of further integrative measures, biodiversity must also be promoted over the whole remaining forest area and in the areas of transition to other habitats. An abundance of varied structures is the key to diversity of species. A more courageous attitude to wilderness and “untidiness” when dealing with the forest is to be recommended. Nature experiences in wilderness areas give the population the possibility of discovering diversity and natural processes and encourage respect for the innumerable other species and habitats.

A Fierce Green Fire

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marybeth Lorbiecki
Keyword(s):  
Life Story ◽  
Environmental Literature ◽  
Aldo Leopold ◽  
Paradigm Shifts ◽  
Ripple Effects ◽  
Ecological Vision ◽  
As Species ◽  
Wilderness Areas ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of

For anyone interested in wildlife, birds, wilderness areas, parks, ecology, conservation, environmental literature, and ethics, the name Aldo Leopold is sure to pop up. Since first publication, Aldo Leopold: A Fierce Green Fire has remained the classic short, inspiring biography of Leopold--the perfect companion to reading his ever popular A Sand County Almanac. Winning numerous awards, this comprehensive account of his life story is dynamic and readable, written in the context of the history of American conservation and illustrated with historic photographs. Marybeth Lorbiecki has now enriched A Fierce Green Fire in a way no other biography on Leopold has, adding numerous chapters on the ripple effects of his ideas, books, ecological vision, land ethic, and Shack, as well as of the ecological contributions of his children, graduate students, contemporary scholars, and organizations--and the wilderness lands he helped preserve. Lorbiecki weaves these stories and factual information into the biography in a compelling way that keeps both lay and academic readers engaged. In the introduction to this edition, Lorbiecki makes it clear how much better our lives are because Leopold lived and why today we so radically need what he left us to bring about paradigm shifts in our ethical, economic, and cultural thinking. Instead of losing relevance, Leopold's legacy has gained ever more necessity and traction in the face of contemporary national and world challenges, such as species loss and climate change. Even the phenological studies he started at as a hobby are proving valuable, showing the climatic shifts that have occurred at the Shack lands since the 1930s, recognized by the plants and animals.

Fuelwood depletion at wilderness campsites: extent and potential ecological significance

2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Troy E. Hall ◽  
Tracy A. Farrell
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Ecological Effects ◽  
Outer Ring ◽  
Ecological Significance ◽  
Relative Loss ◽  
Debris Removal ◽  
Recreational Impacts ◽  
Wilderness Areas ◽  
Fuelwood Consumption

Recreational camping in wilderness areas causes a number of biophysical impacts, including loss of woody debris through campfires. Although extensive research has documented trampling impacts to vegetation, few studies have explored the extent of woody material depletion. This study adapted planar transect methods to measure the relative loss of fine (<0.6 cm), small (0.6 to 2.5 cm), medium (2.6 to 7.6 cm) and large (>7.6 cm) diameter materials in three concentric rings extending 0–5 m, 5–10 m and 10–15 m from the centre of 58 campsites in different environments ranging in elevation from 1250 to 2225 m in the Cascades Mountains in Oregon, USA. Compared to matched controls, losses were greatest for small (40%) and medium-sized (63%) materials, but were evident for fine (25%) and large (30%) materials as well. Surprisingly, depletion (across all sizes) was no greater in the centre of sites than in the outer measurement ring, even though the outer ring was often in intact vegetation. This suggests that impacts on woody debris extend beyond those impacts to vegetation typically monitored at campsites. Such recreational impacts to woody debris have rarely been systematically described. However, research on woody debris removal related to forest management indicates possible ecological effects of fuelwood consumption.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document