Nature as a theme in Canadian literature

2005 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 169-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Turner ◽  
Bill Freedman
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Environmental Literacy ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Canadian Literature ◽  
Literary Expression ◽  
Nature Literature ◽  
Century Poetry ◽  
Literature Culture

The relationships of people with the natural world are expressed in diverse ways, including painting, photographs, sculpture, song, video, and literature. In this document, we review historical and contemporary portrayals of nature as a theme in Canadian literature. Our assessment is intended to explore how Canadians have articulated their feelings about nature through literary expression, and to thereby gain insight into their empathy for natural ecosystems and native species, and their concern about damage caused to those values. We begin with a broad overview of nature as a theme in cultural expression, including overarching ones in Canadian literature, and discuss the influential literary views of Northrop Frye, Margaret Atwood, and their critics. We then examine the expression of nature within seven focal areas: early aboriginal expression, narratives of explorers, stories of settlers, the genre of animal stories, 20th-century poetry, recent aboriginal literature, and environmental ideas in contemporary prose. We identify six dominant themes of the expression of nature in Canadian literature: (1) humans as a part of nature; (2) a bounty of natural resources; (3) fear of an adversarial wilderness; (4) improvement of nature; (5) regret of environmental damage and perhaps despair of the future; and (6) love and respect of species and natural landscapes. Finally, we discuss how nature as a theme embedded in Canadian literature can be harnessed to further the compelling objectives of environmental literacy by providing sympathetic insights into the relationships of people and society with the species and ecosystems with which they share Canada.Key words: nature, literature, culture, Canada, environmental literacy.

Principles and practice of ecological design

2004 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fan Shu-Yang ◽  
Bill Freedman ◽  
Raymond Cote
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Environmental Literacy ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Ecological Design ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Industrial Parks ◽  
Managed Ecosystems ◽  
And Function

The history of development of the concept of ecological design (or eco-design) is described, and key influences and antecedents are introduced. Seven principles of ecological design are advanced: (1) the need to meet the inherent needs of humans and their economy; (2) the requirement to sustain the integrity of the structure and function of both natural and managed ecosystems; (3) the appropriateness of emulating the inherent designs of nature in anthropogenic management systems; (4) the need to make progress to a sustainable economy through greater reliance on renewable resources and more focus on recycling, reusing, and efficient use of materials and energy; (5) the use of ecological economics (or full-cost accounting) to comprehensively take resource depletion and environmental damage into consideration and thereby address issues of natural debt; (6) the need to conserve natural ecosystems and indigenous biodiversity at viable levels; and (7) the desirability of increasing environmental literacy to build social support for sustainable development, resource conservation, and protection of the natural world. Examples are presented of the recent application of the principles of eco-design to the planning and management of human communities, industrial parks and networks, architectural practice, and products. The principles and practices of eco-design have much to contribute to the urgent need to make rapid and tangible progress towards a sustainable human economy. Key words: ecological design, eco-design, sustainable development, community planning, architecture, industrial park, green products, biological conservation.

Forestry practices and biodiversity, with particular reference to the Maritime Provinces of eastern Canada

1994 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill Freedman ◽  
Stephen Woodley ◽  
Judy Loo
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Industrial Facilities ◽  
Levels Of Organization ◽  
Forestry Practices ◽  
Forest Industries ◽  
Ecologically Sustainable

The Canadian forest industries are based on the extensive harvesting and management of forests, with attendant effects on biodiversity at all levels of organization. In large part, conflicts between forestry and biodiversity occur because lands that are harvested and managed are mostly natural and seminatural ecosystems. Prior to being affected by forestry, such lands provided habitat for native species of wild life and their communities. Some of these elements of biodiversity may not find silvicultural habitats, especially plantations, to be suitable to their needs. In addition, the longer term integrity of some natural ecosystems, for example old-growth forests, is not compatible with any but the softest types of exploitation and management. This report discusses interactions of forestry and biodiversity at three levels of organization: (i) genetic variation within populations and species; (ii) the richness of species within communities; and (iii) the richness of community types on the landscape. A broader conclusion of our report is the following: If forestry systems of harvesting and management are to be practised in an ecologically sustainable fashion, then all elements of biodiversity must be accommodated within a landscape comprised of an integration of working lands and ecological reserves. The spatial scale of this integration could be various, ranging from large watersheds, to the "woodsheds" of particular industrial facilities, to provincial and national areas. Therefore, resolution of the substantial conflicts between biodiversity and forestry requires the design of ecologically sustainable landscapes that can provide a flow of timber and other valuated forest products, while still sustaining natural biodiversity resources.Key words: forest management, biodiversity, ecological reserves, eastern Canada, harvesting practices, old growth.

The Biology of Invasive Alien Plants in Canada. 4. Heracleum mantegazzianum Sommier & Levier

2006 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 569-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas A. Page ◽  
Ronald E. Wall ◽  
Stephen J. Darbyshire ◽  
Gerald A. Mulligan
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Leaf Shape ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Invasive Alien Plant ◽  
Heracleum Mantegazzianum

Heracleum mantegazzianum (giant hogweed) is an invasive alien plant of management concern in southern Canada where it has escaped from horticulture and established and spread in natural, ruderal, and agricultural ecosystems. It poses a threat to natural ecosystems and human health, and is also a weed in agricultural and urban areas. It is a member of the Carrot family (Apiaceae) and is closely related to the native species Heracleum maximum Bartram (cow-parsnip). It is a monocarpic perennial, which generally flowers in its 3rd or 4th year. Large size, leaf shape, dark reddish pigments in patches on stems and petioles, and fruit characteristics readily distinguish H. mantegazzianum from other plants in Canada. It is increasingly common in riparian areas, floodplains, and forest edges in or near urban areas in southwestern British Columbia and southern Ontario. Based on herbarium specimens, H. mantegazzianum was first recorded in Ontario in 1949, British Columbia in 1964, Nova Scotia in 1980, Quebec in 1990, and New Brunswick in 2000. The development of dense stands of H. mantegazzianum can also reduce the richness of native plants. Contact with H. mantegazzianum can cause phytophotodermatitis, a serious skin inflammation caused by UV photo-activation of furanocoumarins present in the sap. Control methods include herbicide application, mechanical cutting, and animal grazing, but strategies to address seed dispersal and re-establishment from dormant seed must also be adopted. Widespread establishment in southern Canada suggests that eradication is unlikely. However, range expansion and rapid population growth can be prevented through strategic management including public education. Key words: Giant hogweed, Heracleum mantegazzianum, Apiaceae, HERMZ, invasive plant, weed biology, furanocoumarins

Tending this Fragile Earth, Our Island Home: The Pope's Encyclical in Dialogue with Ecomimesis, a Design Model for Conservation Stewardship

2018 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 745-766
Author(s):  
Lillian C. Woo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Pollution ◽  
Anthropogenic Impact ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Design Solution ◽  
World Population ◽  
Natural Ecosystem ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The World

In the last fifty years, empirical evidence has shown that climate change and environmental degradation are largely the results of increased world population, economic development, and changes in cultural and social norms. Thus far we have been unable to slow or reverse the practices that continue to produce more air and water pollution, soil and ocean degradation, and ecosystem decline. This paper analyzes the negative anthropogenic impact on the ecosystem and proposes a new design solution: ecomimesis, which uses the natural ecosystem as its template to conserve, restore, and improve existing ecosystems. Through its nonintrusive strategies and designs, and its goal of preserving natural ecosystems and the earth, ecomimesis can become an integral part of stabilizing and rehabilitating our natural world at the same time that it addresses the needs of growing economies and populations around the world.

scholarly journals Economic aspects of management and planning of waste processing system development

2019 ◽  
Vol 110 ◽  
pp. 02079
Author(s):  
Edvard Tshovrebov ◽  
Evgeniy Velichko ◽  
Ural Niyazgulov ◽  
Yuliya Sadchikova
Keyword(s):  
System Development ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Environmental Safety ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Economic Damage ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Technological Infrastructure ◽  
Production And Consumption

Annually, increasing volumes of industrial and municipal waste generation and disposal, leading to increasing anthropogenic environmental and sanitary-epidemiological pressure on the environment and, as a consequence, significant environmental damage and associated economic damage to natural ecosystems, represent one of the main threats to environmental safety territories, life and health of the population. At the same time, numerous valuable components extracted from processed production and consumption wastes can be an important source of reserve for the development of industries and sectors of the economy, entrepreneurial activities in the use of secondary resources for production, services, works and energy. This factor dictates the need to search for new sound management, economic, organizational and technical approaches and solutions to lawmaking, planning and forecasting the cost-effective organization of the system of separate collection, processing, disposal, disposal of production and consumption waste, the development of an appropriate industrial, scientific and technological infrastructure, increasing the share of secondary material and energy resources extracted from waste, the development of instruments of state oh support and economic incentives for this activity.

scholarly journals Mapping the patchy legislative landscape of non-native tree species in Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 567-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Pötzelsberger ◽  
Katharina Lapin ◽  
Giuseppe Brundu ◽  
Tim Adriaens ◽  
Vlatko Andonovski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Forest Sector ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Regulatory Intensity ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
June July

Abstract Europe has a history rich in examples of successful and problematic introductions of trees with a native origin outside of Europe (non-native trees, NNT). Many international legal frameworks such as treaties and conventions and also the European Union have responded to the global concern about potential negative impacts of NNT that may become invasive in natural ecosystems. It is, however, national and regional legislation in particular that affects current and future management decisions in the forest sector and shapes the landscapes of Europe. We identified all relevant legal instruments regulating NNT, the different legal approaches and the regulatory intensity in 40 European countries (no microstates). Information on hard and effective soft law instruments were collected by means of a targeted questionnaire and consultation of international and national legislation information systems and databases. In total, 335 relevant legal instruments were in place in June/July 2019 to regulate the use of NNT in the investigated 116 geopolitical legal units (countries as well as sub-national regions with their own legislation). Countries and regions were empirically categorized according to ad hoc-defined legislation indicators. These indicators pay respect to the general bans on the introduction of non-native species, the generally allowed and prohibited NNT, approval mechanisms and specific areas or cases where NNT are restricted or prohibited. Our study revealed a very diverse landscape of legal frameworks across Europe, with a large variety of approaches to regulating NNT being pursued and the intensity of restriction ranging from very few restrictions on species choice and plantation surface area to the complete banning of NNT from forests. The main conclusion is that there is a clear need for more co-ordinated, science-based policies both at the local and international levels to enhance the advantages of NNT and mitigate potential negative effects.

scholarly journals Nutritional adaptations of native plants of the cerrado biome in acid soils

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mundayatan Haridasan
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Native Plants ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Cultivated Plants ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Nutrient Deficiencies ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Native Communities ◽  
Cerrado Biome

Soils of the cerrado biome, mostly oxisols and deep sandy entisols, are acid, dystrophic and poor in available nutrients. These soils are not very different from soils that occur in the Amazon region. However, the open savanna physiognomies of cerrado with lower biomass of their different components are deficient in nutrients at the ecosystem level, unlike the Amazon forests which retain high nutrient reserves in their live biomass. Field crops are susceptible to aluminum and manganese toxicities, besides nutrient deficiencies, in cerrado soils and do not grow well in the absence of liming and fertilization. However, concepts of nutrient deficiencies and toxicities, well established for cultivated plants, should not be extended to native species in natural ecosystems, indiscriminately. Many native plants in the cerrado biome are resistant or tolerant to soil conditions deemed unfavorable for cultivated plants but their geographic distribution, frequency in native communities, growth and productivity are determined by water and nutrient availability and other edaphic conditions. Species growing on acid soils are aluminum tolerant or resistant, since their capacity to absorb essential nutrients, growth and reproduction is not affected by high aluminum levels in the soil. Many common species of the cerrado, instead of excluding aluminum, absorb and transport it to leaves and accumulate it in different tissues including leaves and seeds whereas others do not survive in the absence of exchangeable aluminum, even though no specific role of Al in plant metabolism is yet established.

scholarly journals The Threat of Pests and Pathogens and the Potential for Biological Control in Forest Ecosystems

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1579
Author(s):  
Amel Balla ◽  
Allaoua Silini ◽  
Hafsa Cherif-Silini ◽  
Ali Chenari Bouket ◽  
Warren Keith Moser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Microbial Inoculants ◽  
Forest Pests ◽  
Land Use Conversion ◽  
Chemical Pesticides

Forests are an essential component of the natural environment, as they support biodiversity, sequester carbon, and play a crucial role in biogeochemical cycles—in addition to producing organic matter that is necessary for the function of terrestrial organisms. Forests today are subject to threats ranging from natural occurrences, such as lightning-ignited fires, storms, and some forms of pollution, to those caused by human beings, such as land-use conversion (deforestation or intensive agriculture). In recent years, threats from pests and pathogens, particularly non-native species, have intensified in forests. The damage, decline, and mortality caused by insects, fungi, pathogens, and combinations of pests can lead to sizable ecological, economic, and social losses. To combat forest pests and pathogens, biocontrol may be an effective alternative to chemical pesticides and fertilizers. This review of forest pests and potential adversaries in the natural world highlights microbial inoculants, as well as research efforts to further develop biological control agents against forest pests and pathogens. Recent studies have shown promising results for the application of microbial inoculants as preventive measures. Other studies suggest that these species have potential as fertilizers.

scholarly journals Pteris vittata (Chinese ladder brake fern).

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanine Vélez-Gavilán
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Pteris Vittata ◽  
Native Range ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Vast Number ◽  
Brunei Darussalam ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
European Mediterranean Region

Abstract Pteris vittata is a herbaceous fern native to the tropics and subtropics of the Old World. It is mostly found in disturbed and urban areas, usually growing on limestone substrates, including buildings walls, pavement cracks and tombs. Although no details are available on its introduction to areas outside its native range, the dispersal of the species occurs naturally through air-borne spores or by its occasional use as an ornamental. It is reported as an urban weed in the European Mediterranean region and in Lucknow in India. In Azerbaijan it is categorized as a species that has the ability to self-sustain for a certain period of time, but not invading natural ecosystems. P. vittata is categorized in Florida, USA as an exotic species that has increased in abundance or frequency but has yet to alter natural plant communities. P. vittata is reported as invasive on Diego García Island, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Micronesia, Guam, Palau, USA (Florida and Hawaii), Cuba and Brazil. Although there are no data available on its effects on natural habitats or native species, it is still regarded as an invasive species due to the vast number of spores produced.

scholarly journals Spondias mombin as a reservoir of fruit fly parasitoid populations in the Eastern Amazon: an undervalued ecosystem service

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11530
Author(s):  
Maria do Socorro Miranda de Sousa ◽  
Ezequiel de Deus ◽  
Adilson Lopes Lima ◽  
Cristiane Ramos de Jesus ◽  
Salustiano Vilar da Costa Neto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Fruit Fly ◽  
Fruit Trees ◽  
Fruit Flies ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Spondias Mombin ◽  
Fruit Fly Parasitoids

Fruit flies are economically important pests that infest a wide variety of host trees. The environmental damage caused by traditional pesticide-based control methods has prompted scientists to seek less damaging alternatives such as biological control by native species. Parasitoids, especially Braconidae species, have excellent potential as biological control agents for fruit flies, being both generalists and well distributed geographically. Native fruit trees that support medium or high levels of these parasitoids could therefore play an important role in biological control strategies. A good potential example is Spondias mombin L. in the Brazilian Amazon, which hosts several species of fruit flies and associated parasitoids. Here, we provide a unique synthesis of over nearly two decades of data from the east Amazon, clearly demonstrating the potential of S. mombin to act as a source and reservoir of fruit fly parasitoids. This important ecosystem service (biological control) provided by the parasitoids and supported by S. mombin could be further enhanced through conservation of this plant species in its natural environment.

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