Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the insect is frost-temperature weather. That would not happen, if at all, until winter, some six
months away.
However, upon inspection, we discovered that the willows were not being killed but were only
losing the main stem and sending up several sucker branches. The effect was to make a bushier
plant that promoted the specific type of nesting habitat that we desired. In contrast, healthy or less
stressed plants were able to prevent infestation and did not change their growth form. We learned
that the interactions of insect and plants can sometimes lead to positive outcomes.
Depending on the species involved, habitat management can be an annual activity or one that
cycles every few years. The replacement of some events is necessary to simulate the occurrence
on-site under significantly different circumstances. Having the various habitat elements present
on-site for a species is needed for residency.
Restoration of Cultural Ecosystems
It has long been known that the many indigenous peoples of the world actively managed their
lands for the benefits they could derive from the flora and fauna. Periodic burning of the under-
growth was a routine followed by tribes in California and other areas of the western United States.
This maintained areas in ways that promoted the presence of favored animals used for food, uten-
sils, and clothing (Anderson 2005). Marshes of many types are manipulated to promote specific
plants used in basketry (Rea 1983), promote fish for food, and provide numerous other materials
for living (Blackburn and Anderson 1993).
In many regions of the world, restorationists have been working with indigenous peoples to re-
store cultural ecosystems so that native peoples can continue to gather resources from these areas
in addition to continuing their traditional spiritual practices. This relationship of people to the
land has gained attention with the recent efforts to restore the cultural and biological environment
of the Marsh Arabs of Iraq (box 11-3).
Box 11-3. Restoration Project Highlight: Restoring Water Flow Is Commonly the
Key Ingredient in the Restoration of Large Wetland Areas
Location: Restoring the marshlands of Iraq in the Tigris-Euphrates river system
In the late twentieth century, the regime in power in Iraq drained the marshlands
in southern Iraq as a means of controlling the rebellious Shiite Muslims, who used
the marsh to hide. This action also seriously affected a group known as Marsh Arabs,
or 'ma'adan' , who had occupied this area for millennia (Alwash 2013). A study re-
leased in 2009 showed that the marshlands were reduced by 90 percent. The Marsh
Arabs depended on resources obtained from the marsh for their entire livelihood.
Even though this major impact to the marsh was fairly recent, it has had a major
lasting impact.
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