Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
prompts. each. species. to. follow. its. own. individualistic. adaptation. trajectory,. as.
predicted,.we.will.see.plant.communities.developing.that.have.no.analog.today.
(Williams. and. Jackson. 2007).. For. example,. we. know. from. the. paleoecological.
record.that.contemporary.tree.species.were.once.found.in.assemblages.that.are.
different.from.any.that.we.see.today..If.we.consider.the.huge.number.of.invasive.
and. non-native. species. that. have. been. translocated. globally,. we. already. have.
many.no-analog.communities.
Restoration. benchmarks. like. “historical. range. of. variation”. become. obsolete. if.
past.climate.is.not.like.the.present.or.the.future.(Mitchell.and.Duncan.2009;.Scott.et.
al..2009;.Grifith.et.al..2009)..This.is.a.problem,.in.that.our.knowledge.of.past.and.
present.native.plant.communities.is.the.foundation.of.restoration.ecology..If.no-ana-
log. communities. start. to. replace. native. species. assemblages. across. the. landscape,.
it.will.be.more.dificult.to.deine.what.the.appropriate.management.objectives.at.a.
management. unit. should. be.. What. constitutes. biological. integrity. in. a. no-analog.
plant. community?. Even. ecological. processes. such. as. stream. low,. ire. frequency,.
and.nutrient.cycling.will.change.as.temperature,.precipitation,.and.the.biota.change.
In. the. Refuge. System,. climate. change. has. the. potential. to. require. adjustments.
in. CCP. objectives.. The. Refuge. System. Policy. on. Biological. Integrity,. Diversity,.
and.Environmental.Health.directs.stations.to.“assess.historic.conditions.and.com-
pare.them.to.current.conditions”.(US.Fish.and.Wildlife.Service.2001,.Sec..3.9.C)..
This.provides.a.benchmark.of.comparison.for.the.relative.intactness.of.ecosystems'.
current. functions. and. processes.. With. contemporary. climate. change,. this. historic.
benchmark.may.not.be.an.appropriate.conservation.target.
Ecosystem.services.are.much.discussed.in.the.ecological.literature,.but.they.are.
rarely.explicitly.represented.in.agency.or.government.resource.management.policies.
(Daily.et.al..2009)..However,.it.is.likely.that.the.public.will.demand.new.policies.that.
require. resource. managers. to. account. for. ecosystem. services. derived. from. public.
lands..They.may.need.to.adjust.their.management.objectives.and.work.to.optimize.
ecosystem. services. as. well. as. more. traditional. conservation. values.. For. example,.
conservation.lands.ilter.and.deliver.clean.water;.also,.carbon.is.stored.in.old-growth.
and.long-rotation.forests,.perennial.grassland.soils,.and.wetlands..Landscapes.with.
a.high.interspersion.of.native.plants.support.native.bee.pollinators.as.well.as.honey.
bees. and. thus. provide. “free”. ecosystem. services. to. adjacent. fruit. and. nut. farmers.
(Winfree.2008)..Carbon.credits.provide.a.currency.for.calculating.the.“carbon”.costs.
and. beneits. involved. in. alternative. land-uses;. these. credits. may. provide. a. source.
of.revenue.to.both.private.and.public.resource.managers.in.the.future.(Nelson.et.al..
2008).
Given.that.the.area.of.land.dominated.by.native.plants.and.animals.is.shrinking.
worldwide. due. to. competing. human. land. uses,. public-resource. managers. may. be.
called.upon. to. work. with.private. landowners. to. modify. private. land-management.
objectives. to. include. conservation. of. species,. ecosystems,. and. ecosystem. services.
(Polasky.et.al..2008;.Swift.et.al..2004;.Herzon.and.Helenius.2008)..This.will.include.
both.lands.managed.for.agriculture.as.well.as.urban.and.suburban.landscapes..There.
are. many. potential. ways. to. support. native. species. assemblages. as. well. as. impor-
tant.ecological.processes.in.both.agricultural.and.urban.landscapes,.but.it.is.likely.
that.private.landowners.will.need.inancial.incentives.to.fully.realize.this.potential.
