Ecosystems at Risk1. Identify the case study of the ecosystem at risk which you have chosenand describe and map its location. The ecosystem at risk that I have chosen to research is the HimalayanMountain range. Considering the mountain range covers a very large area,the ecosystem type has been narrowed down to the Alpine variety.
The 2 500kilometre long Himalayas stretch across three countries; India, Nepal andChina (Tibet). The width of the mountain range varies from 100-400kilometres, giving a total area of 594 400 square kilometres. pichttp://www. nationalgeographic. com/xpeditions/atlas/index.
html?Parent=asia&Rootmap=nepal2. Outline the main features of the functioning of this case study withparticular reference to what makes this ecosystem vulnerableand/orresilient. The alpine ecosystem of the Himalayas begins at about 3 000 metresabove sea level. The sheer height of the Himalayas produce a number ofdifferent climate variations. On the southern slopes of the Himalayas inIndia, heavy rain and snowfall is received yearly, but the northern slopesof Tibet frequently remain untouched by rainfall.
The taller mountainshave temperatures that stay below zero degrees all year round, withpermanent ice, snow and wind speeds that can reach up to 160 kilometres perhour. Temperature ranges in summer can reach a maximum of 12 degrees at 3000 metres. Minimum temperatures are found higher up at around 5 000metres, where the temperature rarely reaches above 0 degrees. Due to the alpine conditions, the soil quality is very low infertility due to the poor nutrient cycling. Without trees the biomasslevels are lowered, meaning that there is hardly any decaying material thatcan adequately return nutrients to the soil.
The poor soil quality canonly support certain types of vegetation, this includes junipers, mossesand rhododendrons. Commonly these plants form meadows that can be found upto heights of 5 000 metres. Above this height, it is rare to see anyvegetation as plants cannot survive in frost. The fragile nature of thenutrient cycle and energy transfer rates make the Himalayas very vulnerableto change. pichttp://www. trekkinginhimalayas.
com/photo_gallery. cfm?pno=4There are only a few carnivores that can survive above the tree line,for example the Snow Leopard, Himalayan Brown Bear, Red Panda and TibetanYak. Animals that habitat the area have adapted to the climatic conditionsof the Himalayas. In Summer, animals migrate higher up to the grasslands,and in Winter they migrate lower for warmer temperatures. The HimalayanBlack Bear hibernates, but unlike other bears, there is no set season sincethe weather is always at freezing point. Carnivores have also adapted tothe smaller amount of food, making the carnivores proportionally smallerhaving to feed off small animals like rabbits.
The primary consumers inthe food chain is hugely vulnerable as the carnivores have a limited foodsupply in the high altitudes. Secondary consumers can survive above thetree line because of the vegetation that still grows up to 5 000 metres. This makes the herbivores resilient to change because the vegetation growthcovers thousands of square kilometres and because the mosses, meadows andgrasslands etc. have adapted to the alpine conditions. pichttp://ananta. hypermart.
net/NepalAlbumThree. htm3. Explain the impacts of natural stress and human induced stress wherepossible include rates of change. The characteristics of an alpine ecosystem make it exceptionallyvulnerable to natural and human induced stress. The Himalayas are prone toa regular occurrence of natural disasters because the mountains liedirectly on a fault between the Eurasian and Indian Australian tectonicplates. Being the home to the highest point on Earth, the Himalayas isunsurprisingly a popular tourist location.
As a result humans have “takencontrol” of the area, and simultaneously destroying the ecosystem. pichttp://pubs. usgs. gov/gip/volc/fig37. gifEarthquakes take an immediate effect on the Himalayas, triggeringgiant landslides.
Large portions of rocks and boulders break off themountain slope and travel towards the bottom, destroying large amounts offlora and fauna. Earthquakes also make the terrain unstable, rendering thearea useless. Although glaciers are very tiny compared to what they werehundreds of years ago, they are still considerably significant in impactingthe natural environment. Glaciers are a long-term major cause for massamounts of erosion, where there is little vegetation cover in the alpineregions. The terminal moraine which gets left behind by a glacier can bethe cause of future landslides. Avalanches have an instant impact, withthousands of tons of ice falling down the slope of distances up to 1.
5kilometres. It is in the alpine regions that these avalanches take place. Land forms are often changed by avalanches as the snow settles with rockfragments permanently. Alpine pastures and grasslands get buried under theice, destroying anything in its path. pichttp://rip. physics.
unk. edu/nepal/NPC. htmlLandslides can also be the consequence of human induced stress. Theconstruction of roads and pathways can be the cause of landslides over botha long and short period of time.
When constructing a pathway huge chunksof mountain is blasted away, disrupting the rock formations and causing itto become unsettled. The tall peaks of the Himalayas have become the mostpopular mountaineering spot in the world, attracting hundreds of trekkers. The visitors leave behind tons of litter, polluting the environment andendangering the animals. Whilst it is uncommon today, quarrying in theHimalayas took place. Tons of top soil and small vegetation was removed,making a barren landscape that has little nutritious value.
The beneficialtop soil is a key factor in keeping the ecosystem healthy, with it removedthe ecosystem is disrupted and can collapse. Himalayan flora is oftentaken for medical purposes. Herbs are taken from entire mountain slopesand meadows by the locals. They are processed and are put into perfumesand medications.
4. Evaluate a range of strategies used at a variety of scales which arebeing used to manage the ecosystem chosen. Both the Indian and Nepalese governments have established conservationprograms to protect the Himalayan mountain range. A number of nationalparks and sanctuaries have been created to help preserve the biodiversityof the region.
Nepal has a total of ten currently in place, that is, sevennational parks and three wildlife reserves. These are under the localscale of the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Department of theNepalese government. Although these parks are starting to have a positiveeffect on the Himalayas, the conservation areas are simply inadequate. Thetotal area the parks and reserves cover is just over 20 000 squarekilometres, compared to the 594 400 square kilometres that the Himalayanregion spreads across. The Sagarmatha National Park is an example of a global strategy beingused to manage the Himalayan ecosystem. The park is currently on the WorldHeritage List and was added in 1979.
The Sagarmatha is located 3 000metres above sea level, successfully making it the highest national park inthe world. The park centres around Mt Everest, covering 1 148 squarekilometres, thus including a diverse climatic environment. The land abovethe tree line is classified into two zones, alpine scrub and the upperalpine. In the upper alpine at 5 750 metres, vegetation ceases to grow inthe harsh conditions.
At this height, the alpine environment is verysimilar to that of a tundra ecosystem, where there is a permanent snowlineand no trees can grow. The Sagarmatha has been very successful inprotecting a number of endangered species such as the wild yak, red panda,snow leopard, musk deer and the Himalayan black bear. The park has setregulations to further ensure the condition of the ecosystem stays healthy,all flora and fauna must not be disturbed, rubbish must be buried or put ina refuse pit, mountain bikes are prohibited and there is no climbing ofcliffs below 6000 metres unless you have a permit from theNepalMountaineering Association. pic pichttp://library. thinkquest. org/10131/ff_park_everest.
htmlThe Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve is a local strategy used to ensure thesafety of animals outside of the reserve. The Dhorpatan is the onlyhunting reserve in the Himalayas and hunters must pay a large game fee ifthey want to enter. Although animals are hunted as trophy’s the reserveis a smart way to satisfy the hunters, in return the number of animalskilled is kept to a bare minimum to what may be occurring if the reservewas not offered. The reserve extends in elevation from 2 850 – 7 000metres. The total area the reserve covers is 1 325 square kilometres,located in the Dhaulagiri Himalaya range in Western Nepal. picThe Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) isaregionalmanagement strategy that is the first and largest conservation area inNepal.
The ACAP stretches across 7 629 square kilometres of Nepal,including 55 villages. Since there is a large community included in theregion, the project focuses and relies on the traditional ways of theindigenous people for a sound conservation program. The goal of the ACAPis that the villagers will ultimately run the whole project, with littleinterference from the government and other institutions. The project alsoconcentrates on education and awareness in hopes of keeping conservationefforts at a maximum.
The Annapurna is a highly favouredtouristdestination with over 40 000 tourists hiking the area. An entry fee hasbeen implemented to lower the number of people visiting the area. pichttp://rip. physics.
unk. edu/nepal/NPC. htmlBIBLIOGRAPHYDang. R.
(1998). Flowers of the Western Himalayas: Environmental threats toHimalayan flora. India: Wilderness Films. Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation: Sagarmatha NationPark. (n/a). Government of Nepal.
Available Online: http://www. south-asia. com/dnpwc/Sagarmatha%20national%20Park/park-regu. htm 10/02/04Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2003).
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New York: Oxford. Himalayas: Where Earth Meets Sky. (1997). Think Quest team. AvailableOnline: http://library. thinkquest.
org/10131 28/01/04Kleeman. G. (2000). A Geography of Interactions 2: Ecosystems at Risk. Australia: Heinemann.
Managing Wholes: Ecosystem processes. (2003). Donovan. P. Available Online:http://managingwholes.
com/eco2. htm 25/01/04Nicholson. N. (1975).
World’s Wild Places: The Himalayas. Amsterdam: Time-Life International. Ongoing Projects of KMTNC: Annapurna Conservation Area Project. (n/a) KingMahendra Trust for Nature Conservation. Available Online: http://www. south-asia.
com/Kingmah/tonproj. htm 16/02/04World Heritage: Sagarmatha National Park. (2000). World Heritage team.Available Online: http://whc.unesco.org/sites/120.htm 09/02/04———————–A Mt Everest GlacierMountain Peaks inSagarmarthaHimalayan Black Bear The Snowline in AnnapurnaRhododendronsTibetan YakDhaulagiri Mountain
