Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Human Impacts on Deciduous Forest

Human Impacts on Deciduous Forest Autumn Blaze Maple Tree The autumn blaze maple tree is a unique combination of good traits from the red maple and silver maple. The qualities mixed by the autumn blaze maple tree are brilliant orange-red color in the fall, dense and healthy branching, and enhanced growth that protects from insects and disease. They are known for their unexcelled speed of growth. The autumn blaze maple tree can also live in a variety of climates, ranging from the frigid cold of zone three, to the humid south of zone eight. The autumn blaze maple tree will grow to fifty or sixty feet tall and have a mature spread of thirty to forty feet. They are not a susceptible to storm damage as the silver maple, as they received stronger wood from their red maple parent. The autumn blaze maple tree also has the ability to grow in most soil conditions. The leaves of the autumn blaze maple tree resemble the leaves of a silver maple tree, being opposite, simple, and five-lobed with toothy margins. The deep red veins of the leaves are derived from the red maple. The summer color of the autumn blaze maple tree is a rich medium green, which turns into orange and crimson in the fall. The leaves of the autumn blaze maple tree will last longer on the branch than those of other maple trees. The Birch Birch species are generally small to medium-sized trees or shrubs, mostly of temperate climates. The simple leaves are alternate, singly or doubly serrate, feather-veined, petiolate and stipulate. They often appear in pairs, but these pairs are really borne on spur-like, two-leaved, lateral branchlets. The fruit is a small samara, although the wings may be obscure in some species. They differ from the alders (Alnus, other genus in the family) in that the female catkins are not woody and disintegrate at maturity, falling apart to release the seeds, unlike the woody, cone-like female alder catkins. The bark of all birches is characteristically marked with long, horizontal lenticels, and often separates into thin, papery plates, especially upon the paper birch. It is resistant to decay, due to the resinous oil it contains. Its decided color gives the common names gray, white, black, silver and yellow birch to different species. European larch Larix decidua, common name European larch, is a species of larch native to the mountains of central Europe, in the Alps and Carpathian Mountains, with also low populations in southern Poland and southern Lithuania. Larix decidua is a medium-size to large deciduous coniferous tree reaching 25-45 m tall, with a trunk up to 1 m diameter (exceptionally, to 55 m tall and 2 m diameter). The crown is conic when young, becoming broad with age; the main branches are level to upswept, with the side branches often pendulous. The shoots are dimorphic, with growth divided into long shoots (typically 10-50 cm long) and bearing several buds, and short shoots only 1-2 mm long with only a single bud. The leaves are needle-like, light green, 2-4 cm long which turn bright yellow before they fall in the autumn, leaving the pale yellow-buff shoots bare until the next spring. The cones are erect, ovoid-conic, 2-6 cm long, with 30-70 erect or slightly incurved (not reflexed) seed scales; they are green variably flushed red when immature, turning brown and opening to release the seeds when mature, 4-6 months after pollination. The old cones commonly remain on the tree for many years, turning dull grey-black.It is very cold tolerant, able to survive winter temperatures down to at least -50 °C, and is among the tree line trees in the Alps, reaching 2400 m altitude, though most abundant from 1000-2000 m. It only grows on well-drained soils, avoiding waterlogged ground. Deciduous forest animals A wide variety of mammals, birds, insects, and reptiles can be found in a deciduous forest biome. Mammals that are commonly found in a deciduous forest include bears, raccoons, squirrels, skunks, wood mice, and in the U.S., deer can be found in these forests. While bobcats, mountain lions, timber wolves, and coyotes are natural residents of these forests, they have nearly been eliminated by humans because of their threat to human life. Other animals that were native to this biome, such as elk and bison, have been hunted to near extinction. Migration and hibernation are two adaptations used by the animals in this biome. While a wide variety of birds migrate, many of the mammals hibernate during the cold winter months when food is in short supply. Another behavioral adaptation some animals have adopted is food storage. The nuts and seeds that are plentiful during the summer are gathered by squirrels, chipmunks, and some jays, and are stored in the hollows of trees for use during the winter months. Cold temperatures help prevent the decomposition of the nuts and seeds. Deciduous forest plants A deciduous forest typically has three to four, and sometimes five, layers of plant growth. Tall deciduous trees make up the top layer of plant growth, and they create a moderately dense forest canopy. Although the canopy is moderately dense, it does allow sunlight to reach the forest floor. This sunlight allows plants in the other layers to grow. The second layer of plant growth includes saplings and species of trees that are naturally shorter in stature. A third layer (or understory) would include shrubs. Forest herbs, such as wildflowers and berries, make up a fourth layer. During the spring, before the deciduous trees leaf out, these herbs bloom and grow quickly in order to take advantage of the sunlight. A fifth layer would include mosses and lichens that grow on tree trunks. Plant adaptations In the spring, deciduous trees begin producing thin, broad, light-weight leaves. This type of leaf structure easily captures the sunlight needed for food production (photosynthesis). The broad leaves are great when temperatures are warm and there is plenty of sunlight. However, when temperatures are cold, the broad leaves expose too much surface area to water loss and tissue damage. To help prevent this damage from occurring, deciduous trees make internal and physical adaptations that are triggered by changes in the climate. Image of deciduous forest trees with leaves of red and orange. Cooler temperatures and limited sunlight are two climatic conditions that tell the tree to begin adapting. In the Fall, when these conditions occur, the tree cuts off the supply of water to the leaves and seals off the area between the leaf stem and the tree trunk. With limited sunlight and water, the leaf is unable to continue producing chlorophyll, the green stuff in the leaves, and as the chlorophyll decreases the leaves change color. The beautiful display of brilliant red, yellow, and gold leaves, associated with deciduous forests in the fall, is a result of this process. Most deciduous trees shed their leaves, once the leaves are brown and dry. Humans in the ecosystem The original broad lived deciduous forest that covered most of the lowlands of temperate Europe have almost disappeared to give way to an intensively farmed landscape. (Peterken, G. F., 1996). European natural nemoral woodland is considered to be among the most degraded ecosystems in the world (JÄâ„ ¢drzejewska et al., 1994). Although there is the perception that the greatest concern should be held for tropical rain forests, temperate deciduous forests have a smaller fraction of original vegetation remaining than boreal or tropical forests, and also have been more severely impacted by land use change and air pollution. Remaining deciduous forests in the Fennoscandian boreal landscape have high ecological value, and are considered as key components of the forest landscape. In Europe and North America, less than 1% of all temperate deciduous forests remain inundisturbed state, free of logging, grazing, and deforestation or other intensive use. In  south  and  central  Sweden,  during  the  20th  century much  of  the  deciduous  forests  were  transferred  to  coniferous  forest  plantations, while  the  remaining  deciduous  forests  are  to  a  large  extent  also  characterized by  commercial  forestry.  Estimates  by  SEPA  indicates  that  less  than  2%  of  the original  distribution  of  deciduous  forests  are  still  intact,  in  terms  of  natural forest  dynamics. In Norway more than 20% of the broad-leaved forests are logged and replaced with non-native tree species. The forest sector continues this destructive management, manipulating living forests into boring monoculture of non-native species. This is the biggest threat to this unique and biodiversity rich forest ecosystem, for which Norway has an international responsabiliity. The history of deciduous forest in Scandinavia: The example of picea albes Although climate changes are considered as the driving force of forest modification, (Webb 1987), the actual vegetation landscape of Europe is the result of thousands years of interferences between human activity and forests. (Behre, 1988; Huntley Webb, 1989). This can be illustrated by the immigration of Picea abies into Fennoscandia. Both human disturbance and climatic change are responsible factors (Tallantire, 1977; Nunez Vuorela, 1979; Huntley, 1988; Dahl, 1990). To retrace forest landscape history we can use pollen analysis (Bradshaw, 1988; Bradshaw Zackrisson, 1990). The major deciduous tree species in the Fennoscandian boreal forest, Betula pendula, B. pubescens and Populus tremula, all depend on disturbance for their perpetuation (Zackrisson, 1985; Nikolov Helmisaari, 1992) Pollen records and charcoal remains provide evidence of intense deforestation for agricultural uses 4000 years ago in Southern Scandinavia. This clearing facilitated a dramatic change in the forest composition, although at the beginning in southern Sweden forest where dominated by deciduous trees and Spruce were found only in the northern and central part of Sweden,(Bjorse Bradshaw 1998, Lindbladh Bradshaw, 1998) During the following two millennia, the spruce spread southwards rapidly and is now the dominant forest species in most of southern Sweden. This process has been explained as being based on a combination of climatic changes and of anthropogenic influences such as grazing by domestic animals, selective cuttings, pollarding, and burning, which has been unfavorable for deciduous tree species (Nilsson, 1997a, Lindbladh et al., 2000). Since the mid-19th century the Swedish boreal land- scape has been transformed by forestry operations, which have produced intensively managed forests, mainly even-aged conifer monocultures, in which production of tim- ber and pulpwood are the main goals (Ostlund et al. 1997; Linder Ostlund, 1998; Axelsson Ostlund, 2001) The landscape perspective has come to play an important role in efforts to achieve sustainable forestry, especially regarding the protection of biodiversity However, many temperate zone economies have shifted from rural, agricultural to urban manufacturing and technologically driven economies. This has led to large-scale agricultural abandonment and the reversion of agricultural lands back to forests. Recent studies indicate an increase in forest area and volumes in both North America and Europe (Kauppi et al., 1992; Houghton, 1995). Restoration and management of deciduous forests Temperate deciduous forests are important to regional economies as a source of wood, they provide many ecological services, and they play a major role in the global carbon cycle The need to repair habitat and restore forest structure and function is recognized throughout the boreal and temperate zone as a component of sustainable forest management. Forest restoration is a complex task, complicated by diverse ecological and social conditions, that challenges our understanding of forest ecosystems. Forest are human dominated ecosystems. Reconstructing forests where they are now absent, as well as altering existing forests to more natural conditions, are important aspects of sustainable forest management. Rare herbaceous species, lichens, mosses, insects and birds that are dependent on old, dying and dead deciduous trees occur in these forests (Sturesson, 1983; Lundqvist, 1986; Wikars As, 1991) In Sà ¶derà ¥sen National Park Sweden CONCLUSION: WHAT FUTURE FOR  TEMPERATE FORESTS? Long, long ago forests of oak, elm, beech, chestnut, maple, ash, poplar, linden, birch, and many other species blanketedmost of the lowlands of Europe. Similar forests covered much of the northeastern United States. Many of those forests have gone, cleared by long-dead settlers to make way for farms. Farms were needed, of course. People must be fed-and so must the draft animals that helped the farmers till the land. But forests have always been needed. Most furniture, house frames, floors, and everyday tools are made wholly or partly from wood. This book is made from paper manufactured from what were once trees growing in a forest. Wood was once the only fuel that heated every home, from the kings palace and the barons castle to the villagers cottage. It cooked everyones meals, and the only way to obtain hotwater for washing was to place a cauldron over a wood fire. Many people burn wood to keep warm even today. We mayboast of living in the Information Age, but the truth is that we live in the Wooden Age, and we always have. Nowadays a new use has been found for our forests, basedon a deeper understanding and appreciation of the way they function. Forests are seen not simply as sources of raw materials and fuel, but as living communities of plants, animals, fungi, and organisms so small they can be seen only with the aid of a microscope. The forest reveals itself as a wonderland of diversity, a community of living organisms so vast and complex as to be barely comprehensible. Most North Americans and Europeans now live in cities. The countryside and its forests are remote from the sidewalks, subways, city blocks, and suburban sprawl, and city parks are pale imitations of genuine countryside. This makes the forests still more special-and valuable. The forest is a place to visit. It is where families can walk, children can play, and naturalists can observe what is around them. It is where scientists can study the planet we all share, and where students can learn. Throughout much of the Tropics, forests are being cleared, although strenuous efforts are being made to halt the clearances. In temperate regions, on the other hand, the forests are expanding. Forests that have stood for centuries, known as old-growth forests in most of the world and as ancient woodland in Britain, are protected. The protection is not always effective and valued forests are sometimes lost, often through illegal logging, but conservation bodies are increasingly vigilant and the chainsaws can no longer enter the forest unchallenged. It seems certain, therefore, that the temperate forests will survive long into the future. Changes in the climate may alter their composition, but forests are not static; their composition is changing all the time. Trees come and go, but the forest will remain. Of that we may be certain.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Theories of Social Ecology Essays -- Social Ecology

All three theories by Heidegger, Bookchin, and Naess are based on the normative assumption: humans perceived themselves as being distinct from a world that unites both humans and non-humans. To better understand the distinguishments that each author makes in his theory, I will reconstruct each of their assumption. After that, we will explore the rational fashioning of integrative ways and the problems that it raises. In conclusion, there may be a reiteration of the assumption in our effort to act ethically according to the ecosystem. Heidegger’s theory orbits around the idea that humans are mortal stewards of things on the earth. He believes that humans should consider and respect non-human life forms as part of this comprehensive world in all dimensions of earth, sky, divinities, and their roles in their relative locations. In the same manner, non-humans share an undiscriminating relationship closely knit together in a network by their functions and bestowals. Because of this proximity, human’s stewardship should not promote egocentricity or superiority over non-human items. This responsibility does not seek selfish coercion, but deferential regards to such items in order to bring forth diversity and life. His assumption here implies that humans are like tenants responsible to take care of the rest of the earth as a shared home for all living things. Along with this heuristic, Heidegger supports the saving, preserving, dwelling, building, and integrating of our daily lives with respect to the whole earth. Similarly, Bookchin believes in a respectful co-evolving community of life on earth. His theory of social ecology characterized humans as citizens of a community. Although he does not press on equality like Naess does in... ... life for all or do we seek to use our power and values to dominate? If our treatment of our own kind is considered unjust, consider how our treatment of non-human life forms must be. As I have mentioned earlier, the consequences of our actions and values may be backfired at us and passed to future generations. Perhaps we are ignorant towards the outcome of the transformation we impose on non-human life or perhaps we are, unfortunately, ignorant towards the destruction of our own flourishing of life. Work Cited Sessions, George. â€Å"Arne Naess: The Deep Ecological Movement.† Deep Ecology for the 21st Century. Ed. George Sessions. Boston: Shambhala Publication, Inc., 1995. 64-84. Print. Sessions, George. â€Å"Arne Naess: The Eight Points Revisited.† Deep Ecology for the 21st Century. Ed. George Sessions. Boston: Shambhala Publication, Inc., 1995. 213-221. Print.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Employment and Family Essay

This paper is about Family Related Issued: Family and Medical Act, in studying the case where it matters that a parent literally had nothing to do with a biological child in order for the child to take advantage of the Family and Medical Act (FMLA) to care for that parent. The motive in this paper is to determine the size of the business can have any effect on whether Toney is eligible for family leave under the FMLA. I will discuss whether Herman can or cannot imply that if Tony takes a leave of absence under the FMLA, he may not have a job when he comes back. In this paper I will give describe who is covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993? In this case I will explain the extent to which an employer can make his or her own determination as to the eligibility of an employer under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Explain if it matters that a parent literally had nothing to do with a biological child in order for the child to take advantage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for that parent. The Family and Medical Act is a law endorsed by the United States that needs big companies top management team to offer its employees, the coverage to (FMLA) for their job compensations due to a short term or long term serious health illness that effect the employee to be off from work because they need to assist a family member, spouse pregnancy, or care of children. In the case it did not matter if Tony was his biological son or not. In the Family and Medical Leave Act there is a limit on the amount of sick and vacation time that can be used and it is apparently stated in this law. Also, if there is enough time they are allowed to by law. With a lot of companies they now used PTO days that include vacation and medical days at work that employees can use after six months or one year depending on the business. In was not specified in the video how long Tony had been employed with the company, as the request was for three weeks off. Under normal circumstances the business would ask foe a written request for the leave of absence or medial leave on the FMLA form. And the company would also like to have at least a two week notice in most causes so the employee would have time to get a substitute while Tony is out on leave. Explain whether the size of the business can have any effect on whether Tony is eligible for the family leave under the FMLA. Herman thinking and his thoughts was a concerned for the company, but the business size does not matter. Herman is utilizing Tony as a business prerequisite from medically taking care of his father that is in need of his assistance. This companies has more that enough employee that could cover Tony while on leave, though Herman shows concern about the sales of automobiles being sold due Tony absence. Herman main issues of Tony taking time off is because of the affect it will have on their business. Even more this makes Tony eligible for the FMLA during this time. (Halbert, Ingulli 2010) Explain whether Herman can or cannot imply that if Tony takes a leave of absence under the FMLA, he may not have a job when he returns. Herman cannot imply if Tony takes a leave under the FMLA, but he must make Tony aware that there is not guarantee that he will have a job when he is able to come back to work. This kind of action or treatment is not fair at all and the FMLA Act protects the employees if they are eligible to take a leave to assist their family of serious illness, to take care of newborn, or accommodate other family responsibilities. Because Tony is a valuable employee, one of the companies top auto salesman by word of mouth as number one marketing strategy. Herman has a great concerned, that he may not have another strong salesman that could fulfill the service like Tony provided for the company and to the customers (2010). Describe who is covered by the Family and Medical Act (FMLA) of 1993. The Family and Medical Act of 1993 were put into place to promote the stability and economic security of families as well as the nation’s interest in preserving the integrity of families. The Family and Medical Act applies to any employer in the private sector who employers 50 or more employees each working at least 20 calendar seeks in the current or preceding calendar year. This law covers all state, local governments, and local education agencies. Title II of FMLA covers most federal employees, who are subject to regulations issued by the Office of Personnel Management. Also, the employer can not use the practice if forcing employees to behave in an involuntary manner such as threats or intimidation of their jobs should they chose to take a leave under the FMLA. (Halbert, Ingulli 2010). Explain the extent to which an employer can make his or her own determination as to the eligibility of an employee under the Family and Medical Leave Act. An employer determines the eligibility of the employees based on the annual worked hours by the employee. Human Resource also request that a written FMLA form is completed with end two weeks of the request leave. Should an employee have not been notified within a 30 day the employer can make a decision of eligibility, causing a deferral of the FMLA? In addition, an employer is providing medical certification which would prove the leave would clarify eligibility for leave. If there is reason to believe by the employee that the employer does not plan to return to work at the end of the leave the employee has the right to terminate the FMLA request. Employer also has the right to terminate the FMLA as well if there falsified information given by the employer. Halbert, Ingulli 2010). The Family and Medical Leave Act is a benefit for companies, employees and families in the place of work to allow ones job functions, and personal responsibilities to be taken into consideration. During the time of leave the employees receive an income and security doing the time off. Other benefits to employees is receiving aide from relatives in the time of need, and the organization have an advantage from yearly d ecrease in staff earnings, which will lower the preparation and employment costs, and improves the performances of the employees. There have been thousands of employees that have used the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and business programs of essential to developing effective impact reporting that is positive or concentrating on improving the performance of their employees, and allowing the employees to know that there are limitation in the law for exclusion of more than thirty percent of employees that do not meet the criteria for the leave, which would prevent the employees who meets the criteria from going on any leave due to there is no extra funding or budget to cover the cost. Halbert, Ingulli 2010). Conclusion In conclusion of the Family and Medical Leave Act the matter that a parent literally had nothing to do with a biological child in order for the child to take advantage of the law was enacted by the United States and requires large business to provide their employees with this coverage to protect the employment for family related issues such as a serious health illness or care of children. Secondly, this law is also effective with companies that employers that have at least 50 or more employees on staff. Thirdly, Herman cannot imply if Tony takes a leave under the FMLA, and in this law he must make Tony aware that there is not guarantee that he will have a job when he is able to come back to work. Fourth, in this case in the year 1993 the FMLA was presented to employers for employees that are eligible for the leave of absence and met the criteria required for the companies. And last we have explain the extent to which an employer can make his or her own determination as to the eligibility of an employee under the Family and Medical Leave Act when the hours worked in a year time, written notice submitted to human resource has been submitted in a timely manner and medical certification has been documented will allow the employee to have the time off on leave.