Some have suggested that aliens marooned on earth planted the statues as signals to their fellow aliens to. Great south bay ecosystembased management plan 6 surrogate. Natural resource conservation and preservation collapse. Jan 07, 2007 it was the first and most extreme ecological disaster. This volume provides an overview of recent advances in forest ecology on a variety of topics, including species diversity and the factors that control species diversity, environmental factors controlling distribution of forests, impacts of disturbances on forests fires, drought, hurricane, reproduction ecology of both trees and understory species, and spatial organization of forests. Since 1969 he has been a professor of forest ecology at the university of british columbia, where he has presented courses on forest ecology, ecosystem classification, ecological aspects of silviculture, environmental issues in forestry, ecosystem function and response to disturbance, and modeling forest ecosystems to undergraduates, graduate. Small and isolated societies of the past, such as the rapanui of easter island, constitute ideal laboratories for understanding the consequences of humandriven environmental degradation and associated crises. Geologically one of the youngest inhabited territories on earth, easter island, located in the midpacific ocean, was, for most of its history, one of the most isolated its inhabitants, the rapa nui, have endured famines, epidemics of disease and cannibalism, civil war, environmental collapse, slave raids, various colonial contacts, and have seen their population crash on more than one occasi. Polynesian people apparently reached easter island about a.
The intermediate position of the island between the pacific polynesian archipelagos and south america has led to varied hypothesis regarding their initial human colonisation and the ensuing ecological impact. Pdf easter island the name is synonymous with mystery, intrigue of. Environmental case study the saga of easter island. Conclusions glossary bibliography biographical sketch summary forest ecology is the study of forest ecosystems. It holds many questions for the scientific world, wondering who the islanders are and what happened to them over the course of time. Easter island today, easter island also known as rapa nui is a primarily pastoral grassland island in the southeastern pacific ocean, some 3,600 kilometres west of chile. The mystery of easter island an ecology case study activ. Dec 17, 20 the small landmass of easter island 164 km 2, the southeasterly point of polynesia in the pacific ocean, has achieved iconic status in the world today as people wonder how its colonisation was physically possible by settlers journeying through the vast ocean in tiny boats, how and why the enormous moai s were constructed and, most infamously, to what extent they contributed to their own. An answer for an enduring question barzin pakandam abstract easter island is the most isolated inhabited spot on earth, devoid of heavy timber and most resources. Geologically one of the youngest inhabited territories on earth, easter island, located in the midpacific ocean, was, for most of its history, one of the most isolated. Jul 12, 2017 diet of the prehistoric population of rapa nui easter island, chile shows environmental adaptation and resilience. Climate changes and cultural shifts on easter island during the last.
Its inhabitants, the rapa nui, have endured famines, epidemics of disease and cannibalism, civil war, environmental collapse, slave raids, various colonial contacts, and have seen their population crash on more than one. Rapa nui isla pascua, easter island showing the three major volcanic centers of the island and the locations and ages of14cdated charcoal collected from slope deposits. Yet, the first european travellers to the island marvelled at large and delicately carved statues covering the whole of the island. How societies choose to fail or succeed is a book by jared diamond in which he explains the decline of past civilizations and the causes.
The forest supported a range of up to twentyfive species of sea birds. In 1997, the department name was changed to the department of forest ecology and management. Easter island is the most remote inhabited place on earth and its enigmatic ecological and human history has been the object of scientific and popular interest since the 1900s. Chaos in easter island ecology article in nonlinear dynamics psychology and life sciences 154. The story of easter island reads like a preindustrial version of the lorax. It was the first and most extreme ecological disaster.
Ecosystems are ecological systems that have the attributes of. In just a few centu ries, the people of easter island wiped out their forest, drove their plants and. The island was believed to have been settled a little before a. Community managed forests and forest protected areas. Easter island, in the south pacific, once lush with subtropical broadleaf forest, was left barren and vast seabird colonies were destroyed. Easter island is most famous for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early rapa nui people. Home teachers thematic lessons easter island, a lesson for us all categories.
Hard clams introduction hard clams mercenaria mercenaria are filter feeding bivalves that hold an important current and historical place in the great south bays ecology and the economy and social fabric of its surrounding towns. The scope of the journal includes all forest ecosystems of the world. In the case of protected areas, no change in forest cover does not necessarily imply that the mammalian fauna, for example, is fully present e. It is the most isolated inhabited island in the world located about 3200 km 2000. A society of note is that of easter island, which collapsed entirely because of environmental damage from the people inhabiting the island. In just a few centuries, the people of easter island wiped out their forest, drove their plants and animals to extinction, and saw their complex society spiral into. But almost everyone has seen pictures of its huge humanfigured statues, perched like sentinels in a stark, treeless. Scientists recently uncovered a new species of tiny insect in a cave on easter island. Forest ecology and management, 63 1994 247300 247 elsevier science b.
The two departments were again combined in 2007 to form the department of forest and wildlife ecology. This two page editable case study comes with an answer key. Forest ecology burton verne barnes, stephen hopkins. An assessment of their conservation effectiveness across the tropics luciana porterbollanda. Until about 1500 years ago, the island was covered with a lush subtropical forest and the soil was deep and fertile. Is easter island an example of what could happen to the rest. Some have suggested that aliens marooned on earth planted the statues as signals to their. Provides an eminently current perspective on the material by emphasizing forest ecosystems using a landscapeecosystem or geoecosystem approach. Pdf on the geology of easter island sergei rjabchikov. Chaos in easter island ecology university of wisconsin. Easter island deforestation has traditionally been viewed as an abrupt island. How can forest ecology deal with ecosystem complexity and the large spatial and temporal scales of forest ecosystems. Historical studies have shown that conditions on the island were once very different than they are now.
Deforestation of easter island was gradual and due to more. The mystery of easter island an ecology case study. Pdf three millennia of climatic, ecological, and cultural change. In just a few centuries, the people of easter island wiped out their forest, drove. Science to sustain the worlds forests forest ecology and. Few people get to visit easter island, a remote outpost in the south pacific. New species discovered on damaged easter island live science.
Forest ecology encyclopedia of life support systems. Bringing the trees back to easter island environment. Forests are ecosystems in which the major ecological characteristics reflect the dominance of ecosystem conditions and processes by trees. Easter islanders didnt cause ecological disaster on their. Figure 2 moai are giant human figures carved from rock on the between 1250 and 1500. While the island s high percentage of private forest lands makes it difficult to achieve common goals, surveys indicate that island land owners care deeply for their woodlands. Easter islands ecological disaster, a remarkable cultural. The 2010 state of the forest report found that the decline in the islands forest area continued and today, forest cover some 43. The people used the land for gardens and the wood for fuel, canoes, and houses and, of course, for lugging statues.
Rapa nui, forest clearing, cultural collapse, last millennium. Easter island is a triangleshaped dot of about 164 square kilometers in the middle of the south pacific ocean. It is the easternmost outpost of the polynesian island world. The 2010 state of the forest report found that the decline in the island s forest area continued and today, forest cover some 43. The inclusion of excellent chapters by, for example, peres on soil fertility and arboreal mammals, dyer on tritrophic cascades, and arnold on endophytic fungi provide a nice counterbalance to the many chapters on tropical trees.
Jan 04, 2012 easter island is a triangleshaped dot of about 164 square kilometers in the middle of the south pacific ocean. Feb 11, 2018 the mystery of easter island an ecology case study activ stay safe and healthy. Eastern island rapa nui is famous for the legacy of an extinct civilization symbolized by. Attiwill school of botany, the university of melbourne, parkville, vic.
Science to sustain the worlds forests forest ecology. Hunt, terry, and carol lipo 2010 ecological catastrophe, collapse. Eventually easters growing population was cutting the forest more rapidly than the forest was regenerating. While the islands high percentage of private forest lands makes it difficult to achieve common goals, surveys indicate that island land owners care deeply for their woodlands. Jan 20, 2014 few people get to visit easter island, a remote outpost in the south pacific. Throughout its history, the department had remained committed to excellence in teaching, mentoring, and scholarly research. This volume provides an overview of recent advances in forest ecology on a variety of topics, including species diversity and the factors that control species diversity, environmental factors controlling distribution of forests, impacts of disturbances on forests fires, drought, hurricane, reproduction ecology of both trees and understory. The easter island of ancient times supported a subtropical forest complete with the tall easter island palm, a tree suitable for building homes, canoes, and latticing necessary for the construction of such statues. The find is exciting because most of the islands native life has gone extinct, researchers said. The island stands in isolation 1,200 miles 1,900 kilometres east of pitcairn island and 2,200 miles west of chile. A recent series of papers has modeled the population dynamics of easter island, in which the natives harvested most of the trees, leading to a rapid decline in the human population, perhaps by a population of rats exacerbated. General introduction to island forest history and ecology. Eventually easter s growing population was cutting the forest more rapidly than the forest was regenerating.
Ecology, human history and the environment, population, thematic lessons easter island is one of the worlds most remote places inhabited by people. The answer lies in easter islands ecological past, when the island was not a barren place. The easter island of ancient times supported a subtropical forest complete with the tall easter island palm, a tree suitable for building homes, canoes, and latticing necessary for. The tools and methods learned here would be useful in many other contexts where a reconstruction of forest ecology can be obtained from soil and lake sediments. Rats, not men, to blame for death of easter island the. This revised and reorganized text is designed for a standard forest ecology course for undergraduates in forestry, natural resources, environmental science, environmental ecology, and field ecology programs.
American journal of physical anthropology, published online june 30, 2017. Forest ecology and management publishes scientific articles linking forest ecology with forest management, focusing on the application of biological, ecological and social knowledge to the management and conservation of plantations and natural forests. Easter island, a lesson for us all sustainable footprint. This work has shown that the deforestation was not sudden, but gradual, and that it didnt occur over the whole island at the same time. Diet of the prehistoric population of rapa nui easter island, chile shows environmental adaptation and resilience. Butler the history of easter island, its statues and its peoples, has long been shrouded in mystery. Drought, vegetation change, and human history on rapa nui. Small and isolated societies of the past, such as the rapanui of easter island, constitute ideal laboratories for understanding the consequences of humandriven environmental degradation and. The mystery of easter island an ecology case study activity. Finding solutions to the entangled problems of human population growth, resource exploitation, ecosystem degradation, and biodiversity loss is considered humanitys grand challenge.
However, recent dna analyses have suggested contributions from ancient amerindians to the easter islanders human gene pool thorsby, 2012, which suggests prehistoric contact between south america and easter island. Oct 14, 2010 scientists recently uncovered a new species of tiny insect in a cave on easter island. Importantly, the editors were broadminded in their definition of tropical forest community ecology. The first page contains an article about easter island and the development of the ecological disaster that occurred there, and the second page contains questions that explore the causes and effects of the choices that were made by the inhab. When the tiny, remote island, 2,000 miles 3,200 km from the nearest continent, was discovered on easter day in 1722, some 200 mammoth stone statues moai stood on the island like sentries. Diamond argues that the fiasco on easter island is a metaphor for the global depletion of natural resources and may indicate a direction for. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. This view emerges from early palaeoecological analyses of lake sediments, which showed a sudden and total replacement of palm pollen by grass pollen shortly. The small landmass of easter island 164 km 2, the southeasterly point of polynesia in the pacific ocean, has achieved iconic status in the world today as people wonder how its colonisation was physically possible by settlers journeying through the vast ocean in tiny boats, how and why the enormous moai s were constructed and, most infamously, to what. Introduction to forest ecology tento projekt je spolufinancovan evropskym socialnim fondem a statnim rozpoctem cr inobio cz. This latest contribution to the story of easter island, published in the journal frontiers in ecology and evolution, puts the traditional hypotheses about its natural history into question. Yet the maintenance of forest cover is being widely agreed as a robust. Since easter island rapa nui was first discovered nearly 300 years ago, its people, culture and monolithic statues. The find is exciting because most of the islands native life.
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