Exam 10: Sustaining Terrestrial Biodiversity: The Ecosystem Approach

What term refers to land officially designated as an area where natural communities have not been seriously disturbed by humans, and where harmful human activities are limited by law?

The temporary or permanent removal of large expanses of forest for agriculture, or other uses, is called ____.

Unfenced grasslands in tropical and temperate climates that supply forage for grazing animals are called ____.

Ecologists warn that human population growth, economic development, and poverty are exerting increasing pressure on the earth's ecosystems and on the ____ it provides.

Poverty is one of the biggest causes of degradation of forests. How is that possible, and what solutions might there be?

Widespread human-influenced fires in tropical forests, such as the Amazon Rainforest, change weather patterns by raising temperatures and reducing rainfall resulting in droughts, which in turn makes forests more likely to burn. This is an example of a ____.

Many biologists and wildlife conservationists believe that the best way to keep from hastening the extinction of wild species through human activities is to protect threatened habitats and ecosystem services. This is referred to as ____.

In the United States, about ____% of the forests are protected.

Efforts are under way to make charcoal out of fibers left over from processing sugar cane.

Forests provide habitats for about ____ of the earth's terrestrial species.

A tree plantation is also called a(n)____.

What is not considered a major problem for U.S. public parks today?

Removing intermediate-aged or mature trees from a forest is known as ____.

Researchers have suggested four principles for carrying out most forms of ecological restoration and rehabilitation. Which one of the following is not one of these principles?

Robert Costanza of the University of Vermont estimates the world's forests provide us with ecological services worth how much per year?

What are the four approaches proposed by scientists to speed up ecological succession processes?

About ____ of the wood harvested globally each year is burned directly for fuel or converted to charcoal fuel.

Tropical forests in the Amazon basin and other South American countries are primarily being cleared or burned for ____.

We can all help sustain terrestrial biodiversity through various measures. Which of the following methods is least effective in sustaining biodiversity?

As much as ____________________% of the wood consumed in the United States is wasted unnecessarily.