PARENT SESSION
Contributed Oral Session 50: Restoration Management and Modeling
Tuesday, August 9, 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM, Meeting Room 521 A, Level 5, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Evaluation of ecosystem processes to analyze landscape management boundaries.
Wozniak, Jeffrey *,1, Dewsbury, Bryan 1, Gibson, Patrick 1, Goss, Chuck 1, Green, David 1, Iwaniec, David 1, 1 Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA
ABSTRACT- Ecosystems are inherently dynamic, changing dramatically on both temporal and spatial scales. Similarly, the boundaries of these ecosystems are not static; they are dynamic and permeable to exogenous influences such as flows of energy, material, species, and human influences. Any management effort should study these exogenous influences in addition to precise spatial delineations when considering management boundaries. In this research project we moved beyond the simple recognition of this principle and formulated a method to both qualify and quantify important influence fluxes that pass through the fixed boundaries of managed systems. This method evaluated management boundaries with the following questions: 1) Are all of the inflows and outflows (e.g. energy, material, species, and human influences) that cross the management boundaries addressed in the management plan? 2) If there are unaddressed exogenous flows, what is their impact on the managed system? 3) If they are significant and not addressed by the existing management plan, how can the manager either re-define the management boundary or modify the management plan to achieve a successfully managed ecosystem? Our findings illustrate that while the placement of management boundaries is important to adequately manage a system, a thorough knowledge of the cross boundary influences is the key to successful management. This method of boundary analysis will enable both managers and scientists to better understand (qualify) the influences that are at work upon their system, to quantify the impact an influence has on the system, and to employ management strategies that address or mitigate these exogenous influences.
Key words: Boundaries, Ecosystem Processes, Ecosystem Based Management