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Biodiversity                                                                             page 3 of 3

Biodiversity and Biomass Harvesting

Maintaining biodiversity requires a large number of habitat areas or a large overall habitat area. Small areas can result in problems such as inbreeding depression and may not be adequate to sustain large populations. Also, if the distance between suitable habitats is large, species may not be able to move freely and could overpopulate an isolated habitat area. Habitat areas should be connected in a way that allows for easy travel from one area to another. If the travel route is difficult to traverse, species may not move from area to area.
 
Ensuring adequate habitat area and connectivity is one way to mitigate extinction and cultivate ecological biodiversity. It is important to understand the concept of habitat because the loss of acceptable habitat is the leading cause of extinction among species. According to Webster's online dictionary, extinction is the loss of ananimal or plant species from a landscape area. The conservation of habitat will be the most important method of maintaining biodiversity in intensely managed forest landscapes.
The table in the PDF file to the right provides details related to forest bioenergy systems and how they affect forest biodiversity. Descriptions of the practices are provided, along with their potential affects, and a brief discussion of possible mitigation strategies.  

Table Icon

 

 Potential Environmental  Impacts of Bioenergy  Harvesting on Forest  Biodiversity

 

 Mark Coppock

 Texas Transportation Institute

 

This concludes Unit 2: Environmental Components Impacted by Woody Biomass Production. To proceed to the next unit, Unit 3: Designing Low Impact Operations, click the Next link.
 

 

 ©2007 National Learning Center for Private Forest and Range Landowners
"A program of the Cooperative Extension Service funded by the Renewable Resources Extension Act"
Last Updated: November 11, 2007