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The Role of Wilderness in Nature Conservation

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The Role of Wilderness in Nature Conservation The Role of Wilderness in Nature Conservation B.G. Mackey, R.G. Lesslie, D.B. Lindenmayer, H.A. Nix and R.D. Incoll A report to The Australian and World Heritage Group Environment Australia July 1998 The School of Resource Management and Environmental Science The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200 Mackey, Lesslie, Lindenmayer, Nix and Incoll Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 1 Overview........................................................................................................................................... 1 Main conclusions .............................................................................................................................. 1 1. Definitions of ‘wilderness’........................................................................................................ 2 2. Ecological integrity and species conservation........................................................................... 2 3. Indicators of threatening processes ........................................................................................... 2 4. Relevance of high wilderness quality to nature conservation.................................................... 3 5. Data analysis............................................................................................................................. 3 6. Development and implementation of conservation strategies ................................................... 4 7. Integrated landscape conservation ............................................................................................5 8. Ecological integrity................................................................................................................... 5 9. Management principles............................................................................................................. 5 DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONCEPT OF WILDERNESS ..................................................... 7 Introduction....................................................................................................................................... 7 Development of wilderness concept in U.S. ..................................................................................... 7 Development of wilderness concept in Australia.............................................................................. 8 Defining wilderness .......................................................................................................................... 9 Implications for role of wilderness in nature conservation ............................................................. 11 DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONCEPT OF NATURE CONSERVATION ........................... 13 Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 13 Some historical perceptions ............................................................................................................ 13 Advances in the ecological sciences ............................................................................................... 14 Evolution and natural selection................................................................................................... 14 Advances in autecology .............................................................................................................. 14 Conservation biology.................................................................................................................. 14 Ecosystem theory........................................................................................................................ 15 Earth system science ................................................................................................................... 15 The organisation of ecological systems....................................................................................... 15 Policy and management responses.................................................................................................. 16 Sustainable development............................................................................................................. 16 Biodiversity................................................................................................................................. 16 Ecosystem management .............................................................................................................. 16 Land use evaluation and planning............................................................................................... 16 Summary......................................................................................................................................... 16 INTRODUCTION TO THREATENING PROCESSES ........................................................... 18 CHANGING FIRE REGIMES.................................................................................................... 19 Evidence for changing fire regimes ................................................................................................ 19 Effect of fires on biota .................................................................................................................... 19 Interaction of fire with exotic species, grazing, and forestry .......................................................... 20 CHANGING HYDROLOGICAL REGIMES............................................................................ 21 Salinity............................................................................................................................................ 21 Effect of changing hydrological regimes on river biota .................................................................. 21 Groundwater ................................................................................................................................... 22 Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies i The role of wilderness in nature conservation ROADING AS A THREATENING PROCESS ......................................................................... 23 CHANGING VEGETATION COVER....................................................................................... 25 Livestock grazing............................................................................................................................ 25 Vegetation loss and fragmentation effects ...................................................................................... 26 Effects of timber harvesting............................................................................................................ 27 INTRODUCED SPECIES............................................................................................................ 28 Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 28 Changes to resource levels.............................................................................................................. 28 Changes to community composition and relationships ................................................................... 28 Changes to disturbance regimes...................................................................................................... 29 Changes to the physical environment.............................................................................................. 29 ACCELERATED GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE.................................................................. 30 ECOLOGICAL THEORY AND NATURE CONSERVATION .............................................. 31 Island biogeography and the "SLOSS" debate................................................................................ 31 General Principle 1 ..................................................................................................................... 31 General Principle 2 ..................................................................................................................... 31 Summary..................................................................................................................................... 32 Maintenance of viable populations and the importance of metapopulation dynamics .................... 32 Habitat fragmentation and the viability of wildlife populations...................................................... 33 Ecosystem resilience....................................................................................................................... 34 Summary......................................................................................................................................... 34 DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS ........................................................................................... 36 Discussion....................................................................................................................................... 37 DISCUSSION AND SYNTHESIS ............................................................................................... 41 Conservation in dedicated reserves................................................................................................. 41 Ecological restoration ..................................................................................................................... 41 Conservation in disturbed and production landscapes
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