Soccer4Lyfe3551

I just got done writing a 5 page essay, and im having a brain malfunction...I know its wrong to ask you guys for help, but I really neeed help please.----

Habitat Loss and Degradation. The forests of the North Cascades ecoregion are a rich resource, and forests underpin much of Washington?s identity and economy. Forest management practices on the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and on private forestlands continue to evolve in response to research on methods and productivity and to regulations and incentive programs. Legacies from the region?s history of supplying timber to a wood-hungry nation and world include younger stands, changes in forest dynamics, and landscape alterations.

Stands throughout the lower elevations of western Washington, including the North Cascades, have been harvested in the past 100?150 years. Most old-growth forest has been harvested?only about 3% of western Washington forests are presently in this age class.

Forest composition and dynamics in the North Cascade have changed in response to several management practices, including clearcut logging, plantation forestry, and fire suppression. Clearcut logging and plantation forestry (primarily of economically choice Douglas-fir) lead to less diverse tree canopies and forest stands. Fire, an occasional but integral part of the ecosystem, was formerly seen as destructive to timber resources. The resulting fire suppression has led to increased fuel loads and risk of catastrophic fires. Management practices are shifting to allow fire a role in the ecosystem. However, a factor that complicates letting natural fires burn is the increasing human population on the wildland interface.

Landscape alterations include roads and other transportation corridors and many changes to riparian systems. While parts of the North Cascades ecoregion are remarkable?and nearly inaccessible!?for having no roads, roads do create wildlife barriers and hazards and cause habitat fragmentation. An additional and increasing problem is that roads serve as corridors for invasive species, such as the tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) growing along State Route 20 west of Newhalem. Road building can also cause changes to riparian systems through increased sedimentation and debris torrents.

Riparian systems have been altered by forest management practices. These changes include shifting the composition of streamside forests from conifers toward alder and salmonberry, to reducing woody debris in a channel, to altering the hydrology of an area, and others. Much publicized effects of forestry on salmon-bearing waterways are being addressed by the Forests and Fish Law (pdf document), the Salmon Recovery Funding Board, and other initiatives.

Population Growth. The second primary threat to the North Cascades ecoregion is population growth. Population growth drives much of the habitat loss and degradation through increased pressure for development (housing, commercial buildings, transportation needs) and increased pressure on the recreational resources of the region (more people hiking, camping, boating, fishing, hunting, etc.).

More recreational use also adds to the risk of introducing invasive species deep in the backcountry. For example, infestations of reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) have been found at Ross Lake. These infestations range from individual plants to five-acre patches.

Global Warming. The third major threat to biodiversity conservation in the North Cascades ecoregion is global warming, driven by the accumulation of carbon dioxide and other gases. This will drive multiple changes: melting glaciers, a reduced winter snowpack, and altered plant and animal distributions.

http://www.biodiversity.wa.gov/ecoregions/n_cascades/n_cascades_status.html

I know its alot but i really need help, its due tomorrow. Or if you can just do a portion of it please. Thanks for yer help and support.

oikos

Sorry. The best I could do would be to put it in MY own words.

Try reading each paragraph, put it aside, and then write down what you remember. Finally, refer back to the original to correct any mistakes.