Ecological Systems:
Maintaining and Enhancing Natural
Features and Minimizing Adverse
Impacts of Infrastructure Projects
Module 1
Course Overview
Emily Mitchell Ayers, Ph.D.
The Low Impact Development Center, Inc.
emayers@lowimpactdevelopment.org
Learning Outcomes
•
Know the scope and objectives of this
Ecological Systems course
•
Appreciate the need for this course
•
Know what services are provided by
ecosystems
•
Understand how the course will be
structured, and what to expect
1-3
Introduction
•
Human activities often have adverse
environmental impacts
•
Learning to design infrastructure systems
that successfully integrate with the
environment requires an understanding of
ecology and a knowledgebase of sustainable
design techniques
1-4
Outline
1.
Ecosystem Services
2.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
3.
Ecologically-Sensitive Design
4.
Course Overview
5.
Expected Outcomes
1-5
Ecosystem Services
Ecosystems provide essential services on which
humans depend
•
•
1-6
•
Provisioning services
•
Regulating services
•
Supporting services
•
Cultural services
Disturbance of ecosystems can lead to loss or
degradation of ecosystem services
Provisioning Services
Food
•
Freshwater and marine fisheries
•
Hunting
•
Foraging
•
Managed systems:
1-7
•
Crops
•
Livestock
•
Aquaculture
Lucarelli
Provisioning Services
Water
•
Forests generate
precipitation
•
Mountain streams
supply snowmelt
•
Soils recharge
groundwater
1-8
NRCS
Provisioning Services
Timber, Fiber, and Fuel
•
Forests
•
Mangroves
•
Managed systems
•
Plantations
•
Crops
•
Livestock
FWS
1-9
Provisioning Services
Genetic Diversity
Benefits to humanity:
•
•
Disease resistance
•
Pre-adaptations to
emerging threats
•
Source of new crops
1-10
Breeding Teosinte to Corn
John Doebley
Provisioning Services
Biochemicals and pharmaceuticals
“Bioprospecting" is a common source of new
medicines
1-11
Generic
Function
Source
Penicillin
antibiotic
Penicillium fungi
Aspirin
anti-inflammatory
Multiple sources: willow trees,
myrtles, meadowsweet
Artemisinin
antimalarial
Sweet wormtree
Paclitaxel
anticancer
Pacific yew
(in development)
HIV blocker
Australian red-eyed tree frog
Camptothecin
anticancer
Camptotheca tree
Regulating Services
Climate Regulation
•
•
1-12
Net sink of CO2
•
Forests
•
Wetlands (peat
formation)
•
Oceans
Evapotranspiration
influences precipitation
Victor Grigas
Regulating Services
Disease and Pest Regulation
•
Intact ecosystems tend to
resist introduction of
invasives
•
Native plants and animals
develop resistance to
endemic pathogens
•
When part of a functioning
ecosystem, insect
populations are controlled,
rarely becoming serious
pests
1-13
USDA
Regulating Services
Flood and Natural Hazard Regulation
•
Wetlands, barrier
islands, sand dunes,
and coral reefs
dissipate wind and
storm surges related to
hurricanes
•
Soils absorb rainfall,
reducing flooding
1-14
NRCS
Regulating Services
Water and Air Purification
•
Wetlands purify
water by removing
nutrients and
degrading organic
wastes
•
Plants absorb air
pollutants and
provide oxygen
NRCS
1-15
Regulating Services
Waste Treatment
•
Microorganisms break
down organic wastes
•
Soils capture and
immobilize heavy metals
1-16
NRCS
Regulating Services
Pollination
•
90% of flowering plants
depend on animals for
pollination
•
Pollinators are critically
important to agricultural
production
1-17
FWS
Supporting Services
•
Nutrient cycling
•
Soil formation
•
Primary production
• Converts sunlight into food
for heterotrophs
• Produces atmospheric O2
1-18
USDA
Cultural Services
•
Aesthetic
•
Spiritual
•
Educational
•
Recreational
1-19
FWS
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)
•
Found that 60% of ecosystem services are
being degraded or used unsustainably
•
Fresh water supplies are declining at an
unsustainable rate
•
Degradation of ecosystem functions increases
the risk of rapid, nonlinear changes, the
results of which can be catastrophic
1-20
Importance to Society
•
These ecosystem functions are either
expensive or impossible to replace with
technological solutions
•
Estimated economic value of all ecosystem
services: $33 trillion/year (Costanza et al
1997)
1-21
Mangroves
•
35 % have been lost in the last 20
years
•
Services provided:
• Fisheries
• Water purification
• Nutrient cycling
• Carbon sequestration
• Storm surge buffering
•
Causes of decline:
• Aquaculture development
• Deforestation
• Freshwater diversion
NOAA
1-22
Coral Reefs
•
20% loss in the last few
decades
•
Ecosystem services:
• Fisheries
• Biodiversity
• Storm surge buffering
•
Causes of decline:
• Destructive fishing practices
• Pollution
• Climate change
Public Library of Science
1-23
Tropical Rainforests
•
Deforestation is responsible for
20% of greenhouse gas
emissions
•
Services provided:
• Climate regulation
• Nutrient cycling
• Genetic diversity
• Pharmaceuticals
• Disease control
•
Cause of decline:
• Deforestation for agriculture
1-24
© Hans Hillewaert
How does infrastructure fit in?
Infrastructure shapes the way people relate to the
environment
•
If we build coal-fired power plants, then people
cause climate change by turning on their lights
•
If we build sprawling suburbs, then people are
required to drive
•
Creating highly impervious surfaces degrades
streams
1-25
Impacts
•
Habitat loss
•
Habitat fragmentation
•
Pollution
•
Altered river and estuary hydrology
•
Climate change
•
Road kills
1-26
Outline
1.
Ecosystem Services
2.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
3.
Ecologically-Sensitive Design
4.
Course Overview
5.
Expected Outcomes
1-27
Ecologically-sensitive design
With an understanding of how infrastructure
projects can damage ecosystems, it becomes
possible to avoid, prevent, and mitigate these
impacts.
Infrastructure projects can be designed and
implemented in a manner that is ecologically
sensitive and sustainable.
1-28
Infrastructure sustainability
ASCE definition of sustainability:
“A set of environmental, economic and social
conditions in which all of society has the capacity
and opportunity to maintain and improve its quality
of life indefinitely without degrading the quantity,
quality or the availability of natural, economic
and social resources.”
1-29
Examples of ecologically-sensitive design
Low Impact Development
• Stormwater runoff is
intercepted, cleaned, and
infiltrated where
appropriate
•
LID Center
1-30
This approach mitigates
many of the harmful
impacts of paved
surfaces
Examples of ecologically-sensitive design
Wildlife crossings
•
Permit migration and
movement of animals
across roadways
•
Eliminate habitat
fragmentation
•
Connect ecosystems
LID Center
1-31
Examples of ecologically-sensitive design
Constructed wetlands
DOE
1-32
•
Treat wastewater prior
to discharge
•
Remove excess
organics and nutrients
Discussion Questions
How are ecosystem services considered in
infrastructure planning?
1-33
Discussion Questions
Is it "fair" to ask infrastructure planners to consider impacts
on ecosystem services, which may be diffuse, distant, and
difficult to quantify?
1-34
Discussion Questions
What should the engineer's role be in considering, taking
advantage of, and protecting ecosystem services?
1-35
Outline
1.
Ecosystem Services
2.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
3.
Ecologically-Sensitive Design
4.
Course Overview
5.
Expected Outcomes
1-36
Course Objectives
•
To become familiar with the basic principles of ecology
•
To learn to anticipate the ecological impacts of
infrastructure projects over their entire life cycles from
planning to decommissioning
•
To learn techniques to prevent, minimize, and mitigate
these impacts
•
To learn how to design infrastructure systems that
contribute to productive, environmentally restorative and
socially desirable uses of land and protection of native flora
and fauna.
1-37
Modules of the Course
1.
Course Overview: Ecosystem services and the
importance of ecologically-sensitive design
2.
Introduction to Ecology: Ecological theory
3.
Impacts of Infrastructure: What are the major
ecological impacts caused by infrastructure,
and how do infrastructure projects cause these
impacts?
1-38
Modules of the Course
4.
Protecting Habitat: Assessing habitat, prioritizing
and creating conservation areas
5.
Integrating Infrastructure: How to design
infrastructure projects that work in harmony with
their surroundings
6.
Restoring Ecological Function: An overview of
the general theory of ecosystem restoration, with
examples of restoration in specific contexts
1-39
Introduction to Ecology
•
What are ecosystems?
•
What principles govern ecosystem behavior?
•
How do ecosystems respond to change?
1-40
Impacts of Infrastructure
•
What ecological impacts are associated with
infrastructure?
•
How do ecosystems become degraded?
•
What are the local, national, and global
implications?
1-41
Protecting Habitat
•
Site assessment
•
Identifying critical resources
•
Conservation design techniques
1-42
Integrating Infrastructure
•
Anticipating environmental impacts
•
Strategies and techniques to avoid impacts
•
Using the Envision™ project rating system
1-43
Restoring Ecological Function
•
Basic principles of ecological restoration
•
Examples of restoration techniques
•
Course wrap-up
1-44
Examination
Students will be required to pass a multiple
choice examination, which will test
understanding of:
•
•
•
•
•
•
1-45
Ecosystem services
Principles of ecology
How infrastructure can negatively impact ecosystems
How to protect habitat
How to create ecologically-sensitive designs
How to restore ecosystem function
Recommended Reading
•
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment:
http://www.millenniumassessment.org
•
Costanza, R., R. d'Arge, R. de Groot, S. Farberk, M.
Grasso, B. Hannon, K. Limburg, S. Naeem, R. V. O'Neill,
J. Paruelo, R. G. Raskin, P. Sutton & M. van den Belt,
1997. The value of the world's ecosystem services and
natural capital. Nature, vol.387, p.253-260.
1-46