Hello all,
I've done some mathematical calculations showing that harvesting in ecological system can enrich the stability of the system. To the best of my knowledge, this result aligns with nature, but I need some papers conducting experimental work as a possible justification. It is really appreciated if sb introduces some papers with this respect.
Thanks in advance
I think it would help greatly to narrow down what you are looking for by stating exactly what you mean by 'harvesting', 'ecological system' and 'stability', since all of these can mean very different things depending on context.
The best examples that I can think of are from forestry practices: (1) thinning of trees can enhance forest health with reduced pest outbreaks and fire events, and (2) thinning of trees can promote/maintain forest productivity by enhancing colonization of termites who fix nitrogen. I am sure I can find many references on these topics. --Xiaoming
Much of my and other professionals with USForest Service spent time to understand the national forest ecosystems and come up with methods and approaches, BMPs, etc. to be able to assess forests and manage resources for sustainability. Of course, many think of tree harvesting in various ways, thinning, individual or group selection, clearcutting, etc. Other types of harvesting were proposed at times, such as instream sand mining, potentially and in our situation disruptive to banks, channels and habitats. Past geomorphologists suggested that sand mining within the annual sand accrual budget was the best if instream mining was to be considered. In portions of the national forests, native grasses had disappeared, so we had to search for, harvest and plant (sow or seed drill) native species on select areas to help restore. We had proposals to harvest pine straw, various flowers and rare plants, mushrooms, minerals, etc. Each type of harvesting had to be considered and evaluated on its level of acceptability, limits. Some harvesting as firewood was by permit or designated areas. Each US national forest plan available on the internet has various topics that address various resource uses or harvesting, limits, etc. Most have some degree of backing in cited research that could be searched.
Dear Dr. Xiaoming Zou
Thank you for your reply. The examples are great and really interesting--thanks. Can such matters you've mentioned to be seen in fishing management? According to my calculation modeling interaction among 3 kinds of fish, it seems that harvesting enriches the stability of the system. Thank you for your precious time.
Dear William F. Hansen
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Really appreciated.
Hi Mohammad:
I am not very familiar with aquatic system. But it makes sense that aquatic system become more healthy when density is reduced because fish may become unhealthy due to resource limitation at higher density.
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