Ecological Integrity and the Management of Ecosystems

Description

The Notion of Natural and Cultural Integrity, Considerations of Scale and Hierarchy, Applying Notions of Ecological Integrity, Choosing Indicators of Ecosystem Integrity: Wetlands as a Model System, APPLYING THE CONCEPTS Measuring Biological Integrity: Lessons from Streams, Monitoring for Ecosystem Integrity, National and Regional Scale Measures of Canada's Ecosystem Health, National Environmental Monitoring: A Case Study of the Atlantic Maritime Region, Monitoring and Measuring Ecosystem Integrity in Canadian National Parks, An Approach to the Development of Biological Sediment Guidelines, On the Nature of Ecological Integrity: Some Closing Comments.;Today, efforts are being made to rehabilitate badly degraded ecosystems and protect areas which have important ecological value, such as national parks, critical fish and wildlife habitats, natural communities and endangered species.Since human values are an integral part of the decisions to protect or rehabilitate-the goals and objectives for such actions are often unclear. Concepts of "health," "integrity" and "diversity" express important values associated with management actions but they do not provide clear guidelines for these actions.The criteria developed and applied in this book provide guidelines and serve as a road map to anyone involved in ecosystem management-scientists, land managers and policy makers.