Ecosystem management is an approach that attempts to involve all stakeholders in defining sustainable alternatives for the interactions of people and the environments in which they live. Its goal is to restore and sustain the health, productivity, and biodiversity of ecosystems and the overall quality of life through a natural resource management approach that is fully integrated with social and economic needs. For practical purposes, ecosystem management is generally synonymous with sustainable development, sustainable management, sustainable forestry and a number of other terms being used to identify an ecological approach to land and resource management. Ecosystem management emphasizes place-or region-based objectives, with scopes and approaches defined appropriately for each given situation. Because natural ecosystems typically cross administrative and jurisdictional boundaries, managing them requires interactions among different stakeholders and institutions. Ecosystem management remains an evolving force that must yet respond and adapt to numerous challenges. q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.
ABSTRACT/The use and applicability of the guild concept to management is evaluated and questioned. Ecological problems are never as simple as implied in using one or two guild axes. A close examination of bird communities in a ponderosa pine forest reveals little relationship between guilds or guild blocks and the responses exhibited by individual bird species or bird species groups. Response guilds changed from year to year without any obvious changes in vegetation. A three-year composite analysis shows a clearer picture of the responses of ponderosa pine forest birds to the overall interactions between structure, weather, competition, and so on. The six response groups in the composite analysis are species that (1) were absent in 1973 on most or all study plots and showed no preference for any forested site; (2) had their highest densities on the medium cut and light cut plots; (3) were absent in 1973 on most or all study plots and had their highest densities on the medium cut and light cut plots; (4) had their highest densities on the untreated, light cut, and medium cut plots; (5) had their highest densities on the untreated and light cut plots and were either absent or had greatly reduced densities on all other plots; and (6) were present only on the clearcut, except for the Rock Wren which was also on the medium cut and heavy cut plots. The overall correlation between species density and guild density was significantly higher for response guilds (e < 0.05) than for any of the structural or functional guilds. The whole concept of guild management needs much more research and development before it can be recommended as a management tool.
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