Sustaining Aquatic Ecosystems in Boreal Regions

Abstract

Few boreal waters are managed in a sustainable manner, because cumulative effects of a variety of human activities are not considered. Fisheries and water quality have declined in most large water bodies of the southern boreal zone. Some of the reasons are direct, including overexploitation of fisheries, alteration of flow patterns, introductions of non-native species, and discharge of eutrophying nutrients and persistent contaminants. However, improper management of watersheds and airsheds also causes degradation of aquatic ecosystems. Clear-cut logging, climatic warming, acid precipitation, and stratospheric ozone depletion are among the more important of these indirect stressors. There are important interactions among these stressors, requiring that they not be treated in isolation. Ecological sustainability of boreal waters would require that exploitation of all parts of the boreal landscape be much lower than it is at present. Unfortunately, management for sustainability is lagging far behind scientific understanding in most countries.

Environmental management in resource-rich Alberta, Canada: first world jurisdiction, third world analogue?

“…Drier and warmer summers in the boreal zone may mean increased fire activity and increased probability of insect outbreaks (Holling, 1992). The sustainability of boreal aquatic systems and their fisheries requires a lower exploitation of the surrounding landscape than is currently taking place (Schindler, 1998b), and exploitation rates are still rising.…”

Wetlands in Canada's western boreal forest: Agents of Change

“…Little management, other than some trapping and burning, has been undertaken on boreal wetlands because previously it has been neither necessary nor economically practical. Good cases for aboriginal influence on boreal wetlands are made by Schindler (1998b) with regard to trapping of beavers, and by Clark and Royall (1995) regarding the deliberate use of fire to affect patterns of post-fire vegetation.…”

Implications of Uncertainty in a Pre-treatment Dataset when Estimating Treatment Effects in Paired Catchment Studies: Phosphorus Loads from Forest Clear-cuts

“…Concern about aquatic habitats is relevant in boreal areas with a large number of lakes and smaller water bodies, which are sensitive to increased nutrient loads from the surrounding catchments (Schindler 1998). Successful water protection in these areas requires quantitative information about the influence of certain forestry operations on the export of nutrients to water bodies.…”