The lodge pole pine, also known as the Pinus Contorta or Shore Pine, is a common tree in western North America. Like all pines it is an evergreen tree. The lodge pole pine is a very popular species that humans have numerous uses for.
Today this species is in a very high demand. Because of this high demand the trees are heavily farmed throughout the province of British Colombia. The same species of trees are grown, harvested, and then re-planted. This is a significant example of Industrial agriculture because it is an industrialized production of this tree (or crop) to meet the high demand of our ever growing population for this specific type of wood. It overlooks the well being and balance of forest ecosystems and completely eliminates the concept of biodiversity. Industrial agriculture has many negative consequences. For example, the industrial agriculture of the lodge pole pine has resulted in a lack of biodiversity, and a therefore vulnerability to pests. The Mountain Pine beetle, also known as the Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins has posed as a huge threat to this type of tree. The beetle is about the size of a grain of rice, is dark colored, and lives most of its life in trees. Their lives are shorter than a year and they lay eggs in trees and over time they hinder the tees ability to draw water and nutrients. Numerous epidemics have occurred over time and this species cause mortality of large numbers of trees. Major outbreaks have occurred in southwestern Alberta in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Outbreaks have also consistently occurred in British Colombia over the last several decades.
The beetles have destroyed millions of pine trees (over 400 square kilometres) leaving once forested areas barren. At the current rate, 80% of mature pine trees in B.C. will be dead by 2013. The Lodge pole pine, B.C.'s most commercially harvested tree, as stated above, has been especially targeted which has led to millions of dollars in losses. The trees are being so dramatically affected because they are all the exact same. There is no diversity and therefore the beetle affects the species of trees in all the same way, which results in enormous epidemics with devastating results. What is the solution to this problem? Simple, it’s Sustainable agriculture over Industrial Agriculture. Sustainable agriculture refers to the ability of a farm to produce product indefinitely, without causing irreversible damage to ecosystem health. Meaning instead of farming and re-farming the exact same tree over and over again for human use, farmers should attempt to plant numerous diverse species in order to maintain balanced ecosystems in forests. This would result in the many unique trees that would most likely be able to resist the negative effects of the mountain pine beetle.
In conclusion, In order to have a prosperous future involving nature and our environment we need to make the correct choice, which is sustainable over industrial.
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I really enjoyed reading your blog. I agree with you on the fact that sustainable agriculture is much better than industrial agriculture. We must start thinking about the future of our planent and how our actions today affect the future. We must start doing everything we can for the better of our planet and even our own health. Trees are very important to ecosystems because they provide oxygen. Therefore we must also try to limit the number of trees that are cut down for industrial purposes, in order to keep our planet healthy for future generations.
ReplyDeleteHaving to only produce one type of tree just to meet our human needs is realy unfair. It definitley does eliminate biodiversity and our forest will lose its eco balance. The issue of the pine beetle is very interesting to me because it's kind of funny that the logging industry's losing so much money because of the beetle. But if you think about it, it's their fault that the forests has no diversity and then affecting the species of trees in all the same way, which results in enormous epidemics with devastating results. For sure people need to think about how their actions effect everything and realize that industrial agriculture is killing our earth.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the points you made. I completely agree with you on the whole sustainable over industrial debate. Sustainable is so much healthier for the environment as you have proven in your blog. I also liked your point about farmers planting different kinds of trees to promote more diversity. It makes so much more sense then planting and replanting the same trees. Good job I enjoyed reading this a lot.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! It was very well written and intriguing. Even though in my blog I opposed choosing sustainable agriculture over industrial, I do agree with you. In my blog I chose industrial because it's faster and easier and that's what we need if we're expecting a population growth by 2050! Sustainable agriculture is way better for the environment. The points you made with diversity were very agreeable. Keep up the great blogs!
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