I strongly believe that a TA marked our reports unfairly. The individual has it out for me specifically because i talked back to him and he obviously didnt like it because hes a power hungry fruit.
Anyway during the presentations i pointed out a flaw in one of the girls solutions, this girl was one of the Ta's favorite students and when it was our time to present, he coincidentally asked me the question, i answered it with ease
, im assuming he didnt like that. He then went to the girl and whispered something to her.
Today my friend goes to pick up the PBL and we get 19/40, which makes absolutely no sense as our solution was feasible and made sense. I do plan on getting alastair to regrade it but hell be back on monday. Those of you who have done pbl, if you have the time could you take a read through this and tell me if 19/40 is an appropriate mark. It would be great to get some extra reassurance from here.
I know its long and we all have exams but this is really getting to me as i have never failed an assignment.
Thanks a lot
Cutting Techniques
The primary method in BC is clear-cutting (Rieger,2009, p 134). Here the trees and plants are cut and transported to an area with there branches in tact (Rieger,2009, p 135). Once the trees have been cut a rejuvenation period occurs where seedlings are planted which may allow vegetation to grow (Rieger,2009, p 134). In order to reduce the harmful effects of this method we will implement a modified version.
Government Regulations
In order to conserve the health of the environment, it is imperative for the British Columbian government to be involved in the logging industry. Currently there are several regulations in place such as the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA), the Forest Planning and Practices Regulation (FPPR) and the Forest Act ("A review of early," 2006). Although these guidelines are in place, there still are problems such as over-cutting and illegal practices which are detrimental to the environment.
Beetle Population
B.C. is currently facing the devastating affect of the mountain pine beetles on its forests. The pine beetles have attacked from 31-50% of trees in areas of B.C. such as Mackenzie and as much as 71-100% of trees in areas such as Fort James (Refer to Fig. 7.) Because forest fires have been suppressed for so long, all forests are roughly the same age, and the trees are big enough to be susceptible to beetles. An abundance of rain has weakened the trees and the absence of cold winters has allowed the beetles to flourish and expand their range
(Robbins, 2008).
By the end of 2006, the cumulative outbreak area affected was estimated at 130,000 square kilometres. The beetle is expected to have wiped out 80 per cent of the pine forest by 2013. (Jay, 2008) The beetles dig through the tree's bark to the phloem of the tree, which contains the tree's organic nutrients and conductive tissue. The beetles then consume the trees nutrients and spread a blue stained fungi which furthers the trees decay. Finally they lay eggs and leave the infected tree to die.
Implementation of 0.2% cutting method. Canada houses 402 million hectares of forest land and about 90% of Canada’s forest land is publicly owned (Natural Resources Canada, 2008). Approximately 900,000 hectares (0.22%) of forest and other woodlands are harvested annually in Canada (Natural Resources Canada, 2008). In order to keep logging levels under control the Canadian government, has enacted a new tree cutting method called the “
One percent cutting method.” (Natural Resources Canada, 2009). But, considering the current reduction of forests per year, this is close to 5x what is currently being cut. (Natural Resources Canada, 2009)
According to our suggested 0.20% cutting method, no more than 0.20% of forest land should be harvested every year. This change from 0.22% to 0.20% results in a 10% decrease in current logging output. Resulting in a healthier ecosystem and higher forest diversity / fitness.
By decreasing logging by a further 10%, our ecological footprint will continue to diminish making Canada the leading model for forest management.
Government regulation changes
The main objective of the FPPR is to maintain forest attributes including: the soil, timber, wildlife and biodiversity (A review of early," 2006). While this objective is somewhat realized, the results can be better. One of the FRPA requirements is for loggers to keep the soil disturbance in the area they are logging under ten percent (A review of early," 2006). This is a decent number but over time this ten percent will add up, so it would be more beneficial to reduce this disturbance level to approximately five percent. This would reduce the amount of erosion and possible landslides, which are already prohibited by the FRPA. Another requirement of this act is that at least seven percent of wildlife trees of a cut block must be retained (A review of early," 2006). In this case a cut block is a predetermined area a logger has authority to cut (Ministry of Forests, 2008). Instead of trying to retain seven percent, a greater number such as fifteen percent would lead to conserving a larger area of wildlife as the FPPR aims to do. Many of the regulations outlined in the FRPA have the condition of “without reducing timber supply” (A review of early," 2006), which can be taken to mean that although the government currently wants to conserve the forest areas, they also do not want to reduce the amount of trees cut and sold in the market. By removing this condition, loggers could then take the responsibility of trying to find more efficient ways of cutting trees.
Economically speaking, logging in British Columbia accounts for much of the government’s income. Currently there is a Logging Tax Act which requires loggers to pay the government ten percent of income gained through logging activity (Logging Tax Act, 2009). By increasing this tax to about fifteen percent it should reduce the amount of logging done slightly. To further reduce logging, the government can introduce tax breaks to those who choose to “go green” and use alternative and conservative logging methods which considerably protect the environment.
Slash recycling
Most logging techniques produce a harmful by product called slash. Slash is fine woody debris generated through the destruction of the limbs and branches. Slash generated during logging operations acts as a catalyst for forest fires, which poses a threat to the trees and the habitat
(Olsson and Staaf 1995). Therefore we must figure out how to properly dispose of the slash.
Canada does have laws preventing companies from leaving slash untreated. The problem is that the methods used for treating the slash are not efficient and only benefit the logging companies.
The first method for slash removal is called chipping, here the leftover debris is placed into a wood chipper, which then converts the wood chips into sawdust. The sawdust is then collected and sold to large companies for the production of electricity or heat
(Olsson and Staaf 1995). The advantages of this method are that it’s cost effective; it doesn’t require much manpower, does not require a lot of special training and provides extra income for the logging companies
(Olsson and Staaf 1995). The disadvantages are that it’s a slow process, it’s a relatively unsafe process resulting and it removes some but not all beetle eggs in the dead trees
(Olsson and Staaf 1995). The eggs that are not destroyed are dispersed throughout the area allowing the beetle population to flourish.
Our goal is to dispose of slash in a manner that has minimal effect on the environment. The method listed above has one major disadvantage, they are unable to completely destroy the eggs and allow them to disperse throughout the forest.
The solution to the problem is to use a machine called the air burner
incinerator. These machines are very fast; they are able to burn 25 tons of slash in an hour without any smoke or sparks (Faeo, 2000, para 5). The process is based on a smokeless combustion design, where high temperatures provide a complete burn (Faeo, 2000, para 7). Then a blower acts to cool the burner leaving an ash like substance. The remaining ash is completely biodegradable and can be used as fertilizer (Faeo, 2000, para 9). Another advantage is that it completely eliminates the eggs laid in the dead wood as the high temperatures destroy the eggs and do not allow any of them to disperse (Faeo, 2000, para 11). Through the usage of this machine we may be able to control the Beetle population. This machine is able to dispose of slash efficiently and help reduce the Beetle population but how much does it cost? The price for the machine ranges from 30 000 up to 114 000 and lasts for about 20 years (Faeo, 2000, para 16). It costs less then 9 dollars per hour to operate and only one person is required to operate the machine(Faeo, 2000, para 16). These machines will not require companies to use a landfill as no waste is produced and will result in savings of 627.00 per day (Faeo, 2000, para 15).
Beetle egg control
Clear cutting would reduce the current mountain pine beetle population size while inhibiting the infestation expansion. From an economically standpoint it would be a good choice because the trees which would be removed could still be used for many purposes as well as just to generate profit. From an environmental standpoint it is an effective solution because gives trees more space to grow. Also a method to control possible future outbreaks would be to plant different types of trees. This would increase the diversity of the forest as well as ensure that the beetle population does not grow out of control. The clear cutting will be used in conjunction with pheromone baiting which would increase the amount of beetles attracted to each tree and in turn decrease the amount of beetles which would remain in the forests. An incinerator would be used which would destroy beetles eggs instead of allowing them to disperse. To conclude since not all trees would be cut down there would still be enough beetles in the forest to keep things in the environment balanced meaning the pine beetles would still remove the old trees continuing to do their natural duties.
Tree Diversity
Close to 31% of tree population areas are considered to be monoculture in the British Columbia coast forest region (FREP, 2009). This is a relatively high amount of single species forests. But, even though their percentage is moderate, they are the most heavily affected by the mountain pine beetle (NRC, 2008).
In total over 14.5 million hectares have been effected by the beetles in recent years (MFR, 2009). In a monoculture forest this generally leads to an extremely high amount of infection and subsequent death.
The effects of logging also affect the effects of the mountain pine beetle. The beetles will tend to infest trees with a lower fitness rather than one that is in good health. Since logging promotes a lower fitness in tree populations, the mountain pine beetle will tend to infect wood that would have otherwise been logged. This leads to an unnatural increase in beetle population as we inadvertently give the beetles an easier living environment.
In order to slow down the mountain pine beetle population increase silviculturing will need to be introduced into the logging cycle to promote the use of other tree species in order to increase diversity of the monoculture tree populations. (Table 1) Although loggers prefer the Lodgepole Pine because it’s the most commonly logged tree in British Columbia (NRC, 2008), a forest with a higher diversity of trees will be able to better withstand the recent pine beetle mass infestations. Although this will most likely slightly change logging patterns in British Columbia, a small change to diversity would lead to a much lower Mountain Pine Beetle population over time.
Refer to Graph 1
Soil maintenance
Canadian forests are very important because they are home to many species and help consume carbon dioxide from the environment. They also play a major part in regulating local and regional rainfall. Moreover, they are also sources of food, medicine and help with filtration of underground water (WWF, 2005, para. 3).
The Canadian forest industry is expanding and tree logging has always been a part of its income. However, many negative impacts of tree logging on wildlife and ecosystems have been detected. Soil erosion is one of the major problems caused by the acts of logging (Weatherspoon, 1973). Top layers of soil hold major nutrients and are easily eroded if not protected by trees, thus leading to soil infertility (Natural Resources Canada, 2008).
Combined Suggestions
The forest floor covered with mosses and fallen leaves creates a layer and protects the soil from being hit by rain directly. Almost all of the rain water is absorbed through the soil with the help of its organic materials and tree roots spread (Natural Resources Canada, 2008). Hence, there is hardly any surface runoff on the forest ground. The large root networks of trees oppose the water flow and reduce pressure helping soil from erosion. Grasslands can also be useful if not as effective as forests to save soil from soil erosion. Fertile soil is a foundation of good plant growth and a habitat to fungi, worms and various insects (Sokal et al. 2004). Therefore, it is confirmed that healthy soil is a vital component of forest ecosystem. It is very important to not harvest forests and grow new plants to maintain soil fertility.
Solution
It should become obvious that drastic measures will need to be enacted throughout Canadian (and global) logging industries in order to preserve the environment as our human impact becomes more evident. These changes will not happen simply by the logging companies however, the vast amount of change will need to be enacted through laws. Through government regulation changes, implementations must be put into effect to reduce such things as the mountain pine beetle population, increases of monoculture populations and most importantly, humans ecological footprint on our own native forests through clear cutting and poor forest rejuvenation processes. Also, by increasing taxes and logging fines, we can reduce our average total cost to a net of close to 0$. A combined effect must be taken from multiple fronts in order to begin creating the initial solution to our ecological arrogance. This ecological benefits of these methods will also most likely not be evident for a few tree life cycles as we give our forests time to rejuvenate. Through execution of proposed suggestions in this paper, a reasonable start would be created with minimal change to the current logging industry regime that results in high ecological improvement.
