Large-scale logging can often affect the delicate balance of
plant
and animal life in nearby wetlands. But how much? A University
of Georgia scientist says if you look close enough, some little
creatures can tell you big things about wetlands.
Darold Batzer, an entomologist with the UGA College of
Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, has spent the past four years hunting
the state's wetlands in search of tiny, sometimes microscopic,
invertebrates for answers.
Why Invertebrates?
Invertebrates, Batzer said, would be the first animals to show
any changes in the wetland ecology. They feed on plants and are
closer to the beginning of the food chain than a hawk or a
frog.
"Invertebrates are a major link between plants and higher
animals like birds, reptiles and amphibians," Batzer said.
"So, they are kind of like the guts of the food
web."
An invertebrate is an animal with no backbone. The most commonly
known Georgia wetland invertebrate is the mosquito, but Batzer
also looks for small crustaceans and fly larvae.
They're easy to collect, he said, and useful in looking for
impacts.
Batzer's hunting weapons are simple: a sweep net, plastic bags
and alcohol to preserve samples.
"There are a lot of different kinds of invertebrates, and
each kind gives you a lot of clues on what is going on in that
habitat," Batzer said.
Depends on the
Numbers
For instance, a water flea can tell you the loss of tree coverage
in the wetland due to logging. Algae need sunlight to grow. A
water flea feeds on algae. The number of algae depends on the
amount of sunlight. And the number of water fleas depends on the
amount of algae. Counting the water fleas can give you an idea
on how much sunlight is hitting the wetland.
Batzer mostly investigates low-lying wetlands inside pine
plantations.
He studies a site for a couple of years to see how it operates
before the timber is harvested. When the timber is cut, he
returns
to identify any changes.
"We see what impacts do occur: increased sunlight, increased
nutrient runoff or some sort of runoff," he said. "We
then look at ways to find out why those changes occur and ...
ways we can reduce any changes."
Batzer has found some ecological changes in wetlands near timber
harvesting. So far, though, he has detected no harmful
impacts.
If there are negative impacts, he said, strips of trees could
be planted to act like a buffer zone and protect the wetland.
But a buffer zone could cost thousands of dollars.
"The research could affect many acres in Georgia," he
said, "because there are literally thousands of these
wetland
ponds in the state."
Need More Valuable
Clues
So far, the experiments are in the early stages, and more
research
must be conducted. But Batzer is hopeful he can identify the
environmental
changes affected by timber harvests in these delicate ecosystems
in Georgia.
"People realize that wetlands are valuable resources and
environmental benefits are hard to put into a dollar value,"
he said.
Georgia is the largest timber producer in the eastern United
States.
About 72 percent (17 million acres) of the state's forests are
privately owned. Forestry is Georgia's largest renewable
resource,
with an annual impact of $19.5 billion on the state's economy.
Published on 01/10/01
Little Creatures Reveal Big Things about Wetlands
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