TABLE OF CONTENTS
LOOKING AHEAD:
LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND MONITORING IN CANADA
SOURCES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
INDICATORS OF ECOSYSTEM STRESS AND CHANGE
BUILDING BLOCKS FOR AN LTERM PROGRAM
A HEAD START: ENVIRONMENT CANADA’S ECOLOGICAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT NETWORK (EMAN)
A PROPOSED CANADIAN LTERM PROGRAM
ECONOMIC VALUE OF CANADA’S ECOLOGICAL RESOURCES
THE CANADIAN GLOBAL CHANGE PROGRAM
A PROPOSED CANADIAN LTERM PROGRAM
An LTERM program in Canada would coordinate the disparate activities described above and facilitate the emergence of a cost-effective ecological research and monitoring network. Such a network should be based on the following principles:
1. An ecosystem approach
The ecosystem approach should be central to any LTERM program in Canada. It helps ask the most appropriate questions and provides a conceptual framework for answering them in the most useful way:
- What feedbacks exist within the ecosystem and between the ecosystem and the larger environment? Will these feedbacks compensate for structural failures in the system?
- How capable is an ecosystem of self-defence against invasions by exotic organisms?
- What biotic capabilities does the ecosystem have in reserve to survive and recover from occasional severe crises?
- Can evolutionary processes keep pace with the global changes expected in the 21st century?
The ecosystem approach can also guide us in establishing the appropriate boundaries for LTERM study sites. For example, a study site should encompass a hydrologically calibrated catchment area, and should embrace not only biogeochemical but also socioeconomic influences on the ecosystem.
2. Long-term monitoring An essential feature of an ecological monitoring program is that it collect information in a consistent manner over an extended time, because ecological systems often have cycles of many decades or centuries and important trends are only visible in the long term. Just as importantly, there may be significant time lags between environmental change and ecosystem response. Thus, it is recommended that a Canadian LTERM program maintain a time perspective of 50 years or longer. The program should give priority to the development and tracking of early warning indicators of long-term environmental changes.
3. A variety of spatial scales The ecosystem concept suggests a hierarchy of spatial scales: smaller ecosystems are embedded in larger ones, up to the global ecosphere. Ecosystem types also exist under different environmental conditions because of geophysical and climatological variations across the country and continent. This suggests that studies on a wide range of spatial scales should be included to develop a comprehensive ecological research and monitoring program. While local and regional studies are essential, it is important to recognize that wildlife, insects, seeds, pollen and other biological materials move freely across the Canada–United States boundary, so a continental-scale approach to ecological research and monitoring is also clearly desirable. Continental- and global-scale programs should be integrated into relevant international efforts, in particular, the International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme.
4. A variety of site conditions Because of the wide variety of ecological conditions across Canada, LTERM sites need to be selected carefully. Sites need to show sensitivity to global influences and a high specificity to stress-producing factors (such as ozone depletion or global warming), and they should be representative of larger ecological areas. A range of site conditions should be selected: from pristine wilderness areas to managed ecosystems such as farmlands and forests to highly disturbed sites, such as those resulting from suburban sprawl and waste dumping. LTERM studies should also be carried out on marine estuarine, coastal, open ocean, coastal and ice-dominated systems.
5. Interdisciplinary science An ecosystem’s behaviour cannot be understood solely by studying its component parts; rather, an ecosystem behaves as a connected whole and should be studied as such. Thus, an ecosystem approach calls for an interdisciplinary approach to information gathering:
- hydrologic cycling, using catchment areas to define ecosystem boundaries wherever possible
- biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen and other substances through the ecosystem in the catchment area
- food webs (predator-prey relations)
- energetics
- geomorphology and soils
- population dynamics
- life-cycle assessments, e.g. of toxic substances
- the effects of landscape fragmentation and corridors on ecosystem processes.
Most importantly, the variety of perspectives should be applied in an integrated fashion, in contrast to existing research activities that often apply them in isolation.
6. Program continuity Given the spatial and temporal span of an LTERM program, the federal government is the only body that could provide the necessary financial and institutional support. With the launch of EMAN, a single national agency has become available to take leadership as regards administering the LTERM program, managing information collection and reporting LTERM findings (i.e. an environmental Statistics Canada).
7. Data management strategy Data collected at LTERM sites should be consistent both across Canada and, wherever relevant, with the data collected in international programs. This is one reason why the development of a national data management strategy is so important. The strategy should map out the means for keeping up with evolving instrumentation and scientific understanding, and help determine whether existing data systems should be adapted or whether an entirely new system of data compilation, management and reporting should be designed. Experience around the world shows that at least 10% of the budget for a network of monitoring and research sites should be spent on data management.
8. An integrated network for analysis One of the major benefits of an integrated national program is the ability to generate comparable findings from a wide variety of sites located under different climatological, limnological and geological conditions. For instance, a network of stations could be used to compare nutrient cycling, biomass production, food webs and biodiversity at different sites to help detect common ecological responses to global change. A network will be most effective if an overall strategy is in place, superimposing the long-term objectives of the network on the objectives established for individual LTERM sites.