[obol] "Natural" systems

[Dennis P. Vroman]

Bruce makes a good point (in response to Lars comments), below.  Added some 
comments below Bruce's.
>
> A second excerpt:
> "There is nothing natural about our "native" prairies."
>
> Well, being a literalist, I have to disagree with that somewhat.  There
> are some "natural" things (birds, plants, leps, fungi, etc.) about our
> tiny native prairie remnants.  But maybe the point of that line is that
> one could reasonably argue that no "native" plant communities here are
> "pure" and unaffected by invasive species, air pollution, lack of fire,
> etc.
> That leads to one more Myth to add to the list from the other day:  some
> folks believe that restorationists blindly strive to revert habitats
> back to the way they were 150 years ago.  While that may sound pat, I
> don't believe it to be true.  All the habitat restorationists I work
> with, while usually using ca. 1850 as a "target" for a particular site,
> realize that no one knows exactly what comprised those prairies and
> savannas.  And if it was known, they couldn't be restored exactly to
> what they were because of the factors impacting them today (just
> mentioned).  And restorationists more and more are realizing that one
> cannot restore a "snapshot" in time and expect it to stay that way -- in
> addition to restoring a plant/animal community, one must restore
> ecological processes as well if the goal is to maintain that community.
>
> Good birding to you!
>
> Bruce Newhouse in Eugene

I believe Bruce is thinking along the correct lines, in that ecosystems (you 
can pick any one) are dynamic, that is they are never the same for long. 
There are many factors which can cause changes to them, changes in weather 
patterns is an important one these days, but would includes humans and the 
other host of organisms within a system).  Change has taken place in the 
distant past, even before our arrival to a system.  It's pretty unlikely 
"we" would be able to keep a system in stagnation for long, even if it were 
a desirable state.  If indigenous peoples in the Oregon valleys burned them 
many years back, could this not be considered an "un-natural" event, would 
it not be humans attempting to change or stagnate a system?

What we do does affect ecosystems and it favors some organism while some 
fall by the wayside, like it or not.  Time marches on...and so do ecosystems 
(with or without us in it).

Dennis (north of Grants Pass)