Question

Logging companies own significant amounts of land in the coastal ranges of California and typically hold onto their land for many decades. Their most important harvest is the redwood tree, which thrives, in moist, cool environments. The many small creeks that run through the coastal ranges support aquatic organisms including algae, fish, and invertebrates such as insect larvae and crustaceans. Because logging disturbs the soil, causing sediment to erode into the creeks, environmentalists have pushed for regulations preventing logging within a specified number of feet from all creeks. However, if the logging companies were given a choice, they would prefer to log the trees very close to the creeks.
1. Using the concepts of limiting factors and primary productivity, explain why the logging companies would like to be able to log next to the creeks.

2. Consider the effect that logging next to the creeks could have on the primary productivity within the creek. Explain two abiotic factors that could be changed by the logging and whether each of these changes would be expected to increase or decrease the primary productivity of the creek ecosystem.

Answer 1

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