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IMPORTANCE OF NATURAL AREAS

More of the Earth's land area has a low density of humans. These sparsely populated areas, known as non urban or rural lands, include wilderness forests, grasslands, and wetlands. The many environmental services that are performed by rural lands enable the majority of humans to live in concentrated urban environments.

As you will see throughout this chapter, undisturbed bind benefits us in many ways of which we are often not even aware. Consider the higher elevations, of mountains, above the tree line, which have a distinctive ecosystem known as alpine tundra. The alpine tundra, which has strong winds, cold temperatures, and snow, is a harsh environment inhabited by few kinds of plants. Sparse populations of Tibetan herdsmen in the Himalayas are among the few groups of people living in alpine tundra. The western United States has approximately 1.2 million hectares (3 million acres) of mostly uninhabited alpine tundra. Although this ecosystem is worth preserving simply because it is unique and interesting, it also has an ecological value that is not readily apparent to most people. For example, melting snows in the highest portions of Utah's alpine tundra furnish 60 percent of the water in the state's streams, even during the hot days of summer.

Unfortunately, the amount of U.S. alpine tundra that can be classified as disturbed by human activities is increasing. Sheep grazing, recreation, and mining all take their toll, particularly because the soil found in such regions is extremely thin and fragile.

Maintaining parcels of undisturbed land adjacent to agricultural and urban areas provides vital environmental services such as pest control, flood and erosion control, and groundwater recharge. Undisturbed land also breaks down pollutants and recycles wastes.

Natural environments provide homes for Earth's plant and animal species. One of the best rays to maintain wildlife and to protect endangered and threatened species is by reserving or restoring the natural areas to which wildlife is adapted.

Ecologists who conduct research on the complexity of ecosystems frequently use natural areas s outdoor laboratories. Geologists, zoologists studying behavior, botanists studying plant diversity, and soil scientists are just a few of the other scientists who use natural sites for scientific enquiry. Natural areas provide perfect settings for educational experiences not only in science, but also in history, because they demonstrate the way the land was when our ancestors settled here.

Certain unspoiled natural areas are also important for their recreational value, providing places for hiking, swimming, boating, rafting, sport hunting, and fishing.

Wild areas are also important to the human spirit. Forest-covered mountains, rolling prairies, barren deserts, and other undeveloped areas are not only aesthetically pleasing, but help us to recover from the stresses of urban and suburban living. We can escape the tensions of the civilized world by retreating, even temporarily, to the solitude of natural areas.