A remnant natural area, also known as remnant habitat, is an ecological
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...
containing
native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
flora and fauna that has not been significantly
disturbed by destructive activities such as
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
,
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply cha ...
,
pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, th ...
,
development,
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames ...
suppression, or
non-native species invasion.
The more disturbed an area has been, the less characteristic it becomes of remnant habitat. Remnant areas are also described as "
biologically intact" or "ecologically intact."
Remnant natural areas are often used as
reference ecosystems in
ecological restoration projects.
Ecology
A remnant natural area can be described in terms of its natural quality or
biological integrity, which is the extent to which it has the internal
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...
and
abiotic elements to replicate itself over time.
Another definition of biological integrity is "the capability of supporting and maintaining a balanced, integrated, adaptive community of organisms having a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...
composition,
diversity, and functional organization comparable to that of the natural
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
of the region."
Abiotic elements determining the quality of a natural area may include factors such as hydrologic connectivity or fire. In areas that have been
dredged,
drained, or
dammed
''Dammed: The Politics of Loss and Survival in Anishinaabe Territory'' is a 2020 book by Brittany Luby, Associate Professor of History at the University of Guelph. The book charts the impacts of the damming of the Winnipeg River in the Lake of ...
, the altered hydrology can
destroy a remnant natural area. Similarly, too much or too little
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames ...
can degrade or destroy a remnant natural area.
Remnant natural areas are characterized by the presence of "
conservative" plants and animals—organisms that are restricted to or highly characteristic of areas that have not been disturbed by humans.
Tools to measure aspects of natural areas quality in remnant areas include
Floristic Quality Assessment
Floristic Quality Assessment (FQA) is a tool used to assess an area's ecological integrity based on its plant species composition. Floristic Quality Assessment was originally developed in order to assess the likelihood that impacts to an area "woul ...
and the
Macroinvertebrate Community Index
Macroinvertebrate Community Index (MCI) is an index used in New Zealand to measure the water quality of fresh water streams. The presence or lack of macroinvertebrates such as insects, worms and snails in a river or stream can give a biological i ...
.
Examples
In the upper
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
, remnant natural areas date prior to
European settlement, going back to the end of the
Wisconsinian Glaciation approximately 15,000 years ago.
Diverse remnant plant community examples in that region include
tallgrass prairie,
beech-maple forest,
savannas,
bog
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
s, and
fen
A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...
s.
Remnant natural areas in
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
have largely been classified by the
Illinois Natural Areas Inventory as Category I "high quality terrestrial or wetland natural communities."
In
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
, remnant habitats are sometimes called "
bushland
In Australia, bushland is a blanket term for land which supports remnant vegetation or land which is disturbed but still retains a predominance of the original floristics and structure.
Human survival in bushland has a whole mythology evolving ...
," and include communities such as forest, woodland, grasslands,
mallee, coastal
heathland
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...
, and
rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
.
References
{{Reflist
Conservation biology
Ecology terminology
Habitats