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Ecosystem Damages & Recovery after Natural Disasters & Green Mitigation for the Future

By: Makayla Miller

Natural disasters can have a devastating impact all over the world. People are often left without their homes and cities in the wake of a natural disaster, but humanity always finds a way to help those affected. While we are busy helping people, who is helping the environment recover? Everything is integrated in an ecosystem, so when one aspect is ruined then others are destroyed too. It can be difficult to remember the environmental recovery when it does not affect people directly, but it is still very important to think about future efforts of mitigation. This post is to find out the amount of time it can take an ecosystem to recover from different kinds of disasters and investigate some sustainable mitigation options for a more protected, cleaner future.

There are laws and regulations in the United States for the protection of the environment. But when a disaster occurs, the federal government can exempt these rules for human health, safety, and recovery. The drawback is that in many instances there is no information about the potential damage of an exemption of an environmental law. The lack of information can result in impulsive decisions that lead to unexpected long-term environmental harm, [1] which then worsens climate change and increases the number of occurrences and strength of natural disasters. It is important to think about the long-term effects before the short-term recovery because disasters will happen again. Focusing on long term ecosystem resilience can make natural environments that are vulnerable to disasters better equipped to withstand the impact of future natural disasters. [1] The damage from a natural disaster can take months to begin to show in an environment and by that time, it may be too late to have a full recovery or build any resistance.

There are multiple natural disaster types that greatly harm the environment. Some disasters I am going to focus on include hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, and forest fires. Hurricanes and tsunamis cause flooding of rivers, lakes, and contaminated waters which pollutes and changes coastal and wetland regions. Salinity is very important in water environments and changing the composition of it can drastically change the species ability to survive in these locations. When conducting an experiment on the Black Sea for land and water relations using the Vegetation Health Index, researchers found that there is a link where “larger chlorophyll concentrations in the northwestern Black Sea coastal zone in wet (healthy vegetation) years are associated with much larger drains of contaminants into the marine ecosystem from the Danube and Dnieper rivers. But during dry (vegetation stress) years, chlorophyll concentration is much lower.” [2] Flooding in just this region alone can cause mass amounts of pollution but when you factor in other areas, the hazards are more serious. It was also found that aquatic ecosystems are more vulnerable and less resilient than terrestrial ecosystems. Recovery time for aquatic ecosystems varies depending on the type of water system and the organisms that live there but most of the time they will not be able to recover for years without mitigation. [3]

Forest fires, when controlled, are healthy for forests. But when an uncontrolled fire begins, it will burn both dead and living plant matter. Thousands of species can die with many more fleeing the area leaving the forest as a dead, barren wasteland. Wildfires are a huge problem in dry climates but play an essential role in plant community recovery, plant adaptation, and nutrient cycling. [4] Testing plant homeostasis, or process of keeping constant elemental concentrations, determines the recovery of plant growth post-fire. Experiments show that regenerated plant species had a shorter recovery time than dominant species, but recovery time still ranged from 10-20 years. A very important region that is experiencing the consequences of forest fires is the Amazonian forests. Droughts and fires are becoming more common due to excessive logging. These elements increase the vulnerability to irreversible damages by increasing ignition rates, creating drier soil environments, and promoting invasive plant species like grasses. [5] The health of our forests is vital for combating climate change and forests function as mitigation systems, as a large forest can reduce the intensity of some natural hazards.

When it comes to mitigation strategies, resources are disproportionate across the world. However, in more developed countries, we can build practices that are more helpful than harmful to the environment. Some sustainable methods are constructing wetlands, green roofs, rain gardens, buffer zones, and bioswales. All these methods help reduce flooding or runoff caused by hurricanes, tsunamis, or thunderstorms. There are many economic, social, and environmental benefits to green infrastructure. Green infrastructure can reduce costs incurred from structural mitigation methods and increase recreation amenities but most importantly it increases air quality, absorbs carbon emissions, intercepts stormwater, and saves energy. There are also efforts in infrastructure to create nature bridges across our highways for wildlife. With all this in mind, using green infrastructure as a way to mitigate hazards can have positive and lasting environmental and economic impact. [6]

Environments take years to recover after a natural disaster. The damages that occur in the ecosystems affected determine how long the recovery will take. Recovery includes nutrient, food web relations, and plant stabilization. Seeing that an ecosystem is intricately connected, each aspect is important for the overall health of it. With helpful green mitigation strategies, we can help slow climate change while protecting people better.

References

Drake, M. (2019). Federal Environmental Exemptions for Natural Disasters and the Case for Ecosystem Resilience. Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law , 34(1), 109–134. https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/jpl/vol34/iss1/5/

Kushnir, V., Kogan, F., Korotaev, G., & Powell, A. (2010). Predicting natural disasters in the coastal zone based on links between land and marine ecosystems. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 1(3), 185–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475705.2010.498146

Losey, R. J. (2005). Earthquakes and tsunami as elements of environmental disturbance on the Northwest Coast of North America. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 24(2), 101–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2005.02.001

Song, Z., Tian, H., Li, Z., Luo, Y., & Liu, Y. (2021). Changes in plant nutrient utilization during ecosystem recovery after wildfire. Journal of Environmental Management, 295, 112994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112994

De Faria, B. L., Marano, G., Piponiot, C., Silva, C. A., Dantas, V. de, Rattis, L., Rech, A. R., & Collalti, A. (2020). Model-based estimation of Amazonian forests recovery time after drought and fire events. Forests, 12(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/f12010008

Tyler, J. (2016). Sustainable Hazard Mitigation: Exploring the Importance of Green Infrastructure in Building Disaster Resilient Communities. Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development, 15(1), 134–145. https://doi.org/10.7916/D8HD7VG3

[makmiller]

Ecosystem Damages & Recovery after Natural Disasters & Green Mitigation for the Future (DRAFT)

By: Makayla Miller

Natural disasters affect everything in their paths all over the world. People become devastated with homes or cities destroyed but humanity always finds a way to help those affected. While we are busy helping people, who is helping the environment recover? Everything is integrated in an ecosystem so when one aspect is ruined then others will become destroyed too. It can be difficult to remember about environmental recovery when it does not affect people directly, but it is still very important to think about future efforts of mitigation. This post is to understand the amount of time it can take an ecosystem to recover, if that recovery time depends on the amount of damage occurred or the kind of organisms living in the area, and the sustainable mitigation options for a more protected, cleaner future. There are multiple laws and regulations in the United States for the protection of the environment but when a disaster occurs, the federal government can exempt these rules for human health, safety, and recovery. This is a smart idea, but the drawback is that in many instances there is no information about the potential damage of an exemption of an environmental law. “This lack of information can result in rash decisions that lead to unexpected long-term environmental harm” [1] which then affects climate change and continues to increase the occurrences and strength of natural disasters. It is important to think about the long-term before the short-term recovery because disasters will happen again. Focusing “away from short-term community recovery and towards long-term ecosystem resilience, natural environments vulnerable to disasters can be better equipped to brace against the impact of future natural disasters or emergencies.” [1] The damages of a disaster can take months to begin to show in an environment and by that time it can be too late to have a full recovery or build any resistance. There are multiple natural disaster types that greatly harm the environment. Some disasters include hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, earthquakes, forest fires, and snowstorms. Hurricanes and tsunamis cause flooding of rivers, lakes, and contaminated waters and shifts in coastal and wetland regions. Salinity is very important in water environments and changing the composition of it can drastically change the species able to survive there. When conducting an experiment on the Black Sea for land and water relations using the Vegetation Health Index, researchers found that there is a link where “larger chlorophyll concentrations in the northwestern Black Sea coastal zone in wet (healthy vegetation) years are associated with much larger drains of contaminants into the marine ecosystem from the Danube and Dnieper rivers. But during dry (vegetation stress) years, chlorophyll concentration is much lower.” [2] Flooding in just this region alone can cause mass amounts of pollution but when you factor in other areas, the hazards grow. Recovery time for marine ecosystems varies depending on the type of water system but most of the time they will not be able to recover for years without mitigation. Earthquakes drastically change the environment, but researchers found out that coastal regions are negatively affected while terrestrial environments are usually unaffected. Shaking grounds can cause landslides and floods which seep into the waterways which lead to the ocean bringing pollution with them. The terrestrial, however, does not have drastic changes in its biosphere and has a quick recovery time compared to the water environments. According to researchers, “there may likely be a somewhat greater resilience of terrestrial resources and less resilience of aquatic resources immediately following an earthquake.” [3] This could help scientists discover new mitigation strategies for waterways based on how well terrestrial ecosystems do in recovery after an earthquake. Forest fires when controlled are healthy for forests but when an uncontrolled fire begins, it will burn dead and alive plant matter. Thousands of species can die with many more fleeing the area leaving the forest as a dead, barren land. Wildfires are a huge problem in dry climates but “play a vital role in nutrient cycling, plant adaptation, and plant community recovery.” [4] Testing plant homeostasis, or process of keeping constant elemental concentrations, determines the recovery of plant growth post-fire. Experiments show that regenerated plant species had a shorter recovery time than dominant species but recovery time still ranged from 10-20 years. Finally, snow storms can cause drastic changes in forests as well. The weight of frozen snow and ice can collapse trees/vegetation and kill animals which causes an ecological imbalance. Researchers believe that “ice-snow disasters have become one of the main natural interferences affecting the structure and function of forest ecosystems.” [5] In southern China, a snow storm covered a large amount of forest in 2008. The damage done by the storm affected 19% of China’s forests and caused multiple property losses and natural disturbances. The length of time that the snow was there caused the recovery time of the forests to take longer than expected, telling us that frozen regions are just as important to watch out for. When it comes to mitigation strategies, resources are greatly uneven across the world but in more developed countries, we can build practices that are more helpful than harmful to the environment. Some sustainable methods are constructing wetlands, green roofs, rain gardens, buffer zones, and bioswales. All these methods help reduce flooding or runoff caused by hurricanes, tsunamis, or thunderstorms. There are many economical, social, and environmental benefits to green infrastructure. Green infrastructure can reduce costs incurred from structural mitigation methods and increase recreation amenities but most importantly it increases air quality, absorbs carbon emissions, intercepts stormwater, and saves energy. With all this in mind, “adopting green infrastructure as a sustainable hazard mitigation strategy can have a lasting and positive economic and environmental impact.” [6] In conclusion, environments take years to recover after a natural disaster and the damages that occur and the type of ecosystem affected determine how long the recovery will take. With helpful green mitigation strategies, we can help slow climate change while protecting people better.

References [1] Drake, M. (2019). Federal Environmental Exemptions for Natural Disasters and the Case for Ecosystem Resilience. Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law , 34(1), 109–134. https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/jpl/vol34/iss1/5/ [2] Kushnir, V., Kogan, F., Korotaev, G., & Powell, A. (2010). Predicting natural disasters in the coastal zone based on links between land and marine ecosystems. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 1(3), 185–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475705.2010.498146 [3] Losey, R. J. (2005). Earthquakes and tsunami as elements of environmental disturbance on the Northwest Coast of North America. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 24(2), 101–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2005.02.001 [4] Song, Z., Tian, H., Li, Z., Luo, Y., & Liu, Y. (2021). Changes in plant nutrient utilization during ecosystem recovery after wildfire. Journal of Environmental Management, 295, 112994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112994 [5] Wang, X., Yang, F., Gao, X., Wang, W., & Zha, X. (2019). Evaluation of forest damaged area and severity caused by ice-snow frozen disasters over southern China with Remote Sensing. Chinese Geographical Science, 29(3), 405–416. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-019-1041-3 [6] Tyler, J. (2016). Sustainable Hazard Mitigation: Exploring the Importance of Green Infrastructure in Building Disaster Resilient Communities. Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development, 15(1), 134–145. https://doi.org/10.7916/D8HD7VG3