Environmental Management

By Author: Henry Ford
Total Articles: 189
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Halifax, Nova Scotia is known for its greenery and the beautiful landscape it has. Those trees and plants are not only there for decoration, but also to help us live and provide us with many services. We, students, were assigned to choose a specific tree and to grow our knowledge about it. This paper will be talking about Halifax, Nova Scotia as our chosen tree. In this context; this paper will discuss its ecosystem services. It will also identify some of the risks facing this tree currently and probable future risks due to its immediate urban environment and broader global events. In addition this paper will highlight on some of the influences which pushed our choice with thorough description on its striking features as provided in the research work. For instance leaf and stem features, location, context, height supplemented with photographic evidence. So the paper will look at Halifax and issues around it in an ecosystem approach.

Background
Here at the university campus, there is one striking aesthetic issue. It is evident that this tree Halifax is all around the campus. Moreover, it can be noticed that Halifax ...
... is dominant in growing onto electricity cables mostly found within urban areas. These two concerns grabbed my attention to choose on it so that I may know and understand its interesting features that influence such applications, environmental significance and what risks it is likely to face due to its location and applications.

The Halifax, Nova Scotia is also known in Latin as a Populus Grandidentata- Bigtooth Aspen. Its Latin name Populus means “popular”, Grandis means “great, large” and dentatus means toothed (Bigtooth Aspen). This means that it is a popular tree with large and great toothed leaves. It is known to grow in North-Eastern states and South-Eastern Canada. It is a “dioecious” kind of tree, meaning that it has separate male and female plants (Bigtooth Aspen).

It is categorized with medium-sized, with height, at maturity, around 60 inches-80 inches with a diameter of 8’-10’. Halifax’s height is about 67' with a diameter of about 9’ with an average Populus gradidentata’s life of around 100 years, yet it will begin to degrade after about 65 years. They are considered to be fast growers yet live for a short period of time compared to other trees (Bigtooth Aspen). The tree usually grows in even-aged mixed stands, most commonly with quaking aspen, another kind of the aspen species trees; yet they are easily distinguishable by the large curved teeth of leaf edges. This tree is most dominant in moist places like near streams and abandoned fields. According to the Ohio Public Information Network, the big tooth Aspen’s leaves are easily noticed due to the striking features of the leaves (Bigtooth Aspen). It has broad and flat leaves but not lobed. The leaves are considered to be simple, fine and double teeth, all of the same size. Its stem is long, rough and rounded without the presence of glands (Photograph 2). Finally Halifax has few coarse teeth (Bigtooth Aspen). Right across from King’s college; one can easily find this tree located at Coburg road. Its exact geographical location is at 6283-6305 Coburg Rd, Halifax, NS B3H 2A3, Canada, and the GPS location is: Latitude: N 44 3817 Longitude: W 63 35.6478 (Google Maps).

Discussion
Ecosystem services are services which are observed, felt or obtained from the ecosystem or our natural environment. These services therefore include provisioning services, regulating services, cultural services and supportive services. In Halifax species some of these services can be seen while some are known from scientific researches which have been conducted by various bodies (Millennium Ecosystem assessment).

Provisional services
As can be seen from picture 2, this tree species offers alternative source of fuel. In some countries in the Eastern estates, research show that Halofax can be used to provide fuel for human activities (Virgnia Tech, 2001). In addition, it is used for human activities such as it provides material for pulpwood production and wood for rough constructions. Similarly wide varieties of animals use it as food by consuming its bark, twigs and young leaves or buds (North American Porcupine).

Regulating Services
Some of the benefits of this species of tree are due to its ability to regulate ecosystem processes. These processes include climate, water, soil and human disease regulations. Halifax tree in the urban areas, with its reach canopy, causes cooling effect to the environment thus regulating regional temperatures (Virgnia Tech, 2001). Its broad leaves also aid in regulating some of the airs borne infections build up. This is achieved when still air is disturbed due to the wind effect in the region. By distracting the direction or intensity of the wind, some infections, such as Tuberculosis, Influenza which could be carried in the wind are diverted (Virgnia Tech, 2001). In addition, air movement effect, due to their presence, reduces the concentration of infected air thus preventing further infections to other people found within that region. This tree with its roots helps in regulating soil erosion in a region by firmly holding soil particles together. On the same note, the mature trees help in regulating run off speeds thus reducing the destructions by such run offs to an ecosystem (Bledski, 2008).

Cultural services
Halifax is widely associated with non material benefits such as aesthetic experience and values. This tree is highly adopted by urban planners as well as individuals for its beauty nature in shape, leaf color and other morphological characteristics (Janna, B.). Its rich canopy and ever green leaves create cool shades suitable for recreation for both individuals and interest groups. It also provides good posture for electricity cables as it gourds the lines from external disturbances and prevents sagging cables from interfering with objects below it.

Supportive services
Halofax tree, with its long life span presents a number of benefits necessary for the production of other ecosystem services thus ensuring continuity of life in a given ecosystem where they exist. First, this tree helps in soil formation (Janna, B.). In this context, their fallen leaves and bark during their growth and excretion process, when rotten, contributes to more soil humus which in turn influence the growth of other under plants and grass for survival of other insects (Virgnia Tech, 2001). Secondly, it helps in fast production of atmospheric oxygen due to the larger surfaces of its leaves (Janna, B.) This is achieved during photosynthesis process where the carbon dioxide concentrated in the air is consumed and gives out oxygen gas as the bi-product. This bi-product is quite useful to other living organisms in their respiration process (Janna, B.). Moreover this tree not only helps in nutrient cycling but also water cycling by the use of its roots, stem and leaves. It is associated with high rate of transpiration due to its leaf size thus facilitate movement of ground water back to the atmosphere to form fresh rain (Virgnia Tech, 2001). This rain would then support other plants and organisms as well. Similarly nutrients already absorbed by the plant are sent back to ground through leaf and bark fall (Janna, B.). These nutrients would then support other plants in that ecosystem. In addition this tree, with its leaves and trunk, provides good habitat for some species of birds, insects and other living organisms useful in an ecosystem (PA HABITAT, 2010). Finally when other living plants and organisms feed on such nutrients, water and formed soil, there would be an increase in total biomass of that ecosystem which implies continuity of secondary and tertiary consumers (PA HABITAT, 2010).

However, this tree species currently faces risks which pose both current and future risks to its existence. Global warming and desertification has caused their extinction especially in abandoned fields (Ohio trees). In addition its high demand for pulpwood production also signal danger on their existence since the rate of felling has been realized to be higher in states like Ohio. Similarly, fire menace and its uncontrolled spread have caused destruction of this tree’s forest which hampers its survival in current and future times (Ohio trees). Given that this tree dominate on abandoned burned over lands, it may face future demolition as the population continues to grow which necessitates more constructions, farming and settlement (Ohio trees).

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