Protecting the Unionville Barrens;
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AbstractThe Unionville Barrens are an extraordinary ecosystem with a history extending back into the deep past. They are home to a unique group of plant and animal species including an exceptionally large number of rare, threatened and endangered species relative to the modest area of land involved. There is strong evidence that the barrens have been losing ground for the past several decades, shrinking in area and declining in native species diversity with the waning of the disturbance regime that has sustained them for centuries or thousands of years. With relatively minor effort, this nationally significant piece of our natural heritage could be protected, its decline reversed, and key processes restored to insure its long-term sustainability. This report summarizes the grounds for why the Unionville Barrens rank among the highest-priority sites for land conservation in the region. Critical issues of biology, history and human values are discussed: (1) The Unionville Barrens are biologically unique, historically ancient, and nationally significant. (2) Temperate grasslands such as the Unionville Barrens have been among the least protected ecosystems and, as a result, now they are critically endangered. (3) Until the mid-twentieth century the Unionville Barrens were sustained by fire, mining, grazing and natural disturbances, but since then they have been losing area and species at an accelerating rate. (4) To prevent common invasive plant species from destroying the Unionville Barrens,
the critical needs are for land protection, including a buffer zone, and active
management of invasives. Access |