Steve, We need to find a way to make trees "sexier" in the mind of the public. Certainly the giant redwoods meet that criteria, but few other trees can even compete. Birds are "Charismatic Macrofauna." They are colorful, they move around, they sing, they have families. People relate more to the cuter and more colorful aspects of the natural world than they do to aspect that are not as flashy, but may be more important. I did a quick search on the term Charismatic macrofauna and came across several examples that I found amusing:
A piece about microbiology started off as follows: "Charismatic macrofauna" are the prima donnas of organismal biology. Tigers, dolphins, pandas, and their ilk command, quite frankly, the lion's share of research and conservation funding, as well as public attention and media coverage. A couple adopted, in the sense of providing financial support for, a marmot and felt guilt about it: Jumping on the Charismatic Macrofauna Bandwagon Posted by Plantnerd on Monday, November 22 2004 at 3:25 PM - Slug and I recently "adopted" a Vancouver Island Marmot. Given the vast realms of biodiversity needing attention, and my well-known fondness for undervalued plants and dryland ecosystems, you may wonder why we settled on the Vancouver Island Marmot to help save. The answer is simple: Vancouver Island Marmots are so darned cute. Another piece talked about the importance of lesser species in the food chain: While evening bats and wood rats do not have the same sex appeal to Georgia's wildlife enthusiasts as the whitetail deer, black bear or even the northern bobwhite quail, their role in the greater ecological picture is of equal importance "Historically these lesser recognized creatures have not been studied, nor have they been considered as important as the 'charismatic macrofauna,'?" said Steven Castleberry, associate professor of wildlife management and ecology at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. "But, when you view them in the scale of the food chain, they play an important role for supporting larger creatures." Among the plants perhaps orchids can be thought of as a charismatic type of flora. I did find an interesting reference to charismatic flora with regard to global warming. Major losses of signature desert species, such as saguaro cactus and Joshua trees. "Climate change will create physical conditions conducive to wildfire, and the proliferation of exotic grasses will provide fuel, thus causing fire frequencies to increase in a self-reinforcing fashion... the probability of loss of iconic, charismatic mega flora such as saguaro cacti and Joshua trees will be greatly increased." I am not sure how to imbue the idea of ecosystem function ad integrity, and trees with the same appeal as cute marmots and orchids. Ed Frank Check out my new Blog: http://nature-web-network.blogspot.com/ (and click on some of the ads) -- Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected]
