Habitat & Biodiversity
The continual exchange of matter and the palm oil boom
Climate change and increased land use are threatening globally important ecosystems. An ecosystem is defined as a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. As environments, forests and oceans are important habitats because they mitigate climate change. Both habitats, on land or on water, absorb carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that would otherwise be free in the atmosphere and contribute to continuous changes in climate patterns.
An ecosystem is often represented by a network. To the naked eye, the qualities of a spiderweb such as its strength, complexity, and fragility hold a more organic representation. Each line or thread in this web could represent an ecological habitat or niche where a part is connected to a whole. Indeed, the loss of an important ecological niche may correspond to the loss of an anchor point or even a frame thread in a spiderweb, in turn, leading to an unstable whole structure.
Although all habitats are connected, I will separate terrestrial habitats from marine habitats for presentation purposes, while I visually lay out the interplay of species and habitats with the help of Marie Neurath’s beautiful illustrations from the The wonder World book series. Then, I discuss how habitats and ecosystems mitigate climate change. Finally, I give as example the palm oil boom in Africa using data visualization to enable better forest conservation and land-use planning in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Terrestrial habitats comprise: Forests (tropical rainforests, temperate forests, boreal forests, and taigas), grasslands (tropical grassland or savannah, temperate grasslands, and tundras), deserts, and mountain ranges.
Forests are referred to as the Earth’s green lungs. They are home to over 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. As it is the most stable terrestrial ecosystem in regard of the lifespan of its main components (trees), forests are a source of livelihood. Depending on their latitude, local soil, rainfall, and prevailing temperatures, forests take different forms. With increasing latitudes, forests span from the tropical regions in the South to temperate regions in the middle latitudes to boreal regions in the North.
Boreal forests cover almost 10% of the earth’s terrestrial surface and extend in a broad band across the northern hemisphere. Animals that live in these forests respond in different ways to the long-lasting winter: birds fly south, and mammals hibernate or develop a thick winter coat that protects them from the cold. The boreal forests comprise the Taigas, which are the northernmost vegetation zone where trees grow. Since it is cold, dry, and inhospitable, conifers dominate the landscape with undemanding herbs, shrubs, mosses, and lichens. In contrast, animal populations are small in regards to both the number of species and number of individuals within a species.
Forests are complex ecosystems of organisms that include plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria. Plants have found various ways to spread their seeds.
The most important virgin forests on Earth extend around the globe in the permanently humid and warm regions of the equator: The tropical rainforests. They are among the most fascinating habitats with about 1,000 species in a square kilometer of forest. They have the highest abundance and diversity of species of all ecosystems, with the exception of the oceans. The tropical rainforests comprise multiple ecological niches. Because of this diversity, fewer representatives of each species exist.
From the highly diverse tropical rainforests, to boreal forests, to deserts, further research and data are required to understand how everything is really connected. Deserts are some of the most fascinating habitats, where water and hence life is scarce. For example, the Atacama Desert in Chile was easily mistaken for a lifeless desert.
Terrestrial habitats also include our farmer’s orchards and our cities. Meadow orchards are a traditional way of fruit- or nut-growing trees, which are generally planted for commercial production. The loosely distributed trees allow pasture farming on the area below these. They have an enormous biodiversity, where up to 5,000 animal and plant species can be found. Such orchards provide a habitat for birds, orchids, bats, and numerous butterfly species.
Together with our oceans, forest habitats are the most important oxygen producers and CO2 fixers on our planet. Moreover, forests are a predictable system as trees fix carbon molecules in a long term fashion.
Terrestrial ecosystems are only part of our planet, as 71% of the Earth’s surface is water-covered. Aquatic ecosystems or marine biomes support countless species. These biomes are a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying major habitats such as oceans, lakes, and rivers. Terrestrial and marine habitats, together, offer a complete picture of the interdependence and coexistence of life as we now it.
Marine habitats are more dynamic and comprise three main types: Coastal (intertidal, coral leefs, mangroves, etc), open ocean (surface water, deep sea), and the sea floor (vents and seeps, trenches, seamounts).
Mangroves are coastal forests with evergreen shrubs and trees in the intertidal zone of tropical seashores. Their dense root systems harbor many marine organisms at high tide. The plants are adapted to the extreme living conditions in the coastal area, such as the high salinity. The tree layer that rises above the water serves as a breeding ground for water birds and as a habitat for reptiles.
The mudflats are amongst the largest natural habitats in Western Europe. The biodiversity there is great. Since the rhythm of life is determined by the tides, twice a day, the seabed is exposed with worms, shells, snails, and more. For example, they provide a large landing and feasting site for migratory birds.
Meter-high species of brown algae or kelp spread in the intertidal zone forming submerged jungle-like kelp forests. These underwater forests can be found in the subarctic and temperate regions. Like forests on land, these seaweeds form a complex spatial structure with an anchored bottom and a buoyant crown layer. In this habitat, the waters are nutritious and the terrain is rocky. Kelp forests provide food and habitat for various marine species. They are used by small fish and invertebrates as a hiding area and as a nursery.
Coral reefs are colorful and shine in white, pink, orange, red, etc. They make up some of the most excellent reef builders in the depths of the oceans. They filter plankton and other food particles out of the water. These colorful structures are a rich habitat for many organisms.
The ocean is the largest habitat on Earth, filled with an abundance of life. Ocean organisms can be categorized by environment, from surface to bottom-dwelling and from polar to tropical.
Oceans store pollutants and gases that have been produced and help delay the rise of our global temperature. However, research indicates that oceans will recirculate the stored pollutants and gases in an unpredictable fashion back to the atmosphere.
However, not all is lost. Thanks to an array of technology, we should make better decisions, or at least an educated guess. I present below such a case.
The case of palm oil cultivation and its expansion brings forth a current problem. In Indonesia and Malaysia alone, its expansion lead to approximately 4 million hectares of forest loss in the past twenty years. As a comparison, this number is about 35 % and 78 % more than what was burned down in Siberian and Amazon fires, respectively.
Today, Indonesia is the world’s leader palm oil producer. Africa was its cradle from the very beginning. Over 100 years ago, in 1911, the first oil palms Elaeis guineensis were planted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Forty-seven years later, in 1958, 147,000 hectares of oil palm plantations were established in the DRC, but several decades of political unrest and mismanagement led to the abandonment of most of the plantations.
In 2014, the Moabi DRC collaborative mapping initiative equipped the Congolese society and local communities with technology that enables the mapping and the analysis of land and forestry related data. The palm oil boom report was created by scientists from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysi (IIASA). During the next year, Moabi DRC initiative held two mapping competitions and a collaboration with Mapbox. A bigger feat for Moabi was the launch of Map for Environment to monitor changes in natural ressources and habitats.
This enabled the DRC to map the optimal areas suitable to cultivate the African oil palm. It was possible thanks to tracking and finding an array of suitable measures: Temperature ranges (24–28°C), rainfall per year (2000–2500mm), soil types (high clay content, or loam and silt dominated soils), and soil constraints (flat areas to lessen the effects of erosion and fertilizer runoff).
However, these optimal or highly suitable areas also cover large intact forests, home to a rich biodiversity and many indigenous groups. Indeed, the question of finding suitable areas for cultivation becomes a multi-faceted problem where many other factors determine which parts should be cleared for palm oil cultivation.
Many mammal species would no longer find their homes. Apart from humans, the Gorilla, the Pan, and even the Okapi. Naturally, the ecological diversity doesn’t stop at mammals and efforts for conservation are much needed as poaching, illegal forest clearance loom over an ever decreasing natural habitat. The palm oil cultivation story can be found as a scrolly report with interactive maps and notes.
It is alarming that the human use of many ecosystems is too great a burden for the forces of nature to be able to heal itself. As a consequence, the previously described habitats will change fundamentally. This ranges from change in the diversity of organisms to changes in their interactions. Forests are being converted into agricultural land, oil palm plantations are displacing tropical rainforests, and the fate of more soil is being sealed.
This leads to stress on the invisible threads that connect each organism in an environment. When organisms are deprived of survival conditions, their ability to adapt to different conditions is overtaxed. The effects of the changing global and regional climate contribute to this phenomenon.
Although about 11 million species have been described by biologists, it is likely there are many more unknown species, particularly in the oceans and the large rainforest areas. This is even more so the case for microbes that live out of sight. Scientists estimate that we’ve only discovered one tenth of all species on Earth. A question comes to mind: How many unknown species have already been affected by the effects of global and regional climate? In the oceans, research is difficult as everything is naturally dynamic and ocean exploration is challenging.
Learning about the deep sea and the large rainforests is today made easier by technology. Years ago, people could only marvel and wonder at the secrets of these habitats. While rainforest exploration has been limited by the challenges of hot and humid conditions, the dense canopy cover, the remoteness, and the sheer diversity of species; in the oceans, underwater diving has been limiting human exploration. However, unmanned vehicles could enable long term exploration of the depths to gather and collect data to better understand living organisms that contribute to the exchange of matter.
The example of mapping data that pertain to finding suitable palm oil cultivation areas and their visualization helped bring forth a greater understanding for conservation and land use planning. On a larger scale, this train of thought could help unravel the world’s critical ecosystems. Indeed, every data point matters, from part to whole on the threads of a much larger spiderweb.
