The Myth of the Pristine Forest
There is nothing more enchanting than the idea of a jungle untamed, untouched by humankind, where nature lives in its perfect state. Just how it should be, just how it's always been. There is no such thing on Earth, but that's okay.
For much of human history we have tried to understand the universe as something stable- an equilibrium. We can't kid ourselves any more. Physics now tells us that everything we know existed at a single point 13.8 billion years ago, and that we now live in an expanding web of cold (-270 degrees) space. Geology tells us the very earth beneath our feet is floating around on a bed of hot, flowing rock. Most recently, thanks to the accelerating nature of technology and computing, our own societies change so drastically with the space of a generation that it is impossible to ignore the that we live in a constant state of flux.
Ecology, too, once thought of ecosystems as existing in stable regimes. Still, in stories, I love to cling on the the idea of untouched nature. The romance is irresistible- to claim tropical forests to be pristine examples of the natural state of things in their elemental, eternal perfection. Of course, this idea is just as much nonsense as it is to claim the Earth is flat or that climate change doesn't exist.
Reality check. For a start, humans have lived in tropical forests all over the world for thousands of years, and have subtly altered the compositions and distributions of species through their hunting, gathering and shifting agriculture. Secondly, tropical forests simply don't exist in a 'stable state'- they survive in a complex dynamic mosaic of disturbance and recovery.
Even without considering any human influences, forest have to cope with (for example):
For much of human history we have tried to understand the universe as something stable- an equilibrium. We can't kid ourselves any more. Physics now tells us that everything we know existed at a single point 13.8 billion years ago, and that we now live in an expanding web of cold (-270 degrees) space. Geology tells us the very earth beneath our feet is floating around on a bed of hot, flowing rock. Most recently, thanks to the accelerating nature of technology and computing, our own societies change so drastically with the space of a generation that it is impossible to ignore the that we live in a constant state of flux.
Ecology, too, once thought of ecosystems as existing in stable regimes. Still, in stories, I love to cling on the the idea of untouched nature. The romance is irresistible- to claim tropical forests to be pristine examples of the natural state of things in their elemental, eternal perfection. Of course, this idea is just as much nonsense as it is to claim the Earth is flat or that climate change doesn't exist.
Reality check. For a start, humans have lived in tropical forests all over the world for thousands of years, and have subtly altered the compositions and distributions of species through their hunting, gathering and shifting agriculture. Secondly, tropical forests simply don't exist in a 'stable state'- they survive in a complex dynamic mosaic of disturbance and recovery.
Even without considering any human influences, forest have to cope with (for example):
- Lightening strikes
- Tropical cyclones
- Seasonal floods
- Droughts
- Fire
All these processes ensure that nothing ever stands still in the forest and reach a stable equilibrium.
This isn't to say that the scale of human influences now in the tropics isn't something unprecedented and possibly catastrophic. However, we shouldn't forget that these forests are dynamic creatures- and they can and will recover if we give them the chance.
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