FUTURE ECOSYSTEMS
- Joshua Cooke 16046515 -
What are ecosystems?
Ecosystems consist of organisms which coexist with each other, and the environment they live in(global change, 2008). Sheep farmed in New Zealand are most commonly farmed in mountain, or grassland ecosystems.
Sheep have adapted to live in mountain ecosystems, and sheep farmed in these ecosystems normally have more space and freedom to roam then sheep farmed in grassland ecosystems.
Enviroment Degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of air, water, and soil in the environment, in which the change is seen as undesirable (Shah, 2009). Environment degradation is a serious issue to farmlands, since if the sheep are confined to a too small area, the soil will be depleted of its nutrients, whereas fertilizers and sheep droppings are detrimental to waterways nearby. Also if the environment is depleted of most of its resources, and the waterways are polluted a serious effect is needed to create a stable ecosystem to farm sheep.
Sheep eat pretty much any pasture food found growing in the ground, but they prefer forbs, which are broad leafed plants not considered as grass, however they also eat weeds and grass. All pasture animals graze differently, and sheep may have the weirdest grazing patterns of all, sheep graze intensely in preferred patches, leaving patches of untouched pasture.
Future Ecosystems
In nine years sheep ecosystems will not be affected much, however the push to make sheep farms more sustainable and environmentally friendly will push for new practices and better-kept fields which should create bigger healthier sheep. Due to the new demand for fresh water, new fertilizers will have to be produced, and the off run of sheep droppings and other contaminants which leak into waterways will have to minimalised.
The New Ecosystems
If new land is to be used for sheep farmland, the following criteria will need to be followed in order to maintain a sustainable ecosystem.
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abundance of various types of pasture food (weeds and grass and forbs)
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access to water, and bodies of water scattered in the farmland
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no bare spots of soil where nothing is growing
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abundant soil life
