MAINE COAST CHARACTERIZATION USER'S GUIDE 



Stewart I. Fcfer,^ Curtis Laffin,^ Larry Thornton,' 

 Patty Schettig,' and Russ Brami' 



INTRODUCTION 



The evaluation of natural resources, and tho- 

 rough reviews of their alternative uses, are essential 

 components of any decisionmaking process affect- 

 ing our environment. There must be a basis for es- 

 tablishing policies affecting land use and conserva- 

 tion of resources; a holistic approach integrating 

 the many disciplines of natural resources is th*e 

 foundation upon which these policies can be built. 

 The objective should be to maintain a diverse and 

 productive natural environment. The holistic 

 approach set forth here is known as the Ecological 

 Characterization of Coastal Maine. 



An environmental management program must 

 embrace whole ecosystems (Van Dyne 1969, 

 Odum 1971, Moen 1973, Clark 1977, Likens et al. 

 1977). "Ecosystem" is defined by Odum (1971) as 

 ". . . any area of nature that includes living or- 

 ganisms and non-living substances interacting to 

 produce an exchange of materials between the 

 living and the non-living parts." It is a general term 

 concerned with structural and functional relation- 

 ships, but without precise information about these 

 relationships, it is difficult to assess the impact of 

 human activities on an ecosystem. Lack of ecosys- 

 tem understanding has caused management prac- 

 tices to emphasize strategies that maximize the 

 output of some desirable product, i.e., species man- 

 agement of waterfowl or fishes. It is evident that a 

 new conceptual approach to the management of re- 

 sources is desirable (Likens ct al. 1977). The charac- 

 terization is designed to provide an ecosystem view 

 of the Maine coastal zone, from Cape Elizabeth to 

 Eastport (fig. 1) by treating entire ecological sys- 

 tems as single interacting units and describing: 



1. Driving forces of the Maine coastal ecosys- 

 tem; 



Energy Resources Company, Inc., Cambridge, Mass. 



Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Newton 

 Corner, Mass. 



2. The components of the ecosystem; 



3. Functions of componenls; 



4. Interrelationships of components and fimc- 

 tions; and 



5. Seasonal and long-term changes of compo- 

 nents. 



Specific objectives of the ecological characterization 

 are to: 



1. Obtain and synthesize available ecological 

 data which describe important resources, 

 processes, and their interrelationships with- 

 in the study area; 



2. Identify information deficiences and re- 

 search priorities; and 



3. Provide an assessment of the state of know- 

 ledge for the Maine coast ecosystem. 



The characterization sei"ves the needs of (1) the 

 administrator and planner when making decisions 

 on land-use planning and natural resource manage- 

 ment and (2) the scientist seeking the status of 

 Maine coast ecological knowledge in disciplines 

 relative to his or her field. 



The Maine Coast Ecological Characterization 

 will be completed in late 1979. This User's Guide, 

 in its revised form, will be a part of the completed 

 characterization; it directs various users how to 

 manipulate the materials in the characterization to 

 satisfy their specific needs. 



THE PHYSIOGRAPHIC ECOSYSTEM- 

 THE MAINE COAST 



Land forms rellcct the geologic events which 

 have had a major influence on the evolution of the 

 biota because the types and structures of bedrock 

 exposed to uplifting, weathering, and glaciation 

 have had a great influence on the physiography of 

 the Maine coast. The development of vegetation is 

 controlled by these factors, climate, and animals 

 (including man). The native fauna has evolved be- 

 cause of its compatibility with the established vege- 

 tative community (Shelford 1963). The land-use 

 activities of man have also been influenced by 

 physiographic constraints. Thus, physiography is a 

 major influence on the physical, biological, and 



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