Note that the data published in the 2002 State of the Nation’s Ecosystems Report as well as the 2003 and 2005 Web-Only Updates have been superseded by the 2008 Report and thus should be used with caution. For the most recent data, purchase the 2008 Report from Island Press.

Biological Components: Communities

Biological communities are the more-or-less stable groupings of plants and animals found in particular habitats. These interacting communities form the biological “neighborhood” within which individual species exist, and their condition reflects a broad array of influences on an ecosystem. As with the indicators of physical condition, indicators of biological community condition differ greatly among ecosystems.

Fifteen indicators describe the condition of biological communities. All or partial data are available for only four of the 15 indicators, and trends for only one. Six indicators lack adequate national data, and five of the indicators require additional development.

Biological Components: Communities

Core National Condition of Plant and Animal Communities Coasts and Oceans Harmful Algal Blooms Condition of Bottom-Dwelling Animals Farmlands Soil Biological Condition Stream Habitat Quality Forests Forest Age Forest Disturbance: Fire, Insects, and Disease Fire Frequency Forest Community Types with Significantly Reduced Area Fresh Waters Status of Freshwater Animal Communities At-Risk Freshwater Plant Communities Stream Habitat Quality Grasslands/Shrublands Fire Frequency Riparian Condition Urban/Suburban Status of Animal Communities in Urban/Suburban Streams

Complete data available Partial data available Data not adequate for national reporting Indicator development needed

Highlights: Communities

• In 1999, about three-fourths of the estuary area on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts had bottom-dwelling animal communities that were "undegraded" compared to a reference site. About a quarter of the estuary area in the North and Mid-Atlantic regions and a third of estuary areas in Puerto Rico had "degraded" bottom-dwelling animal communities. In other areas this figure was about 10-20%. No trends are apparent in the short time series available.
• Sixty four percent of eastern timberlands and 30% of western timberlands are less than 60 years old. About 5% of eastern timberlands and 35% of those in the West are 100 or more years old. (Data for the roughly one-third of forests that are not classified as “timberlands” are not yet available.)
• Since 1980, wildfires in both forests and grasslands and shrublands have affected between 2 and 7 million acres per year, down from a high of 52 million acres in 1930. (While national data do not show an overall increase in acreage burned over the past 20 years, data from national forests, which are mostly in the West, do show an increase.) Insect damage in forests affected between 8 and 46 million acres per year over the past 20 years; the overall trend is downward.
• About 12% of freshwater wetland plant community types are considered at very high risk of being eliminated, and a total of 60% are considered to be at risk of elimination.

Biological Components: Ecological Productivity

Biological Components: Ecological Productivity

Core National Plant Growth Index Coasts and Oceans Chlorophyll Concentrations Condition of Bottom-Dwelling Animals

Complete data available Partial data available Data not adequate for national reporting Indicator development needed

The amount of plant growth in an ecosystem is a direct measure of the amount of energy (from the sun) entering the ecosystem and thus of the amount of energy available to all organisms in the system.

This report includes two related indicators: one measures the solar energy captured by plants across the United States, which is closely related to the amount of plant growth, while the other reports on the concentration of chlorophyll in coastal waters, a measure of growth of algae. Data are available for both.

Highlights: Ecological Productivity

• For plant growth nationwide, no overall upward or downward trends are apparent over the 15-year period for which data are available. However, there is large year-to-year variation, both regionally and by ecosystem type.
• Data on coastal chlorophyll concentrations are available for only three years, which is too short to determine trends.

Human Uses: Production of Food and Fiber and Use of Water

Ecosystems produce goods that meet a variety of societal demands. In this report, we include 13 indicators of major ecosystem-related commodities. Most of these indicators describe the goods society derives from ecosystems; several also provide information on the ability of the system to continue producing those goods. Data, including trends, are available for ten of these indicators.