ecological restoration
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Ecological Restoration. Image from Wikipedia. Ecological Restoration. George Perkins Marsh (1801 – 1882). Man & Nature (1864) Contemporaneous with Romantic-Transcendalists ( e.g. , Emerson, Muir, Thoreau). Marsh’s “ key insight ” – anthropogenic imbalances in Nature - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Ecological Restoration
Image from Wikipedia
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Photo of Marsh (U.S. diplomat & philologist) from Wikimedia Commons; Quote from S. Kingsland (2005)
Ecological Restoration
George Perkins Marsh(1801 – 1882)
Man & Nature (1864)
Contemporaneous with Romantic-Transcendalists
(e.g., Emerson, Muir, Thoreau)
Marsh’s “key insight” –anthropogenic imbalances in Nature
“did not correct themselves automatically… Humans had to restore what humans had disturbed.”
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Photo from Oregon State University
Ecological Restoration
Aldo Leopold(1887 – 1948)
A Sand County Almanac (1949)
Milestone for plant community restoration –Leopold & colleagues restored ~120 ha
of forest & prairie at U. Wisconsin Arboretum;1930s
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Human history is replete with examples of over-exploitation& habitat destruction without restoration that resulted in
societal collapse (i.e., societies that were not operating sustainably)
Photo of Diamond from Wikimedia Commons; image of book jacket from amazon.com
Ecological Restoration
Jared Diamond(b. 1937)
Collapse (2005)
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Final paragraph of Collapse: “My remaining cause for hope… we have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of distant peoples and past peoples. That’s an opportunity that no past
society enjoyed to such a degree…”
Photo of Diamond from Wikimedia Commons; image of book jacket from amazon.com
Ecological Restoration
Jared Diamond(b. 1937)
Collapse (2005)
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Photos of a restoration success story from Wikimedia Commons
Crissy Field, San FranciscoBefore restoration
Crissy Field, San FranciscoAfter restoration
Ecological Restoration
“…the process of intentionally altering a site to establish a defined, indigenous, historic ecosystem. The goal of the process is to emulate the structure,
function, diversity and dynamics of the specified ecosystem…” (Society for Ecological Restoration 1991)
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Ecological Restoration
Groom et al. (2006) recognize several sub-categories:
Rehabilitation – improves a site from its degraded state
Enhancement or augmentation – improves a few ecosystem functions in a site from its degraded state
Reclamation – often associated with mines or waste dumps, in which the initial goal is detoxification & terrain stabilization
Replacement – specifies a novel community type for the site to achieve a particular conservation goal; often to improve ecosystem processes with less regard for
ecosystem structure
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Modified from Fig. 15.1 in Groom et al. (2006)
Bio
mas
s &
nut
rient
cy
clin
g
Species & complexity
Ecosystem processes
Ecosystem structure
ORIGINAL ECOSYSTEM
DEGRADED ECOSYSTEM
Restoration
RehabilitationEnhancement
No action?
No action?
Replacement
Replacement
Ecological Restoration
Trajectories of restoration projects
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Ecological Restoration
Additional sub-categories from Groom et al. (2006) & other texts:
Remediation (similar to reclamation) – removes chemical contaminants from polluted areas – by biotic, chemical or physical means –
especially to protect human & ecosystem health
Re-creation (similar to replacement) – constructs a new biological community on a site in which anthropogenic disturbance
essentially removed the entire native community, often in an attempt to match a particular historic condition
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Ecological Restoration
U. S. Legislation – e.g., Clean Water Act (1972)
“to restore & maintain the chemical, physical & biological integrity of the Nation’s [surface] waters”
Requires mitigation: if unavoidable impacts to waters & wetlands occur, those responsible must restore / re-create comparable ecosystems elsewhere
Photo of wetland mitigation project in Australia (outside jurisdiction of CWA) from Wikimedia Commons
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Photo of coal strip mine in Wyoming from Wikimedia Commons
Ecological Restoration
U. S. Legislation – e.g., Surface Mining Control & Reclamation Act (1977)
Aims to prevent adverse effects of surface mining (especially coal)& requires mining companies to restore mined sites
(usually initiated through reclamation)
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Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Ex situ breeding reintroduction
Whooping Crane (Grus americana)
The tallest bird species in N. America; one of the most endangered (41 wild birds in 1941; ~350 today)
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Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Ex situ breeding reintroduction
Whooping Crane (Grus americana)
Cross-fostering with Sandhill Cranes failed, due to imprinting on foster parents (which resulted in inappropriate mate choices later)
Captive breeding, followed by migratory training using light aircraft, has re-established an eastern migratory population (Wisconsin–Florida)
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Photo of translocation of wolves from Alberta, Canada to Yellowstone, Jan. 1995, from Wikimedia Commons
Translocation
Wolves (Canis lupus) in Yellowstone
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Photo of Alberta wolf in acclimation pen in Yellowstone, Jan. 1995, from Wikimedia Commons
Translocation
Wolves (Canis lupus) in Yellowstone
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Photo of translocated Alberta wolf in Yellowstone, from Wikimedia Commons
Translocation
Wolves (Canis lupus) in Yellowstone
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Photo from Wikimedia Commons; Figure from W. J. Ripple & R. L. Beschta (2007) Biological Conservation
“Restoring Yellowstone’s Aspen with Wolves”
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“Restoring Yellowstone’s Aspen with Wolves”
Figure & quote from W. J. Ripple & R. L. Beschta (2007) Biological Conservation
“combined effects of a behaviorally-mediated and density-mediated trophic
cascade”
Density-mediated – indirect carnivore effect on plants owing to lethal direct carnivore effect on herbivore density
Behaviorally-mediated – indirect carnivore effect on plants owing to
non-lethal carnivore effecton herbivore behavior
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Re-wilding North America with Pleistocene Megafauna
Some Conservation Biologists have made
a serious proposal that we should re-create the N. Am.
Pleistocene fauna with modern analogs
e.g., African elephants, South
American camelids…
Artist’s re-creation of North American Pleistocene fauna from Wikimedia Commons
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Re-wilding North America with Pleistocene Megafauna
Skull & artist’s re-creation of Smilodon from Wikimedia Commons
… and carnivores, such as African lions
& Siberian tigers (modern analogs of
Smilodon [Saber-toothed cat])
It’s a serious proposal, but is it
a good idea?
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Key ecological goals for restoration
1. Restore natural ecosystem processes
2. Re-establish native species and their functional roles (especially key players, e.g., ecosystem engineers, foundation species, etc.)
3. Remove / control / monitor exotic species
4. Others?
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Photo of New Zealand seabird colony from Wikimedia Commons
“Seabird Islands Take Mere Decades to Recover Following Rat Eradication”
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Figure from H. P. Jones [Ph.D. 2010 Yale School of Forestry & Environ. Sci.] (2010) Ecological Applications
“Seabird Islands Take Mere Decades to Recover Following Rat Eradication”
15 islands off NE coast of
New Zealand
Black dashed lines = Control islands (never
invaded by rats)
Red dashed lines = Positive Control islands (rats currently
present)
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“Seabird Islands Take Mere Decades to Recover Following Rat Eradication”
“I show that soil, plant, and spider marine-derived nitrogen levels and C:N ratios take mere decades to recover even after
centuries-long rat invasion. Moreover, active seabird restoration could speed recovery even further, giving much hope
to quickly conserve many endemic species on islands worldwide.”
Quote from H. P. Jones [Ph.D. 2010 Yale School of Forestry & Environ. Sci.] (2010) Ecological Applications
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“Rapid Recovery of Damaged Ecosystems”
Meta-analysis
Figure from H. P. Jones [Ph.D. 2010 Yale School of Forestry & Environ. Sci.] & O. J. Schmitz (2009) PLoS ONE
240 published studies
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“Rapid Recovery of Damaged Ecosystems”
Figure from H. P. Jones [Ph.D. 2010 Yale School of Forestry & Environ. Sci.] & O. J. Schmitz (2009) PLoS ONE
Meta-analysis
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“Rapid Recovery of Damaged Ecosystems”
Quotes from H. P. Jones [Ph.D. 2010 Yale School of Forestry & Environ. Sci.] & O. J. Schmitz (2009) PLoS ONE
Meta-analysis
“We provide startling evidence that most ecosystems globallycan, given human will, recover from very major perturbations
[a.k.a. disturbances] on timescales of decades to half-centuries.”
“The message of our paper is that recovery is possible and can be rapid for many ecosystems, giving much hope for humankind to transition to sustainable management of global ecosystems.”
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Cover of Science – July 31, 2009
“The Rise of Restoration Ecology”
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Figure & quote from J. M. Rey Benayas et al. (2009) Science
“Enhancement of Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services by Ecological Restoration”
Meta-analysis(89 restoration assessments;
response ratio = ln[Restored / Degraded or Reference])
Provisioning = e.g., fish, food crops, timberSupporting = e.g., nutrient cycling, primary production
Regulating = e.g., climate, water supply, soil characteristics
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Figure & quote from J. M. Rey Benayas et al. (2009) Science
“Enhancement of Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services by Ecological Restoration”
“Ecological restoration increased provision of biodiversity and ecosystem services by 44 and 25%, respectively. However, values of both remained
lower in restored versus intact reference ecosystems.”
Meta-analysis(89 restoration assessments;
response ratio = ln[Restored / Degraded or Reference])
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Ecological Restoration
Image from www.portlandonline.com