Photo of Marsh US diplomat amp philologist from Wikimedia Commons Quote from S Kingsland 2005 Ecological Restoration George Perkins Marsh 1801 1882 Man amp Nature 1864 Contemporaneous with ID: 724287
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Slide1
Ecological Restoration
Image from Wikimedia CommonsSlide2
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
.” Slide3
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 Slide4
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)Slide5
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)Slide6
Photos of a restoration success story from Wikimedia Commons
Crissy Field, San Francisco
Before restoration
Crissy Field, San Francisco
After 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)Slide7
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 structureSlide8
Modified from Fig. 15.1 in Groom
et al
. (2006)
Biomass & nutrient cycling
Species & complexity
Ecosystem
processes
Ecosystem
structure
ORIGINAL ECOSYSTEM
DEGRADED ECOSYSTEM
Restoration
Rehabilitation
Enhancement
No action?
No action?
Replacement
Replacement
Ecological Restoration
Trajectories of restoration projectsSlide9
Ecological Restoration
Additional sub-categories from Groom
et al
. (2006) & other texts:
Remediation (similar to reclamation)
– removes chemical contaminants
from polluted areas – by biotic (e.g., bioremediation, phytoremediation), 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 conditionSlide10
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 CommonsSlide11
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) Slide12
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) Slide13
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)Slide14
Photo of translocation of wolves from Alberta, Canada to Yellowstone, Jan. 1995, from Wikimedia Commons
Translocation
Wolves (
Canis lupus
) in YellowstoneSlide15
Photo of Alberta wolf in acclimation pen in Yellowstone, Jan. 1995, from Wikimedia Commons
Translocation
Wolves (
Canis lupus
) in YellowstoneSlide16
Photo of translocated Alberta wolf in Yellowstone, from Wikimedia Commons
Translocation
Wolves (
Canis lupus
) in YellowstoneSlide17
Photo from Wikimedia Commons; Figure from W. J. Ripple & R. L. Beschta (2007)
Biological Conservation
“Restoring Yellowstone’s Aspen with Wolves”Slide18
“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 effect
on herbivore behaviorSlide19
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 CommonsSlide20
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?Slide21
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?Slide22
Photo of New Zealand seabird colony from Wikimedia Commons
“Seabird Islands Take Mere Decades to
Recover Following Rat Eradication”Slide23
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)Slide24
“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 ApplicationsSlide25
“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
studiesSlide26
“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-analysisSlide27
“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 globally
can, 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
.”Slide28
Cover of
Science
– July 31, 2009
“The Rise of Restoration Ecology”Slide29
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, timber
Supporting
=
e.g.
, nutrient cycling, primary production
Regulating
=
e.g.
, climate, water supply, soil characteristicsSlide30
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])Slide31
Modified from Fig. 15.1 in Groom
et al
. (2006)
Biomass & nutrient cycling
Species & complexity
Ecosystem
processes
Ecosystem
structure
ORIGINAL ECOSYSTEM
DEGRADED ECOSYSTEM
Restoration
Rehabilitation
Enhancement
No action?
No action?
Replacement
Replacement
Ecological Restoration
Trajectories of restoration projectsSlide32
Ecological Restoration
Image from www.portlandonline.com