Rocio Araya‐López, Melissa Wartman, Micheli Duarte de Paula Costa, Peter I. Macreadie
Coastal and marine ecosystems provide valuable ecosystem services and functions. Unfortunately, these habitats have experienced increasing anthropogenic and climate‐related pressures, leading to significant degradation and loss not only in Australia but also globally. Hence, the urgency for coastal and marine ecosystem restoration has never been more pronounced. We present a synthesis of 151 projects on coastal and marine restoration in Australia spanning mangrove, seagrass, tidal marsh, kelp, shellfish reef, and coral ecosystems. Our findings reveal increased restoration efforts over the past 30 years, with an increased focus on coral and shellfish reef habitats. Across Australia, most efforts were in southeastern Australia, with a noticeable gap in the Northern Territory. Restoration strategies focused on enhancing propagule availability (74%) and substrate availability (42%), with additional efforts toward implementing top–down (7%) and bottom–up (4%) controls to boost natural recruitment. Projects were carried out with the participation mostly of research universities (45%), followed by state government entities (42%), philanthropy (34%), and private companies (16%). Funding came primarily from governmental sources, such as state government entities (50%), the commonwealth (44%), and philanthropy (19%). Restoration outcomes are centered on monitoring growth and survival resulting from both single and multiple restoration actions. Our findings highlight key factors influencing natural recruitment across habitat types, where sedimentation and species reproductive biology play a critical role. While acknowledging that our results represent only a small fraction of Australia's coastal and marine restoration efforts, our intent is to contribute insights that can support large‐scale restoration actions not only in Australia but also on a global scale.
{"title":"Learnings from the past to inform future ecosystem restoration projects: an Australian perspective","authors":"Rocio Araya‐López, Melissa Wartman, Micheli Duarte de Paula Costa, Peter I. Macreadie","doi":"10.1111/rec.14241","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.14241","url":null,"abstract":"Coastal and marine ecosystems provide valuable ecosystem services and functions. Unfortunately, these habitats have experienced increasing anthropogenic and climate‐related pressures, leading to significant degradation and loss not only in Australia but also globally. Hence, the urgency for coastal and marine ecosystem restoration has never been more pronounced. We present a synthesis of 151 projects on coastal and marine restoration in Australia spanning mangrove, seagrass, tidal marsh, kelp, shellfish reef, and coral ecosystems. Our findings reveal increased restoration efforts over the past 30 years, with an increased focus on coral and shellfish reef habitats. Across Australia, most efforts were in southeastern Australia, with a noticeable gap in the Northern Territory. Restoration strategies focused on enhancing propagule availability (74%) and substrate availability (42%), with additional efforts toward implementing top–down (7%) and bottom–up (4%) controls to boost natural recruitment. Projects were carried out with the participation mostly of research universities (45%), followed by state government entities (42%), philanthropy (34%), and private companies (16%). Funding came primarily from governmental sources, such as state government entities (50%), the commonwealth (44%), and philanthropy (19%). Restoration outcomes are centered on monitoring growth and survival resulting from both single and multiple restoration actions. Our findings highlight key factors influencing natural recruitment across habitat types, where sedimentation and species reproductive biology play a critical role. While acknowledging that our results represent only a small fraction of Australia's coastal and marine restoration efforts, our intent is to contribute insights that can support large‐scale restoration actions not only in Australia but also on a global scale.","PeriodicalId":54487,"journal":{"name":"Restoration Ecology","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141738052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thirukanthan C. Segaran, Fawzan B. Soffa, Fathurrahman Lananan, Gianluca Sarà, Zhihua Feng, Mohamad N. Azra, Che D. M. Safuan
Reef restoration has gained attention as it has strategic actions and powerful means in sustaining and maintaining coastal ecosystem services. This scientometric study systematically analyzes the current trends and research hotspot in coral restoration across the last five decades (1971–2022). The metadata (12,667 articles with 652,860 cited references) were obtained from the Clarivate Web of Science platform through the Core Collection database, associated with the CiteSpace and R‐software for further analysis. The results indicated that the trend of coral restoration is increasing in paper/year, with the United States, Australia, and China as major contributors to the related research. Furthermore, James Cook University, Australia had the largest number of articles, and the Consortium of Research Libraries of the United Kingdom was the most influential institution on coral restoration. The highly cited keywords are “Great Barrier Reef,” “climate change,” and “coral reef,” while the most influential keywords are “coral,” “model,” and “Atlantic.” A total of 23 clusters in the field with “coral reef,” “phase shift,” “bacterial communities,” “coral restoration,” “symbiotic dinoflagellate,” “stony coral tissue loss disease,” “bleaching event,” “ocean acidification,” “oyster reef,” and “quantitative reconstruction” are among the top cluster size labeled. Early‐stage researcher may use both keywords and cluster analysis to find topics attractive to their future research projects. In addition, this study contributes toward evaluating recent scientific productivity about coral restoration as well as informing researchers and policymakers regarding funding, future strategic planning, and potential collaboration opportunities.
珊瑚礁修复是维持和维护沿海生态系统服务的战略行动和有力手段,因而备受关注。本科学计量学研究系统分析了过去五十年(1971-2022 年)珊瑚礁恢复的当前趋势和研究热点。元数据(12,667 篇文章,652,860 条引用参考文献)来自 Clarivate Web of Science 平台的 Core Collection 数据库,与 CiteSpace 和 R 软件相关联,用于进一步分析。结果表明,珊瑚修复的论文呈逐年递增趋势,美国、澳大利亚和中国是相关研究的主要贡献者。此外,澳大利亚詹姆斯-库克大学的论文数量最多,英国研究图书馆联盟是在珊瑚修复方面最有影响力的机构。高被引关键词是 "大堡礁"、"气候变化 "和 "珊瑚礁",而最有影响力的关键词是 "珊瑚"、"模型 "和 "大西洋"。该领域共有 23 个聚类,其中 "珊瑚礁"、"相变"、"细菌群落"、"珊瑚修复"、"共生甲藻"、"石珊瑚组织缺失症"、"白化事件"、"海洋酸化"、"牡蛎礁 "和 "定量重建 "都是标注聚类规模最大的关键词。早期研究人员可以利用关键词和聚类分析来寻找对其未来研究项目有吸引力的主题。此外,本研究还有助于评估近期有关珊瑚礁恢复的科学生产力,并为研究人员和决策者提供有关资金、未来战略规划和潜在合作机会的信息。
{"title":"Coral restoration: a mapping review through a scientometric analysis","authors":"Thirukanthan C. Segaran, Fawzan B. Soffa, Fathurrahman Lananan, Gianluca Sarà, Zhihua Feng, Mohamad N. Azra, Che D. M. Safuan","doi":"10.1111/rec.14229","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.14229","url":null,"abstract":"Reef restoration has gained attention as it has strategic actions and powerful means in sustaining and maintaining coastal ecosystem services. This scientometric study systematically analyzes the current trends and research hotspot in coral restoration across the last five decades (1971–2022). The metadata (12,667 articles with 652,860 cited references) were obtained from the Clarivate Web of Science platform through the Core Collection database, associated with the CiteSpace and R‐software for further analysis. The results indicated that the trend of coral restoration is increasing in paper/year, with the United States, Australia, and China as major contributors to the related research. Furthermore, James Cook University, Australia had the largest number of articles, and the Consortium of Research Libraries of the United Kingdom was the most influential institution on coral restoration. The highly cited keywords are “Great Barrier Reef,” “climate change,” and “coral reef,” while the most influential keywords are “coral,” “model,” and “Atlantic.” A total of 23 clusters in the field with “coral reef,” “phase shift,” “bacterial communities,” “coral restoration,” “symbiotic dinoflagellate,” “stony coral tissue loss disease,” “bleaching event,” “ocean acidification,” “oyster reef,” and “quantitative reconstruction” are among the top cluster size labeled. Early‐stage researcher may use both keywords and cluster analysis to find topics attractive to their future research projects. In addition, this study contributes toward evaluating recent scientific productivity about coral restoration as well as informing researchers and policymakers regarding funding, future strategic planning, and potential collaboration opportunities.","PeriodicalId":54487,"journal":{"name":"Restoration Ecology","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141738054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Katie J. Pennartz, Evan P. Tanner, J. Matthew Carroll, R. Dwayne Elmore, Craig A. Davis, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf
By 1985, approximately 400,000 ha of the keystone species Shinnery oak's (Quercus havardii) historic distribution had been eliminated for agricultural purposes across the southwestern United States. These trends indicate a need for targeted conservation and restoration efforts, especially considering the increased attention received for its role in providing habitat for endangered fauna. Setting spatially explicit conservation targets can be challenging for species with limited distributions, as the change in climate conditions over time may disconnect the relationship between environmental suitability and static, topo‐edaphic factors. Our objective was to identify areas for Shinnery oak restoration and conservation and explore the role climate plays in determining these areas while considering topo‐edaphic relationships. We constructed ecological niche models to estimate Shinnery oak's distribution under current climate conditions and temporally transferred our model using an ensemble‐mean of general circulation models to identify areas predicted to retain environmental suitability for Shinnery oak through 2100. The current distribution model was best informed by one climate and two topo‐edaphic variables. We created a second distribution model excluding topo‐edaphic variables to estimate future plant–climate relationships. Incorporating insights from models informed by both static (e.g. soil) and dynamic (e.g. climate) variables, we identified areas for conservation characterized by persistent climate suitability and high soil type suitability. Lastly, we incorporated data on land use and ownership to explore socio‐ecological influences on management decisions. By identifying areas of agreement between our modeled distributions and considering social context, we prioritized conservation areas where environmental suitability persists under changing conditions to facilitate restoration success.
{"title":"From eradication to conservation: identifying areas for restoration and management of a Pliocene relic in a changing climate","authors":"Katie J. Pennartz, Evan P. Tanner, J. Matthew Carroll, R. Dwayne Elmore, Craig A. Davis, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf","doi":"10.1111/rec.14232","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.14232","url":null,"abstract":"By 1985, approximately 400,000 ha of the keystone species Shinnery oak's (<jats:italic>Quercus havardii</jats:italic>) historic distribution had been eliminated for agricultural purposes across the southwestern United States. These trends indicate a need for targeted conservation and restoration efforts, especially considering the increased attention received for its role in providing habitat for endangered fauna. Setting spatially explicit conservation targets can be challenging for species with limited distributions, as the change in climate conditions over time may disconnect the relationship between environmental suitability and static, topo‐edaphic factors. Our objective was to identify areas for Shinnery oak restoration and conservation and explore the role climate plays in determining these areas while considering topo‐edaphic relationships. We constructed ecological niche models to estimate Shinnery oak's distribution under current climate conditions and temporally transferred our model using an ensemble‐mean of general circulation models to identify areas predicted to retain environmental suitability for Shinnery oak through 2100. The current distribution model was best informed by one climate and two topo‐edaphic variables. We created a second distribution model excluding topo‐edaphic variables to estimate future plant–climate relationships. Incorporating insights from models informed by both static (e.g. soil) and dynamic (e.g. climate) variables, we identified areas for conservation characterized by persistent climate suitability and high soil type suitability. Lastly, we incorporated data on land use and ownership to explore socio‐ecological influences on management decisions. By identifying areas of agreement between our modeled distributions and considering social context, we prioritized conservation areas where environmental suitability persists under changing conditions to facilitate restoration success.","PeriodicalId":54487,"journal":{"name":"Restoration Ecology","volume":"80 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141738055","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Clarissa S. Rodriguez, Christopher J. McDonald, Travis M. Bean, Loralee Larios
Understanding the underlying temporal dynamics influencing invasive plant control outcomes is essential to achieve restoration and land management goals. Within grasslands, herbicides are commonly used as the main method for invasive plant control, but the efficacy of management may be dependent on seasonal dynamics, as well as the number of applications. Additionally, assessments to quantify invasive plant control are often limited to aboveground plant composition, overlooking the potential repository of propagules stored in the soil seedbank, and additional impacts on nontarget species. To ensure that an herbicide method is effectively controlling invader populations, while limiting impacts on the resident plant communities, both above‐ and belowground species responses must be assessed. We established an herbicide field experiment across different sites and years in Riverside, CA, U.S.A., to assess the control of a global annual invasive forb, Oncosiphon pilulifer. We investigated how seasonal herbicide management (early‐season vs. late‐season) and repeated annual herbicide applications (1 vs. 2 years) influenced cover and seedbank density of our focal invader and the resident plant community 1 year after treatment. We found that although late‐ and early‐season‐applied herbicides reduced invader cover, early‐season applications were the only strategy to reduce invader seedbank density, indicating potential longer term management control. Lastly, native cover was limited in post‐treated areas, suggesting that additional management strategies may be needed to overcome native establishment limitations in invaded grasslands.
{"title":"Efficacy of invasive plant control depends on timing of herbicide application and invader soil seedbank density","authors":"Clarissa S. Rodriguez, Christopher J. McDonald, Travis M. Bean, Loralee Larios","doi":"10.1111/rec.14237","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.14237","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding the underlying temporal dynamics influencing invasive plant control outcomes is essential to achieve restoration and land management goals. Within grasslands, herbicides are commonly used as the main method for invasive plant control, but the efficacy of management may be dependent on seasonal dynamics, as well as the number of applications. Additionally, assessments to quantify invasive plant control are often limited to aboveground plant composition, overlooking the potential repository of propagules stored in the soil seedbank, and additional impacts on nontarget species. To ensure that an herbicide method is effectively controlling invader populations, while limiting impacts on the resident plant communities, both above‐ and belowground species responses must be assessed. We established an herbicide field experiment across different sites and years in Riverside, CA, U.S.A., to assess the control of a global annual invasive forb, <jats:italic>Oncosiphon pilulifer</jats:italic>. We investigated how seasonal herbicide management (early‐season vs. late‐season) and repeated annual herbicide applications (1 vs. 2 years) influenced cover and seedbank density of our focal invader and the resident plant community 1 year after treatment. We found that although late‐ and early‐season‐applied herbicides reduced invader cover, early‐season applications were the only strategy to reduce invader seedbank density, indicating potential longer term management control. Lastly, native cover was limited in post‐treated areas, suggesting that additional management strategies may be needed to overcome native establishment limitations in invaded grasslands.","PeriodicalId":54487,"journal":{"name":"Restoration Ecology","volume":"61 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141738053","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kenneth B. Raposa, Robin L. J. Weber, Daisy Durant, Jon C. Mitchell, Scott Rasmussen, Richard A. McKinney, Cathleen Wigand
To increase the resilience of salt marshes subject to sea‐level rise impacts, managers can focus on interventions within current marsh footprints or in adjacent uplands to facilitate landward marsh migration. The latter approach may be more appropriate when degradation is severe and in situ intervention options are limited. Strategies for facilitating marsh migration include removing artificial barriers, soil grading to reduce steep topography, and manipulating adjacent upland vegetation that can hinder migration, but experiments testing the effectiveness of these activities are limited. We therefore conducted a field experiment to determine if physically removing three upland vegetation types (forest, shrub, and Phragmites australis) adjacent to a Rhode Island salt marsh facilitates short‐term marsh migration. Upland vegetation removal led to increased ambient light in all habitats, significantly enhanced marsh plant cover, extent, and elevation in shrub habitat, and declines in total bird abundance in forest and shrub habitats. Enhanced migration did not occur in forest or Phragmites habitats, and in shrubs, marsh plants only colonized where Baccharis halimifolia, common in upper marsh borders, had been removed. Five years after removal, all upland habitats and associated vegetation were indistinguishable from initial conditions. Our study suggests that upland plant removal might provide a limited window for facilitating salt marsh migration and that more intensive methods may be needed for sustained, longer‐term benefits. It also demonstrates that there may be ecological trade‐offs to consider when altering upland habitats to enhance landward marsh migration.
{"title":"Upland vegetation removal as a potential tool for facilitating landward salt marsh migration","authors":"Kenneth B. Raposa, Robin L. J. Weber, Daisy Durant, Jon C. Mitchell, Scott Rasmussen, Richard A. McKinney, Cathleen Wigand","doi":"10.1111/rec.14242","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.14242","url":null,"abstract":"To increase the resilience of salt marshes subject to sea‐level rise impacts, managers can focus on interventions within current marsh footprints or in adjacent uplands to facilitate landward marsh migration. The latter approach may be more appropriate when degradation is severe and in situ intervention options are limited. Strategies for facilitating marsh migration include removing artificial barriers, soil grading to reduce steep topography, and manipulating adjacent upland vegetation that can hinder migration, but experiments testing the effectiveness of these activities are limited. We therefore conducted a field experiment to determine if physically removing three upland vegetation types (forest, shrub, and <jats:italic>Phragmites australis</jats:italic>) adjacent to a Rhode Island salt marsh facilitates short‐term marsh migration. Upland vegetation removal led to increased ambient light in all habitats, significantly enhanced marsh plant cover, extent, and elevation in shrub habitat, and declines in total bird abundance in forest and shrub habitats. Enhanced migration did not occur in forest or <jats:italic>Phragmites</jats:italic> habitats, and in shrubs, marsh plants only colonized where <jats:italic>Baccharis halimifolia</jats:italic>, common in upper marsh borders, had been removed. Five years after removal, all upland habitats and associated vegetation were indistinguishable from initial conditions. Our study suggests that upland plant removal might provide a limited window for facilitating salt marsh migration and that more intensive methods may be needed for sustained, longer‐term benefits. It also demonstrates that there may be ecological trade‐offs to consider when altering upland habitats to enhance landward marsh migration.","PeriodicalId":54487,"journal":{"name":"Restoration Ecology","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141738056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Guifang Hu, Ning Wang, Jiamin Chen, Li Qin, Jun'e Liu, Zhengchao Zhou
Globally, biological soil crusts (BSCs) are crucial ecosystem components that perform essential functions important to ecosystem stability. However, the potential mechanisms of BSC's effect on vascular plant recruitment and establishment are largely unknown. Furthermore, few studies have considered BSC‐vascular plant analyses in conjunction with BSC microenvironments, seed traits, and plant life stages simultaneously. Thus, we chose six typical plants with different seed traits on the Loess Plateau and conducted a growth chamber experiment to evaluate the effects of BSC types, disturbance, seeding positions, and moisture on seed germination, survival, and seedling growth. We also explored the effects of BSC presence and disturbance on seedling emergence through field investigation. The results indicated that the main effects of the four factors, BSC type, disturbance, seeding location, and moisture, and their two‐ and three‐dimensional interactions had significant effects on the performance of most of the studied species. Disturbance and wetting treatments with shorter watering intervals promoted the performance of most plants, and moisture could modify the effect of BSCs on plants. The effect of BSCs on plant performance was related to seed traits and plant life stage and the presence of the BSC promotes the growth of the plants when it reaches the survival stage. In field observations, we found that the number of seedling species was lower on BSCs compared to bare lands and that the number of species on broken crusts was greater than on intact crusts; while seedling density on bare land was significantly higher than it in BSC patches.
{"title":"The role of biological soil crusts in vascular plant recruitment in the Loess Plateau region, China","authors":"Guifang Hu, Ning Wang, Jiamin Chen, Li Qin, Jun'e Liu, Zhengchao Zhou","doi":"10.1111/rec.14235","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.14235","url":null,"abstract":"Globally, biological soil crusts (BSCs) are crucial ecosystem components that perform essential functions important to ecosystem stability. However, the potential mechanisms of BSC's effect on vascular plant recruitment and establishment are largely unknown. Furthermore, few studies have considered BSC‐vascular plant analyses in conjunction with BSC microenvironments, seed traits, and plant life stages simultaneously. Thus, we chose six typical plants with different seed traits on the Loess Plateau and conducted a growth chamber experiment to evaluate the effects of BSC types, disturbance, seeding positions, and moisture on seed germination, survival, and seedling growth. We also explored the effects of BSC presence and disturbance on seedling emergence through field investigation. The results indicated that the main effects of the four factors, BSC type, disturbance, seeding location, and moisture, and their two‐ and three‐dimensional interactions had significant effects on the performance of most of the studied species. Disturbance and wetting treatments with shorter watering intervals promoted the performance of most plants, and moisture could modify the effect of BSCs on plants. The effect of BSCs on plant performance was related to seed traits and plant life stage and the presence of the BSC promotes the growth of the plants when it reaches the survival stage. In field observations, we found that the number of seedling species was lower on BSCs compared to bare lands and that the number of species on broken crusts was greater than on intact crusts; while seedling density on bare land was significantly higher than it in BSC patches.","PeriodicalId":54487,"journal":{"name":"Restoration Ecology","volume":"81 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141613150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Catherine A. Farrell, John Connolly, Terry R. Morley
Peatlands are complex landscape ecosystems. Since the beginning of the last century, they have been viewed as wastelands, with little or no economic value of note in their natural state. This led to their hidden values, particularly their contributions to human well‐being, and global and local support systems, being completely overlooked in policy and decision‐making, both at national and global levels. In this paper, we highlight some of the complexities relating to Irish peatlands: from their traditional use, to changes in land use relating to national and European policy changes in the last century. We then outline essential supporting components of a framework for their restoration and future sustainable use. Policy relating to agriculture, forestry, and energy has driven most of the land use change in Ireland, particularly since the mid‐1900s, and this has led to dramatic changes in peatland extent and condition, with negative impacts on the flows of ecosystem services and benefits for people. Restoration of peatlands has significant potential to reverse those negative flows and deliver benefits (local and global) for carbon, water, biodiversity, and people. Local communities can, and are keen to, support the delivery of peatland restoration, but they need to be supported by national agencies and policy frameworks that address social, economic, and environmental targets. The act of restoration creates opportunities to re‐connect with peatlands in a positive way, re‐enforcing the intrinsic and reciprocal values of peatlands, and ultimately supporting their sustainable use.
{"title":"Charting a course for peatland restoration in Ireland: a case study to support restoration frameworks in other regions","authors":"Catherine A. Farrell, John Connolly, Terry R. Morley","doi":"10.1111/rec.14216","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.14216","url":null,"abstract":"Peatlands are complex landscape ecosystems. Since the beginning of the last century, they have been viewed as wastelands, with little or no economic value of note in their natural state. This led to their hidden values, particularly their contributions to human well‐being, and global and local support systems, being completely overlooked in policy and decision‐making, both at national and global levels. In this paper, we highlight some of the complexities relating to Irish peatlands: from their traditional use, to changes in land use relating to national and European policy changes in the last century. We then outline essential supporting components of a framework for their restoration and future sustainable use. Policy relating to agriculture, forestry, and energy has driven most of the land use change in Ireland, particularly since the mid‐1900s, and this has led to dramatic changes in peatland extent and condition, with negative impacts on the flows of ecosystem services and benefits for people. Restoration of peatlands has significant potential to reverse those negative flows and deliver benefits (local and global) for carbon, water, biodiversity, and people. Local communities can, and are keen to, support the delivery of peatland restoration, but they need to be supported by national agencies and policy frameworks that address social, economic, and environmental targets. The act of restoration creates opportunities to re‐connect with peatlands in a positive way, re‐enforcing the intrinsic and reciprocal values of peatlands, and ultimately supporting their sustainable use.","PeriodicalId":54487,"journal":{"name":"Restoration Ecology","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141573026","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thomas P. Munro, Todd E. Erickson, Dale G. Nimmo, Jodi N. Price
Water scarcity, a challenge expected to worsen with climate change, significantly hinders native plant community restoration. Enhancing seed‐based restoration requires methods to increase the water availability for seeds and seedlings. Surfactants and superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) can improve soil water‐holding capacity and infiltration, but their use in seed enhancements remains underexplored. We investigated whether pellets containing surfactants or SAPs could improve seedling emergence of two native species (Rytidosperma caespitosum and Chrysocephalum apiculatum) common in temperate grasslands in south‐eastern Australia under different watering treatments. We used a randomized block design with five watering treatments to simulate predicted changes in precipitation for south‐eastern Australia: ambient, two reducing overall water volume, and two reducing watering frequency while increasing watering volume to maintain ambient treatment water volume. We explored four enhanced pellets (two containing surfactants and two containing SAPs) and non‐pelleted seeds. Our results showed that watering events with larger volumes but reduced frequency increased seedling emergence. Under these conditions, block co‐polymer surfactants further increased seedling emergence of C. apiculatum, while synthetic SAP pellets promoted emergence of R. caespitosum. Block co‐polymer surfactants decreased R. caespitosum emergence, and both SAPs reduced C. apiculatum emergence under reduced watering frequency. A 50% reduction in overall water volume significantly reduced seedling emergence for both species, regardless of seed enhancement. These findings suggest that surfactants and SAP pellets can improve the success of seed‐based restoration under ambient conditions and when rainfall events are larger in volume but reduced in frequency, but not when the overall volume of rainfall is reduced.
缺水这一挑战预计会随着气候变化而加剧,严重阻碍了本地植物群落的恢复。要加强以种子为基础的恢复工作,就必须采用各种方法来增加种子和幼苗的水分供应。表面活性剂和超吸水性聚合物(SAP)可提高土壤持水能力和渗透性,但它们在种子增殖中的应用仍未得到充分探索。我们研究了含有表面活性剂或 SAP 的颗粒是否能在不同的浇水处理下提高澳大利亚东南部温带草地常见的两种本地物种(Rytidosperma caespitosum 和 Chrysocephalum apiculatum)的出苗率。我们采用了五种浇水处理的随机区组设计来模拟澳大利亚东南部降水量的预测变化:常温处理、两种减少总水量的处理以及两种减少浇水频率同时增加浇水量以保持常温处理水量的处理。我们研究了四种强化颗粒(两种含有表面活性剂,两种含有 SAP)和非颗粒种子。结果表明,浇水量增大但频率降低可提高出苗率。在这些条件下,嵌段共聚物表面活性剂进一步提高了 C. apiculatum 的出苗率,而合成 SAP 粒料则促进了 R. caespitosum 的出苗率。在减少浇水次数的条件下,嵌段共聚物表面活性剂会降低草履虫的出苗率,而两种 SAP 都会降低 C. apiculatum 的出苗率。总水量减少 50%会显著降低这两种植物的出苗率,而与种子增殖无关。这些研究结果表明,在环境条件下,当降雨量较大但降雨频率较低时,表面活性剂和 SAP 颗粒可以提高种子恢复的成功率,但当总降雨量减少时则不能。
{"title":"Assessing seed pellet formulations to improve native plant restoration under water‐limited conditions","authors":"Thomas P. Munro, Todd E. Erickson, Dale G. Nimmo, Jodi N. Price","doi":"10.1111/rec.14217","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.14217","url":null,"abstract":"Water scarcity, a challenge expected to worsen with climate change, significantly hinders native plant community restoration. Enhancing seed‐based restoration requires methods to increase the water availability for seeds and seedlings. Surfactants and superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) can improve soil water‐holding capacity and infiltration, but their use in seed enhancements remains underexplored. We investigated whether pellets containing surfactants or SAPs could improve seedling emergence of two native species (<jats:italic>Rytidosperma caespitosum</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>Chrysocephalum apiculatum</jats:italic>) common in temperate grasslands in south‐eastern Australia under different watering treatments. We used a randomized block design with five watering treatments to simulate predicted changes in precipitation for south‐eastern Australia: ambient, two reducing overall water volume, and two reducing watering frequency while increasing watering volume to maintain ambient treatment water volume. We explored four enhanced pellets (two containing surfactants and two containing SAPs) and non‐pelleted seeds. Our results showed that watering events with larger volumes but reduced frequency increased seedling emergence. Under these conditions, block co‐polymer surfactants further increased seedling emergence of <jats:italic>C. apiculatum</jats:italic>, while synthetic SAP pellets promoted emergence of <jats:italic>R. caespitosum</jats:italic>. Block co‐polymer surfactants decreased <jats:italic>R. caespitosum</jats:italic> emergence, and both SAPs reduced <jats:italic>C. apiculatum</jats:italic> emergence under reduced watering frequency. A 50% reduction in overall water volume significantly reduced seedling emergence for both species, regardless of seed enhancement. These findings suggest that surfactants and SAP pellets can improve the success of seed‐based restoration under ambient conditions and when rainfall events are larger in volume but reduced in frequency, but not when the overall volume of rainfall is reduced.","PeriodicalId":54487,"journal":{"name":"Restoration Ecology","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141573195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maurílio A. Figueiredo, Maria C. T. B. Messias, Mariangela G. P. Leite, Alessandra R. Kozovits
Transferring topsoil to severely degraded areas, such as mined areas, is an effective restoration technique. However, topsoil from pristine areas is a limited resource, making it important to seek techniques that optimize its use. Thus, this study assessed the effects of adding a small topsoil volume (10 L/m2 or 1 cm layer), a seed mix of 14 species, and litter (30 L/m2) alone and in different combinations in the restoration of a rupestrian grassland area degraded by bauxite mining. The substrate in the degraded area was turned prior to applying treatments. Vegetation cover, density of individuals, and species richness were measured 30 months after the experiment was set up. The isolated use of each material and the simultaneous addition of topsoil to the seed mix were not effective. The simultaneous use of topsoil, litter, and seed mix provided the best result, presenting the highest vegetation coverage (60%), density (67 ind/m2), and species richness (26 in 12 m2). Although, to a lesser extent, the combination of seed mix and litter also presented satisfactory results. The combination of the three materials promoted the revegetation of an area that had been without vegetation for around 50 years, presenting a density of individuals and species richness comparable to those obtained with the use of thick topsoil layers (15–30 cm). Furthermore, the topsoil volume used was optimized.
{"title":"Topsoil volume optimization in the restoration of post‐mined areas","authors":"Maurílio A. Figueiredo, Maria C. T. B. Messias, Mariangela G. P. Leite, Alessandra R. Kozovits","doi":"10.1111/rec.14222","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.14222","url":null,"abstract":"Transferring topsoil to severely degraded areas, such as mined areas, is an effective restoration technique. However, topsoil from pristine areas is a limited resource, making it important to seek techniques that optimize its use. Thus, this study assessed the effects of adding a small topsoil volume (10 L/m<jats:sup>2</jats:sup> or 1 cm layer), a seed mix of 14 species, and litter (30 L/m<jats:sup>2</jats:sup>) alone and in different combinations in the restoration of a rupestrian grassland area degraded by bauxite mining. The substrate in the degraded area was turned prior to applying treatments. Vegetation cover, density of individuals, and species richness were measured 30 months after the experiment was set up. The isolated use of each material and the simultaneous addition of topsoil to the seed mix were not effective. The simultaneous use of topsoil, litter, and seed mix provided the best result, presenting the highest vegetation coverage (60%), density (67 ind/m<jats:sup>2</jats:sup>), and species richness (26 in 12 m<jats:sup>2</jats:sup>). Although, to a lesser extent, the combination of seed mix and litter also presented satisfactory results. The combination of the three materials promoted the revegetation of an area that had been without vegetation for around 50 years, presenting a density of individuals and species richness comparable to those obtained with the use of thick topsoil layers (15–30 cm). Furthermore, the topsoil volume used was optimized.","PeriodicalId":54487,"journal":{"name":"Restoration Ecology","volume":"2016 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141573196","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Beka J. Nxele, Petrus J. Pieterse, Diane L. Larson
Ecosystem restoration is a necessity for addressing socio‐ecological challenges by improving ecosystem resilience and alleviating poverty through local community involvement. Here, we review a community‐based, large‐scale ecosystem restoration program, Working for Ecosystems, implemented by eThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa, between 2007 and 2022. For this study, we interrogated monthly and annual reports generated by the program between 2011 and 2021 to describe how the program worked to suppress invasive alien plants (IAPs) and provided employment opportunities to marginalized groups (women, youth, military veterans, and people living with disabilities). Annual budget was positively correlated with the area cleared of IAPs and effort (person‐days in the field). The program successfully incorporated marginalized groups, but military veterans and people living with disabilities remained in smaller numbers and were not well quantified. Participants were encouraged to constitute companies—Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises—that were then subcontracted to the program or could progress to other endeavors, allowing other community members to enter the program. A steady increase in the implementation budget emphasized the need for a long‐term plan to ensure accountability and sustainability of restoration and socio‐ecological systems.
{"title":"Ecosystem restoration coupled with poverty alleviation in eThekwini Municipality, KwaZulu‐Natal Province, South Africa","authors":"Beka J. Nxele, Petrus J. Pieterse, Diane L. Larson","doi":"10.1111/rec.14224","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.14224","url":null,"abstract":"Ecosystem restoration is a necessity for addressing socio‐ecological challenges by improving ecosystem resilience and alleviating poverty through local community involvement. Here, we review a community‐based, large‐scale ecosystem restoration program, Working for Ecosystems, implemented by eThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa, between 2007 and 2022. For this study, we interrogated monthly and annual reports generated by the program between 2011 and 2021 to describe how the program worked to suppress invasive alien plants (IAPs) and provided employment opportunities to marginalized groups (women, youth, military veterans, and people living with disabilities). Annual budget was positively correlated with the area cleared of IAPs and effort (person‐days in the field). The program successfully incorporated marginalized groups, but military veterans and people living with disabilities remained in smaller numbers and were not well quantified. Participants were encouraged to constitute companies—Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises—that were then subcontracted to the program or could progress to other endeavors, allowing other community members to enter the program. A steady increase in the implementation budget emphasized the need for a long‐term plan to ensure accountability and sustainability of restoration and socio‐ecological systems.","PeriodicalId":54487,"journal":{"name":"Restoration Ecology","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141577813","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}