Resource Database

Integrating QAQC into Adaptive Management: Revisiting the Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle

The term ‘Adaptive Management,’ is a common keyword cited by many authors of ecosystem or ecological restoration planning and quality documentation when describing their intended management strategy. However, in many instances, the authors do not describe how it will inform effective decision making or modifications to management actions fundamental to project success. The ‘Plan-Do-Check-Act’ (PDCA) cycle, also known as the Shewhart or Deming cycle, is a quality improvement and process decision model first applied in the manufacturing industry, and that represents a simplified model of adaptive management. The PDCA cycle models a recurrent assessment of the achievement of quality objectives or performance criteria pursuant to the success in realizing an intended product or predicted system response. In ecosystem or ecological restoration, quantitative benchmarks (targets or thresholds) serve as decision criteria (or triggers) necessary to
inform objective decision making during project implementation and effectiveness monitoring assessment. The PDCA cycle can provide ecosystem and ecological restoration planners, scientists, and practitioners a framework in which to integrate quality assurance and quality control (QAQC) principles and procedures as a core component to inform project management, and guide quality oversight, and assessment of whether restoration practices are successful. Decision criteria, when effectively integrated in a combined PDCA and QAQC framework can operationalize adaptive management in both qualitative and quantitative terms needed to provide an objective and evidence based assessment of whether a restoration project is on the right track in attaining its stated goals.

Klamath Basin Integrated Fisheries Restoration and Monitoring Plan: Basin Wide Restoration Prioritization to Enable Ongoing Adaptive Management

The vision of the Klamath Basin IFRMP (https://kbifrm.psmfc.org/) is to provide a unifying framework for planning the coordinated restoration and recovery of native fish species from the headwaters of the Klamath River to the Pacific Ocean, while improving flows, water quality, habitat and ecosystem processes. The IFRMP will provide a blueprint that describes the highest priority flow, water quality, and ecosystem process (“habitat”) restoration and monitoring actions that in combination with related restoration initiatives can help reverse the declines of multiple native Klamath Basin fish populations. The recent focus of IFRMP development has been finalizing and iteratively applying a multi-criterion scoring methodology for systematic, repeatable, and transparent ranking of restoration actions for focal fish populations throughout the entire Klamath Basin. Information to complete prioritization was collected from a combination of (1) Phase 1 and 2 IFRMP synthesis and inventory efforts, (2) individual sub-basin practitioner surveys, and (3) iterative collaborative sub-basin team peer review webinars. The data and mechanics needed to execute this approach are unified in the web-based Klamath IFRMP Restoration Prioritization Tool (http://klamath.essa.com; and see https://youtu.be/qyh6jS3j8ik). The Tool allows different prioritization scenarios to be created that consist of combinations of weighting factors on the individual scoring criteria (e.g., based on perceptions of importance of multi-species benefits vs. focusing on individual species, etc.). The Tool will directly support future Adaptive Management in the Klamath Basin, through iterative updating every 2-3 years as restoration is conducted, pressures in different locations shift, natural disturbances unfold, and monitoring generates new information on the effectiveness of restoration actions.

Bee community response to semiarid grassland restoration: a regional study in the Pacific Northwest, USA

Up to 99.9% of native North American grasslands have been degraded since European settlement, primarily due to agricultural development. Today, grasslands are a top priority for restoration as they harbor high amounts of biodiversity, contribute to climate, soil, and water stability, and provide essential habitat for many rare and endangered species. The majority of grassland studies have focused on vegetation or vertebrate responses to restoration while largely neglecting invertebrates even though invertebrates comprise the majority of grassland diversity and provide essential services such as pollination, nutrient cycling, pest control, and food for vertebrates. To study how grassland restoration impacts native bee communities, we collected data in three semiarid restored bunchgrass prairies. Our goals were threefold: 1. describe the variability and similarities within bee communities across the three superficially similar locations, 2. identify environmental variables associated with patterns within the bee communities, and 3. determine how restoration impacted the bee communities and these environmental variables. In one year, we collected 6,512 bees and identified 90 species from the three locations and identified 17,550 flowering plants to 66 species. Assessed environmental variables included measures of both nesting habitat and available forage. Initial analyses show seasonal changes within the bee and floral communities but bee composition did not differ between the three locations. Bee communities within the restored sites did not differ from degraded communities but did differ from native communities. Bee diversity did not differ between the treatments; however, bee abundance was lower in native sites compared to the restored and degraded treatments. These results will prove useful in future grassland restoration planning projects, especially if pollination of native or rare plants is desired.

Comparing amphibian habitat quality and functional success among natural, restored, and created vernal pools

We performed a multiyear monitoring study to compare amphibian habitat quality among four natural, four restored, and six created pools in the same area. We used successful reproduction and metamorphosis of two vernal pool indicator species, the wood frog and spotted salamander, to represent desired outcomes. Ordination techniques were used to identify the aspects of habitat quality that were most correlated with desired outcomes. Although many previous studies indicate that restored and created pools rarely replace function lost in the destruction of natural pools, our results demonstrate that properly restored or created pools can match the value and function of nearby natural pools when certain aspects of habitat quality are considered. Vernal pool hydroperiod, volume, and depth were the most important abiotic filters constraining species composition, while predator and arthropod abundance were the biotic parameters most correlated with survival of indicator species. Large (>50 m3 ), deep (≥30 cm), short-cycle pools (12-20 weeks) had increased food availability, fewer predators, and greater reproductive success of indicator amphibians. We also documented a 96% decrease in wood frog survival rates in a semi-permanent, natural pool following a 41% decrease in overhead canopy cover and an increase in green frog abundance. At the same time, wood frog reproductive success increased in nearby restored pools with lower predator abundance, indicating that conserving and restoring landscapes with multiple vernal pools can facilitate dispersal of breeding amphibians and their prey species and mitigate overall population losses in changing landscapes.

Environmental conditions of marine turtle nesting and incubating habitats with and without coastal defense and restoring actions

Sandy coasts are extremely vulnerable to changes in climate impacting endangered species such as marine turtles, that rely on them for part of their life cycle, and alterations to their habitats may modify their reproductive success. In response to coastline changes, hard structures have been installed in a process known as ‘coastal hardening’, with the aim of protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems. Unfortunately, they may alter essential ecological cycles and habitat condition for endangered species.

Studying the landscape’s physical and biological features of where endangered species occur, including zones where beach restoration took place, contributes with information of reference about variables that define threshold conditions for turtles’ habitats.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of hard structures (tetrapods and groynes) installed for coastal protection and restoration on nesting habitats for marine turtles in southeastern Mexico. We evaluated differences between beaches with and without restoring actions, in terms of beach morphology, granulometry, vegetation structure and sand temperature.

Beaches with hard structures had significantly different habitat conditions. Segments restored using groynes showed similar habitat conditions to those on natural beach reference, while another with tetrapods was more like a degraded beach reference. Nevertheless, marine turtle nesting activity responded more to their historical distribution and philopatry, provoking the occupancy of potential suboptimal habitats for their reproductive success.

We contributed with quantitative values for a set of physical and ecological habitat conditions for marine turtle nesting beaches, that are reference for future actions to protect and restore coastal ecosystems.

Nature works! Helping restore pollinators, one In the Zone garden at a time

Since 2017, Carolinian Canada and WWF-Canada have piloted the In the Zone multi-partner program in Ontario’s Carolinian Zone, a heavy populated (25% of Canada’s population) and biodiversity-rich (onethird of species) region of southern Canada that is 95% private. The aim in these heavily transformed landscapes is to restore connected networks of locally-sourced native plant habitats, by engaging large numbers of residents, with a special focus on gardens across urban and rural communities.

To date, results show significant and ongoing participation. Over 5,500 people managing nearly 40,000 ha and influencing 335,000 people have joined the program. 94% want to grow more native plants. In the Zone uses an integrated systems approach to connect and train thousands of diverse residents, businesses, institutions and community groups to grow Canada’s Biggest Wildlife Garden together using tools based on the best restoration science: gardener’s app to measure wildlife value, plant tags, ecogarden and climate-smart yard guides, neighbourhood ambassadors, business partnerships, self tracking of progress with incentives and a modular multi-partner knowledge-sharing platform (www.inthezonegardens.ca).

Program design combines behaviour and ecological science to focus collective effort on one simple action that supports over 100 recovery strategies: growing ethical, source-identified native plants. This focus makes it easy and enjoyable for participants to take tangible, simple action to address the dual crises of extinction and climate change while shifting community norms.

The rapid response of many pollinator insect species within days of native plant blooming fuels great excitement in participants. Program results show that a fundamental shift in what people plant makes a difference in terms of reconciliation, energy savings, water protection, climate adaptation, carbon storage, sustainable landscaping, growing a local green economy and public eco-literacy. In this talk, we will share some examples of these rapid transformations, outline how to increase the supply chain for locally-sourced native plants, and consider how this successful pilot will be applied elsewhere in Canada.

Possible Methods of Calculating Fish Habitat Banking Credits in Southern Ontario, Canada

In 2019 the Canadian federal Fisheries Act was amended to include a provision for proponent led development of fish habitat banks. A fish habitat bank is a conservation strategy used to earn the proponent habitat credits through the completion of restoration works. The credits are included in a banking ledger and can ultimately be withdrawn by the proponent to offset the unavoidable death of fish or the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat resulting from a proposed project by the same proponent. Credits may only be used within the same service area where the credits were earned.

Prior to the 2019 amendment, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) had supported the development of a small number of fish habitat banks lead by municipalities. Since 2019, additional banking negotiations have been taking place. This presentation will discuss the various types of fish habitat banking stream restoration projects that the City of Kitchener has completed and how the credits are being calculated. The City of Kitchener’s potential maximum earned credit calculations are generally based on the area of restored habitat, the quality of restored habitat, and the effect of the restoration project on access to upstream habitat. The credits are not automatically granted upon completion of the restoration project but are contingent on project success. Credits are released based on an agreed upon schedule based on achieving specific project metrics, determined through post-construction monitoring. This presentation aims to invite discussion on how we assign value to environmental function.

Restoring the Spiny Softshell Turtle Habitat in Lake Champlain Region

The Spiny Softshell Turtle is a threatened species in southern Quebec that has been victim of habitat  loss due to conversion of land for agricultural use. The Nature Conservancy of Canada has partnered with Quebec’s ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs (MFFP) in order to restore its habitat in the Lake Champlain region. An agricultural land used for corn production was protected and rewilded to insure protection of water quality and wildlife habitat. Restoration work included the planting of over 2 500 trees to recreate an exceptional forest ecosystem where swamp white oak prevails. Wildlife friendly agricultural practices have also been put in place for demonstration and scientific purposes.

An existing pond was redesigned with specific characteristics fitted for turtles. Successive basins of pits and canals have been created with consideration of future water levels in regard of climate change projections for the horizon 2040-2070. Mounds, logs and flat stones have also been set up so that the turtles can bask in the sun. MFFP has been conducting telemetric surveys that show use of the pond by spiny softshell turtle and map turtle. This has provided important knowledge as we are planning to create a second pond in order to restore even more land.

Short-term recovery of ground-dwelling invertebrates after soil disturbance within active meadow restoration

Extensively managed grasslands in temperate biomes can harbor a big variety of plant and invertebrate species. Yet, they have suffered from a strong decline in species diversity in the past decades mainly due to agricultural intensification. Not surprisingly, grassland restoration through active seed addition has thus gained in importance. Soil disturbance such as ploughing is often necessary to facilitate the establishment of the seeded plant species. However, the effect of these disturbances on ground dwelling invertebrates has only rarely been studied within the framework of active meadow restoration. The aim of this project was to fill this research gap by studying the short-term effect of different active restoration methods of speciespoor meadows on ground dwelling beetles and spiders. These restoration methods differed either in their soil disturbance intensity (i.e. ploughing, harrowing) or their seeding method (i.e. hay transfer, sowing of different seed mixtures). The experiment was carried out at field scale, i.e. one restoration method per meadow. The experiment was setup in 12 regions in the Swiss lowlands in summer 2019, with a total of 48 restored grasslands. We used pitfall traps to collect data on beetle and spider abundance and species richness before restoration in 2018 and one year after in 2020. We have found that ground dwelling invertebrates recovered, i.e. no change in abundance or species richness, within the first year irrespective of the soil disturbance methods. These results indicate that the established meadow restoration methods are not harmful to ground dwelling invertebrates, while being favorable for plant diversity.

A restoration plan for the 3rd section of Bosque de Chapultepec, Mexico City

Bosque de Chapultepec is the largest, oldest urban park in Mexico City, receiving around 15 million visitors per year. Its present area is 800 ha. In 2020 an agreement was signed between the Secretary of the Environment of Mexico City (SEDEMA) and the National University (UNAM) to develop an executive plan for the environmental restoration of the 3rd section (244 ha). Here we present an overview of this plan, based on a previous diagnostic. The 3rd section has a large environmental value, as it is crossed by a system of ravines having a high contribution to aquifer recharge. Its vegetation is similar to that of remnant surrounding forests, with relatively well preserved sites, dominated by native trees, and others dominated by exotic trees, mainly eucalypts, many of which are dead or sick. The area was classified in three categories: a) a buffer zone, adjacent to the urban matrix, b) a biocultural zone, with infrastructure associated to recreational activities and, c) a conservation zone, comprising the total length of the ravines. These zones were subsequently divided in areas devoted to preservation, restoration, recreational and cultural activities, and special uses. Specific management guidelines were provided for each one. Vegetation management considers the coexistence of native and introduced species, eliminating dead introduced trees sequentially to prevent erosion and reinvasion. Native species for restoration were chosen from the forests communities in the mountains surrounding Mexico City, considering the projected effects of climate change to attain resilience.

Data-driven Forest Management in New York City

This presentation will focus on data-driven approaches to natural area restoration and management in New York City (NYC). One-third of NYC Parks property is natural habitats including forests, fresh water wetlands, salt marshes, and grasslands. These unique and valuable habitats are stewarded by NYC Parks’ Division of Forestry, Horticulture, and Natural Resources(FHNR).

In partnership with the Natural Areas Conservancy (NAC),NYC Parks released the Forest Management Framework (FMF)for NYC in 2018.This Framework includes a 25-year plan for sustained investment and comprehensive management of all 7,300+ acres of forested natural areas on NYC Parks’ property. It sets a bold vision for these urban natural areas based on enhancing forest health and biodiversity by reducing ecological threats and making forests resilient by planting intact ecological communities and species that are expected to thrive under future climate change scenarios. The FMF also includes a data collection, monitoring and assessment strategy to inform prioritization and measure success. By taking advantage of multiple teams and areas of expertise within NYC Parks, municipal staff are able to fully implement the framework without external assistance. Managing forested natural areas includes a range of activities including data collection, data analysis, seed collection, plant propagation, management, restoration, conservation, and volunteer engagement.

NYC Parks recently completed the first fully funded year of implementing the FMF. This presentation will present the tools and analyses that informed the work, and give a local perspective to data driven management of urban natural areas.

Identification of restoration needs and opportunities for wetland and forest ecosystems in a municipal park

Urban wetlands face a variety of pressures such as housing, agriculture, and forestry. The “Base de plein air de Sainte-Foy” (BPASF) in Québec is a municipal outdoor recreational center comprising a variety of environment types, including wetlands and forests. This project aims to study the historical and present state of the environments at the BPASF to identify restoration and conservation opportunities. The impacts of anthropic disturbance interventions were evaluated through the analysis of historical aerial photographs. To assess the state of the environments and their restoration potential, a floristic survey was performed in 76 plots of 400 m2 in 2019. Preliminary results show that plots located in the forest and swamp areas have the highest species richness, whereas only plots located in the marsh and peatland areas significantly contribute to beta diversity. This points out to the importance of preserving these four types of environment to maintain biodiversity at the BPASF. In further analyses, we will identify indicator species and measure the impact of environmental characteristics on species richness and distribution for each environment type. An index of biological integrity will be developed and used to identify areas in need of intervention or restoration. The knowledge acquired will then be used to write a restoration and management plan for the city of Quebec. The plan will take into account the demand for ecological services. Lessons learned from this project will serve other municipalities trying to implement a restoration and management plan in an urban natural area.

Response of Vegetation and Ecosystem Services to Urban Prairie Restoration Treatments in Austin, TX

Urbanization and sprawl have led to habitat fragmentation and degradation, and subsequent invasion by nonnative species and losses in biodiversity. Restoration of urban greenspaces may ameliorate these impacts, while providing additional benefits for residents. We analyzed response of vegetation and soils to restoration treatments in a 40-acre prairie in Austin, TX. In 2011, herbicide was used to remove invasive Bermuda grass, KR bluestem, and Johnson grass, which dominated the site. The land was tilled and planted with a seed mix of 75 native grasses and forbs in 2012, and prescribed fires occurred in 2013, 2017, and 2019. In 2010, pre-restoration vegetation surveys were conducted along 9 transects, 20m in length. Post-restoration surveys have been conducted annually since 2012 in the same locations. In 2018 and 2019, we measured vegetation composition, productivity (aboveground biomass), soil moisture (gravimetric), and soil organic matter (loss on ignition) in the restored field and a nearby reference site. Pre-treatment, invasive grasses made up 91% ( 5.8, SD) of the plant cover, but they were reduced to 4-18% cover in post-treatment years. Most seeded species successfully established, along with an additional 50 native species, greatly increasing species richness at the site (122 post; 25 pre). The restored meadow had 56% more pollinator friendly plants than the reference site, but showed no difference in productivity, soil moisture, or organic matter. Overall, the restoration was successful in increasing plant diversity and floral resources, but did not affect soils. However, we may see increases in soil fertility and other ecosystem services over time.

Understanding local stakeholder perceptions and attitude of Prescribed Burning for improved support of Urban Pine Rockland restoration in Miami Dade County (MDC)

Prescribed burning is a crucial component of Pine Rockland (PR) habitat maintenance and restoration in South Florida. With less than 2% of original PR land cover remaining and a significant portion of PR stands within the urban matrix of Miami Dade county, understanding public perceptions of prescribed burning in urban areas is critical to ensure local stakeholder support for such practices. While there has been some research into local perceptions of prescribed fires in the United States, there is limited information about the perceptions that urban residents have about prescribed fire in South Florida. With MDC being a multicultural, majority-minority county, this presents a unique opportunity to understand resident perceptions of restoration practices in order to carry out culturally informed restoration efforts.

I have developed a survey instrument to gauge local perceptions and attitudes held by Miami Dade County residents about prescribed burning. Through the use of this instrument, I aim to answer two questions:

1) what are local residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards prescribed fire as a restoration practice in urban areas of MDC?
2) do residents with more knowledge about the benefits of prescribed burning support for prescribed burning practices more than residents with less knowledge about prescribed burning benefits?

Insights obtained through the collection of this data can be used to inform education and outreach campaigns to be conducted prior to prescribed burns to garner public support.

Urban Forestry Services: Which and When Trees Benefit the Built Environment

As a society, we intrinsically know the value and ecosystem services of urban forestry but struggle to know when these environmental, social, and economic benefits impact the built environment. In urban settings where surface conditions are composed of impervious materials, soil volume is minimum and compacted, and long-term assessment strategies are nonexistent, urban tree canopies become highly stressed resulting in high mortality rates. This is most evident as current municipal codes for tree planting throughout metropolitan Las Vegas neglect healthy growing conditions where trees have an average lifespan between seven and thirteen years.

This research evaluates tree health within the University of Nevada Las Vegas and how existing planting conditions affect which and when different performative functions are optimized. The benefits do not operate on a linear scale but rather a dynamic temporal process that accounts for annual and seasonal changes to the tree characteristics and surrounding environment. Due to this condition, it is important to understand the value and benefits of trees as a long-term investment.

Through the establishment of healthy and functioning urban forests, additional performative functions within the urban context were explored to consider other environmental, social, and economic benefits. Within this study’s framework, the collective nature of plant diversity, wildlife habitat, and other benefits have the potential to transform similar urban spaces into an ecological experience by developing conservation and planting strategies dependent on appropriate planting and tree selection.

When restoration vision and restoration targets conflict: A case against targeting a single species for restoration within urban nature preserves

The Niagara Escarpment, a world biosphere reserve, is the landscape setting of Lathrop Nature Preserve, a mature Carolinian forest in urbanized southern Ontario, Canada. Carolinian forest occupies only 1% of Canada’s land mass but is home to 25% of Canada’s rare species. Lathrop Nature Preserve provides habitat for numerous rare Carolinian forest flora and fauna and is also within the southernmost watershed in Canada with cold-water fish habitat.

The vision for restoration in a nature preserve, including Lathrop Nature Preserve, is foremost to maintain rare habitats/species, and secondly to enhance habitat quantity and/or quality. Restoration targeting a single species without considering the impacts to other species can threaten the overall restoration vision. At Lathrop Nature Preserve, a restoration target was set to improve downstream water quality to offsite cold-water fish habitat. Onsite ponds were created a century ago when a rail line was built across several valleys, impeding overland flow and groundwater seepage. These ponds contribute sediment and warm water to the downstream cold-water fish habitat. The ultimate restoration goal was to completely remove both ponds; however, baseline inventories determined that both ponds provide the only overwintering habitat for a rare turtle. To meet the restoration vision of maintaining and enhancing biodiversity, the restoration target was revised to improve downstream habitat for cold-water fish while protecting the rare turtle habitat. Restoration goals are currently being revised, given the constraints of the retained rail line and minimizing the construction footprint in the rare Carolinian forest habitat.

Mice in the Middle: Conserving periaquatic mammals caught between sea level rise and urban development in coastal marshes

Worldwide, coastal wetlands are being pinched between sea level rise and coastal development. Resilience of coastal wetlands will require conservation of the full ecosystem, and marsh mammals receive little consideration. Perhaps because they are cryptic, or have relatively little economic value, marsh mammals are understudied, though they are one of the most vulnerable groups of wildlife in our increasingly isolated, fragmented, and inundated coastal wetlands. While fish and reptiles can swim, and birds can fly across the miles of open water that separate urban marsh patches, a mammal in an isolated, drowning marsh is unlikely to be able to disperse. One such species is the salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris). Found only in the San Francisco Estuary, this marsh obligate is at risk of extinction due to sea level rise. While the primary strategy of creating high tide refugia for this species has been to build habitat on the landward edge of marshes, my current work indicates that they can be excluded from using this “upland” habitat through competition with more aggressive rodents. Decades of habitat enhancement for R. raviventris with little investigation of efficacy have left us largely unprepared to effectively conserve the mouse from sea level rise. However, our new data offer clues of how we might correct our course by creating habitat features that are resilient to sea level rise and reduce competition among mammals. For the mouse, this will likely include a mix of features from woody wrack, deep-marsh trellises, or even artificial floating islands.

Restoration of riparian forest buffers: lessons learned and challenges ahead in the Ayuquila River Watershed, Mexico.

Riparian zones are crucial ecosystems as they function as biodiversity refugees and provide ecosystem services for human well-being. Currently, land use change, natural flow regime alteration, morphological alteration of the river channels are the greatest anthropic pressures on these ecosystems. Restoration measures need to improve and recover hydrological and ecological functions. The purpose of this work is to exemplify the lesson´s learned and the challenges ahead regarding riparian restoration in the Ayuquila river watershed, western Mexico.

In the period 2004, a bottom-up riparian forest restoration initiative was developed in the agricultural Autlan-El Grullo valley in the middle part of the watershed, where riparian buffers along a segment of the Ayuquila River were restored with native multipurpose tree species. In total, 2.8 has restored along approximately 3 km of riverbanks with the participation of 14 farmers. Sixteen years after starting the project, the restored areas are still being used as demonstration sites to motivate other farmers to protect their riparian forests. Farmers identified the role of tree-roots in avoiding riverbank erosion during floods events and the value of trees in providing shade and space for recreation.

However, while riparian ecological aspect has been better developed (e.g. environmental conditions, tree species assemblage) and community conservation activities are being implemented in several micro-watersheds, there are still socioeconomic and legal aspects that limit restoration activities, being applied at a broader scale. Finally, we discuss some management guidelines to achieve conservation and restoration objectives for the riparian zones acknowledging its relevance in a cultural river landscape.

Restoring Habitat outside Protected Areas is crucial for the Survival of Riparian Biodiversity Hotspots under Changing Climate

Changing climate creates major alterations in riparian areas. Therefore river restoration and floodplains revitalizations are main targets for conservation planning. Protected sites offer sanctuaries, but changing habitat conditions challenge the survival of sessile riparian species, especially plants. Climate change enhances threat on vulnerable habitats, such as riverine floodplain forest habitats, which are biodiversity hotspots.

We use ecological models to investigate if protected areas provide refugia for typical floodplain forest plant species under changing climate. A coupled-modelling approach allows gaining spatially explicit information on the persistence of species in protected sites and on new areas for sanctuaries: We predict the niche of 17 species representing different successional stages along rivers in Switzerland using information on current, moderate and extreme climate change scenarios up to 80 years to the future (2100). We simulate the spread of species from current sites to suitable future habitat, using dispersal vectors and life history traits.

Floodplain forest species of early successional stages are more flexible also under extreme climate change scenarios than
indicators for late successional stages. The spread of species is mainly limited by their dispersal ability, but also inhibited by
changing habitat suitability. The predicted future presence of single species within protected areas decreases under both climate change scenarios, indicating that the habitat is not persistent for plants.

Current protected floodplains do not provide refugia for the sessile riparian plant indicator species studied. Planning of sanctuaries for riparian vegetation need to focus on connectivity along rivers to maintain viable source populations in dynamic riverine landscapes under changing climate.

Riparian plant guilds to inform revegetation after invasive species removal

Invasive species have become an inextricable part of the landscape, particularly in riparian plant communities, and removal is often a key component of restoration programs. Species-based assessments used to monitor removal do not typically provide insight into the mechanisms underlying plant community response. We employ functional diversity metrics as well as guilds – suites of species with similar traits – to assess the influence of Tamarix (an invasive tree in the southwestern United States) cover on the functional composition of riparian plant communities in the presence of a biocontrol agent. We ask: 1) What traits define riparian plant guilds and how does guild abundance vary along a gradient of Tamarix cover and abiotic conditions? 2) How does the functional diversity of the plant community respond to the gradients of Tamarix cover and abiotic conditions? We found nine guilds primarily defined by reproductive strategy, as well as height, seed weight and specific leaf area. Guild abundance varied along a covarying gradient of environmental factors and Tamarix cover. Guilds focused on sexual reproduction, i.e., producing many light seeds over a long period of time were associated with drier sites and higher Tamarix cover. Tamarix itself facilitated species with higher specific leaf areas than would be expected in resource poor environments. We identified guilds with likely secondary invasive species. Native species can be chosen from these guilds to compete with secondary invasive plants in active revegetation. Additionally, guilds can be used to select species adapted to anticipated environmental conditions after invasive species removal.

Squeezed from all sides: Coastal riparian forests meet rising seas, invasive species, and urbanization

Streamside forests of urbanizing coastal regions lie at the nexus of global changes that have the potential to reduce their important protective buffering functions for water quality: rising sea levels, increasing storm surge, expanding urbanization, and invasive species. To understand how these combined stressors affect forest condition, we identified forest patches adjacent to urban land, analyzed adjacent land cover, modeled forest inundation, and sampled 100 sites across the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay watersheds. We found that the majority of forest patches in the region are adjacent to medium- or high-density urban land. Projected flooding will affect 8 to 19% of all forested land in the study area. We observed non-native non-native invasive plants in 94% of forest plots. Trees were predominantly native, but over half of shrub stems were invasive species. More than 80% of plots contained invasive woody vines; in two thirds of plots vines covered a quarter or more of tree canopies. Most observed disturbance was of human origin, and the number of human-caused disturbance types in a plot was correlated with abundance of invasive trees. Signs of deer activity were also common. Richness and growth forms of invasive plants were related to adjacent agricultural land cover. These data reveal that forests of two large and productive estuarine bays are impacted by interacting stressors and emphasize the importance of protection and restoration of forests in urban regions. Ecological restoration of riparian forests in urbanizing coastal regions will benefit from a social-ecological systems approach.

Using occupancy modeling to inform endangered riparian brush rabbit recovery in the San Joaquin Valley, California

The riparian brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani riparius) is one of California’s most imperiled mammals. The species is endemic to riparian forests of the San Joaquin Valley, however, less than 10% of these historic riparian forests remain. Since the early 2000s, River Partners has worked in conjunction with The Riparian Brush Rabbit Working Group, a collaborative of non-profit, academic, private and agency organizations, to build and restore riparian brush rabbit habitat. Through this successful partnership, over 1200 hectares of habitat has been planted in the San Joaquin River corridor, and translocations led to successful establishment of brush rabbits in restored habitat at the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge. In June 2020, we confirmed a new population of riparian brush rabbit at nearby Dos Rios Ranch using randomly placed camera traps. After 520 trap nights, we used Royle-Nichols occupancy modeling to estimate population size (R 4.0.2). After opportunistically capturing and marking individuals from the population, we repeated the camera trapping to compare population estimates resulting from occupancy modeling and capture-mark-recapture estimates. These efforts reinforce the utility of passive detection methods for endangered species study and recovery, demonstrating the utility of camera traps to document rare mammal presence and to differentiate focal species from congeners in the same environment, and de-emphasize the need to capture, handle and mark individuals for population estimation.

Next, we will apply occupancy modelling to assess relative impacts of vegetation variables as a step to inform future habitat restoration efforts and translocations within the species’ historic range.

Enhanced phosphorus cycling in soils of vegetated riparian buffer strips

Vegetated riparian buffer strips (VBS) are a key management component in reducing the transfer of nutrients from agricultural land to adjacent fresh water bodies. This reduction in nutrient inputs along VBS has mostly been attributed to increased rates of biogeochemical cycling in soils. Numerous studies have shown that the transfer of nitrate (NO3 – ) from agricultural fields to streams is substantially decreased in riparian soils due to microbial denitrification which leads to the transformation of nitrate into gaseous N2O and N2. These findings led to the notion that VBS serve as ecosystem control points in the environmental nitrogen cycle. Compared to N, much less is known regarding the effect of VBS on the biogeochemical cycling of phosphorus (P) in soils of VBS.

In this study we investigated the P retention and P cycling in soils along a grassland transect towards a first order stream. For this purpose, we combined Hedley sequential fractionation of P pools with the analysis of the oxygen isotope ratiosin phosphate (PO4 3- ). Our results do not show any significant changes in the size of soil P pools along the transect. However, oxygen isotope ratios in phosphate of the 1M HCl extract from topsoils and subsoils gradually increased towards the stream compared to more remote sites. This finding indicates enhanced biological cycling of P in soils of VBS and suggests that the biogeochemistry of putative recalcitrant soil P pools is much more dynamic in VBS than previously thought. This highlights the need to consider temporal and spatial changes of recalcitrant geochemical P pools in soils when assessing the effectiveness of VBS to retain P from agricultural fields.

Restoration of alluvial dynamics in the Old Rhine River (Kembs Dam): Favorable Outcomes Despite Limitations to Upscaling Caused by Old and New Pressures

The 2010 renewal of the Kembs hydroelectric concession (France, along the Swiss and German borders), was the starting point of a vast project aimed at restoring alluvial dynamics and typical regional biodiversity, consisting of: environmental flows, gravel injections (66,000 m3
), controlled erosion processes (1 km), re-establishment of connectivity (fish, aquatic mammals) and the recreation of a watercourse (“Petit Rhin”) flowing through 100 ha of restored, formerly cultivated land on Kembs Island (a former branch of the Rhine perched on an alluvial terrace).

Monitoring results (2008 to 2020) show extremely high gains in biodiversity (taxonomic richness and heritage taxa) of all groups (flora, insects, amphibians, mammals, fish, etc.), related to the Kembs Island restoration. This new annex of the Old Rhine now plays a role locally as a biological reservoir, and regionally for the reproduction, feeding, or resting of various migratory and non-migratory fauna (birds, bats, insects …).

Local-scale restoration of alluvial connectivity typical of land-water boundaries was possible, resulting in a diversification of functional environments necessary for typical Rhine species. However, large scale restoration would require continuous, largevolume gravel injections and a major widening of the Rhine riverbed; requiring consideration within a broader framework of territorial projects in association with all stakeholders.

Beyond the legacy of hydromorphological pressures, aquatic species recovery was strongly constrained by chronic toxic pollution of the Rhine, and especially by recent biological invasions. Complex restoration projects must account for legacy and novel factors and their synergies/antagonisms to determine the most cost-effective measures for biodiversity.

Coastal Restoration as Compensatory Mitigation for Impacts to Aquatic Resources, Massachusetts In-Lieu Fee Program

Despite a national policy of no net loss of wetlands, the U.S. Department of the Interior estimates that the U.S. loses more than 80,000 acres of coastal wetlands annually, and the rate of loss is on the rise. Because coastal wetlands are stressed by development of coastal communities and offshore resources as well as sea level rise, the need to mitigate for impacts to coastal wetlands is growing. The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is the sponsor for a state-wide In-Lieu Fee (ILF) Program approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). DFG receives payments from Corps permittees and uses them to fund restoration, enhancement and preservation projects that provide compensatory mitigation for impacts to aquatic resources. The ILF process involves a sale of mitigation credits to the permittee, fulfillment of the mitigation obligations by DFG, and release of credits by the Corps when the projects achieve performance standards.

This presentation focuses on the coastal restoration aspect of DFG’s ILF program, with an emphasis on estuarine and marine subtidal resources. Several ILF coastal projects are underway, including an eelgrass restoration and an artificial reef project. However, developing restoration projects that provide timely, cost effective, in-kind mitigation and meet federal requirements has proven challenging. DFG is developing partnerships with other programs and initiatives to identify and prioritize projects that meet ILF selection criteria, including aquatic resource functional lift, cost-effectiveness and technical feasibility. These partnerships help the program take on new challenges related to climate change and sea level rise.

Development, Implementation, and Availability of the Gulf of Mexico Living Shorelines Suitability Models and Decision Support Tool

The current trend in the Gulf of Mexico is to install hard structures, such as, bulkheads, groins, or revetment on shorelines to protect waterfront coastal properties from erosion. In Alabama over 26% of the state’s tidal shoreline, 40% of Tampa Bay’s shoreline, and 20% of tidal marshes in Galveston Bay have been lost as a result of shoreline armoring. Hard structures tend to present negative effects to hydrodynamics and cause erosion to adjacent unprotected properties. Based on discussions from the greater Gulf of Mexico scientific community more decision support tools need to be produced and made available to help encourage the use of living shorelines to protect or restore coastal wetlands.

The presenter will discuss the creation and application of the Gulf of Mexico Living Shoreline Management Model (LSSM) and the Shoreline Decision Support Tool (DST) as funded by the NOAA RESTORE Science Program, that return upland and shoreline recommendations. The Models discussed will include the Galveston Bay, Lake Pontchartrain, and Coastal Alabama LSSM (Figure 1) viewers along with the interactive DST (Figure 2).

A short interactive training will be presented to allow the participants to understand essential input attributes and the ability to generate a natural or modified shoreline best management practice for a shoreline of interest upon completion of the seminar. In addition, challenges and solutions for implementing the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences LSSM for the select geographic regions in the Gulf of Mexico will also be discussed.

EVOLUTION OF TIDAL FLATS IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE PO DELTA (ITALY): A STRATEGY FOR FUTURE BUILDING-WITH-NATURE MANAGEMENT

In period of the 1950s-60s, the Po river Delta (Northern Italy) was hit by several floods. Agricultural fields were covered by water and many of them remained submerged since. As a consequence of the massive sediment injection into the system, this event lead to the birth of new tidal flats around the tip of the Delta. The evolution of these environments over 50 years has been studied as they may be taken as an example for future reconstruction of intertidal areas. The sediment distribution and the morphological evolution of a young tidal flat of about 10 ha located in the Northern part of the Po della Pila branch was studied by fieldwork since October 2018, including detailed topographic surveys, sedimentological analyses and a study of sediment deposition rates. An extended crevasse splay covers the central part of the flat. The granulometry is predominately fine (Silty clay and Clayey silt), except for the central area, where the sand percentage increases (Loam and Silty sand). This surface distribution is uniform down to ~10 cm; instead, the sand percentage increases within the sediment column from ~10 to 25 cm next to the mouths. These observations suggest that the tidal channels are fed by sediment from the Po River branch. Orthophotos from the 1950s show that the tidal flat is about 15 years old and its formation was influenced by human interventions and river floods. The work finally aims at identifying the optimal elevation for vegetation to establish and flourish and would support future restoration of these environments.

OFFSET Venice: Returning the lagoon to the centre of the discourse

Safeguarding the future of Venice is a global challenge of environmental resilience and urban sustainability. The city is composed of islands in a complex, anthropicised, transitional coastal zone with differentiated shallow lagoon habitats in a matrix of deeper navigation channels. Management issues and continuing erosion have resulted in extensive loss of seagrass and saltmarsh areas as well as compromising functionality of the lagoon system. By considering the ecosystem services provided by these habitats, there is scope to shift the economic paradigms: carbon sequestration by saltmarshes and seagrasses alone is currently worth millions of euros/year. Restoring these habitats to their full sequestration capacity, together with estimation of all co-benefits, could become the foundation of a new economy, leading to a healthier lagoon and a better balanced city-nature connection. Nonetheless, a recent review of marsh restoration research highlighted a risk that a carbon sequestration focus tends to neglect pure ecology so OFFSET Venice will integrate ecological analyses with “soft restoration” interventions to maximise the ecological functioning of areas of sediment infills officially termed “artificial saltmarsh” since the 1990s and continuing today. The approach incorporates modelling for scenarios-testing and calculations of cost/benefit and additionality of different, location-specific interventions and will be coupled with economic assessments of carbon pricing to ensure the creation of appropriate development strategies for Venice in terms of the wellbeing of the city and nature. Findings presented will be a combination of completed and in-progress analyses.

On the use of large-scale biodegradable artificial reefs for intertidal foreshore stabilization

Combining foreshore ecosystems like saltmarshes and mangroves with traditional hard engineering structures may offer a more sustainable solution to coastal protection than engineering structures alone. However, foreshore ecosystems, are rapidly degrading on a global scale due to human activities and climate change. Meanwhile, conservation measures often focuses on hard engineering techniques to protect marsh/mangrove edges. Alternatively, foreshore ecosystems could be protected by using connected ecosystems which can trap and stabilize sediments, thereby reducing hydrodynamics loads on the ecosystem. In our study, we aimed to test the effect of large-scale biodegradable artificial reefs, aimed at mussel bed restoration, on tidal flat morphology. We hypothesized that the structures would attenuate hydrodynamics and trap sediment which could ultimately be beneficial for adjacent saltmarsh stability. For this, a large-scale experiment (630 m) was conducted on the tidal flats of the Dutch Wadden Sea, by installing biodegradable artificial reefs that were constructed to facilitate mussel bed establishment. Waves, sediment dynamics and sediment properties around the structures were monitored over three years. Our results demonstrate that intact structures attenuated waves (up to 30 %) and enhanced sediment accretion but also promoted local scouring. In general, we conclude that artificial reefs have the potential to attenuate waves and trap sediment on tidal flats. However, to benefit connected foreshore ecosystems, an even larger implementation scale is needed to affect tidal flat morphology.

The Ecological Enhancement of Coastal and Marine Structures by Implementing Bio-Enhanced Concrete Elements into Design

By implementing science based, cost effective design enhancements that are in accordance with the principles of ecological engineering it is possible to modify the design of coastal and marine infrastructure to encourage the increased growth of native organisms, as well as greater species richness (Perkol-Finkel and Sella, 2014). Here we present a more advanced approach, in which eco-engineering aims not only to enhance biological performance for the sake of the environment, but to harness natural processes for increasing the sustainability and resilience of the infrastructure itself. ECOncrete’s innovative solutions reduce the ecological footprint of ports, marinas, coastal protections schemes and urban waterfront projects, while adding to their structural integrity.

In this presentation, using numerous case studies of ECOncrete’s bio-enhanced concrete elements being implemented around the world, we will provide quantitative data of biocalcification processes and compare them to those developing on standard “gray” infrastructure. The case studies to be presented will include bio-enhanced seawalls, ecological tide pool and armoring units, and ecologically enhanced marine mattresses. All findings are based on comprehensive, multi-year monitoring programs whose results clearly show the ability of bio-enhanced structures to enhance growth of calcifying organisms thus enhancing natural growth of habitat forming species and ecosystem engineers that have the potential to increase the resilience and adaptivity of the structure. These design approaches have been proven not only to provide significant ecological advantages over traditionally engineered CMI, but also valuable structural advantages, contributing to a structures’ strength, stability and lifespan (Perkol-Finkel and Sella, 2015).