Resource Database

Modelling the hydrochemical trajectory of a constructed fen watershed: implications for peatland reclamation

The Nikanotee Fen Watershed was constructed on a post-mined oil sands landscape using salvaged and process-affected materials to test the feasibility of peatland reclamation, and to optimize future constructed fen designs. Concerns over water availability due to the subhumid climate of northern Alberta, and water quality from residual sodium contained within processaffected tailings sand pose challenges to peatland. In particular, the movement of sodium from the upland aquifer to the fen due to groundwater flow has the potential to negatively impact fen vegetation. Generating meaningful information about the trajectory of constructed ecosystems on a timeline relevant to mine closure planning and regulatory decision-making preclude the possibility of simply observing the development of the system. Therefore, this necessitates the use of models to aid in understanding the likely successional pathway. A groundwater flow and solute transport model was developed with MODFLOW-SURFACT and parameterized with laboratory experiments and 7 years of field data. The interannual variability in groundwater recharge was represented using Monte-Carlo simulations. Results indicate that under a stationary climate, the upland will remain capable of supplying sufficient groundwater to offset moisture deficits experienced by the fen during dry years. Anticipated results include peak sodium concentrations in the fen rooting zone, annual sodium export via surface discharge, and estimates of sodium residence time in the watershed. This model will aid in refining system design to improve the resilience of upland-fen systems to climatic and geochemical stresses.

Hydrologic Regime and Soil Property Interactions in a Degraded Forested Peatland

Globally, peatlands are vulnerable to degradation via drainage, resulting in increased fire vulnerability and peat soil oxidation. Peatland function is largely dependent on hydrologic regimes and their influences on peat soil accumulation and properties. As such, an understanding of soil-hydrology interactions is needed to inform hydrologic management and fire prediction. The Great Dismal Swamp, a drained peatland (Virginia, North Carolina, USA), is currently undergoing hydrologic restoration to raise water levels, reduce fire vulnerability, and increase carbon sequestration. Two physically distinct peat layers have been observed at the Great Dismal Swamp, the upper layer thought to be a result of past drainage and the lower more representative of an undisturbed state. To understand the occurrence and consequences of these distinct layers, we integrated measurements of continuous water levels, peat properties, and layer depths at 16 sites that varied in water level regimes. For each site, we sampled peat from both layers, assessed their physical and water retention properties, and related depth profiles to water level regimes observed over 2.5 years. We found distinct differences between the two layers, where upper layers had higher bulk densities and lower fiber content. Further, upper layers had higher macroporosity and overall lower water retention, suggesting the upper layer is more vulnerable to dry conditions, fire risk, and soil oxidation. The transition from upper to lower layers typically occurred at depths below water level observations, suggesting that upper peat may have resulted from historical drainage with limited recovery following hydrologic restoration and increased water levels.

Peatland restoration experience in Latvia

Peatlands in Latvia, including raised bogs, fens and spring mires are influenced by various human activities, determining the need of their conservation and restoration activities. To diminish drainage influence of peatlands, European Commission LIFE program projects were implemented in especially protected nature areas with the aim to restore peatland habitats of EU importance. Results of four projects LIFE “Peat Restore”, LIFE Restore”, LIFE “Wetlands”, LIFE “Raised bogs” starting from 2010 to 2021 are evaluated where positive wetland restoration experience was gained in 16 peatlands. Prior to implementation of restoration actions, vegetation, hydrological, geological studies were performed, including remote sensing methods. Changes in plant cover and site hydrology, resulting from water level raise in raised bog habitats in drained areas are analyzed in permanent vegetation releves. Results of hydrological monitoring show that after implementation of restoration actions, water level has raised in degraded bog areas. Six months after the raise of water level, vegetation monitoring results reveal that there is an increase of Sphagnum species characterizing the wetter parts of bogs while die back of species of drier habitats, like Calluna vulgaris, is observed. In the ever-changing landscape fens are even more vulnerable that raised bogs, as their reaction to water level raise is faster. Knowing that fens sustain higher species diversity than bogs, their conservation is in high need. Therefore, results of tree removal and elimination of alien species in transition mires and alkaline fens were studied to prepare the best solution mechanisms for rare habitat management.

Grand Tour of Scottish Blanket Bogs

Blanket bogs are a globally rare type of peatland restricted to high latitudes regions with hyperoceanic and cool climates. Around 13% of the world’s blanket bogs cover 1.8 M hectares, or nearly a quarter, of Scotland’s land area. Among these, the Flow Country peatlands of Caithness and Sutherland represents the largest expanse of blanket bog in Europe and a site of global significance, notably for its assemblages of breeding birds. Much like in the rest of the world, blanket bogs have been impacted by human activities, with up to 80% of Scottish peatlands degraded to some degree.

Large-scale restoration efforts are currently underway to halt habitat degradation, reduce carbon  losses and bring back functional peatlands around the world. Scotland is leading the way with a National Peatland Plan setting out ambitious targets to restore up to 21,000 ha a year until 2030, and supported on the ground by the Peatland Action programme.

Importantly, these restoration activities are underpinned by coordinated research efforts, some of which I will introduce more in details in this talk. First, I will discuss the unintended consequences of planting trees on blanket bog and the effect of “forest-to- bog” restoration on biodiversity, carbon and water. I will then discuss some of our recent research on peatland condition and restoration progress monitoring over very large scales in remote areas using remote sensing. These results and findings will be put in the contexts of global peatland restoration efforts, climate emergency and biodiversity crisis.

Peatland restoration and management as a climate change adaptation strategy for The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota, USA

Wetland restoration is a potential strategy for climate change adaptation being assessed by many organizations. Peatlands store a disproportionately large percentage of carbon found in soil globally. Recently, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) developed natural climate solutions (NCS) for the U.S. to address climate change, but peatlands were not ranked highly as a strategy because they are not widespread. However, they are abundant in Minnesota, so the TNC Minnesota-North DakotaSouth Dakota chapter is assessing the potential for peatland restoration as an NCS strategy. Peatlands in Minnesota cover approximately 1,400,000 ha and are the single largest carbon stock in the state. There are 0.8 to 1.2 million ha more wetlands with muck soil (>12 % organic matter) that support forested swamp or marshes. Carbon accumulation rates in Minnesota peatlands were estimated by Anderson et al. (2008) to be 0.5 Mg/ha/yr, while southern wetlands at were estimated at 3.0 Mg/ha/yr. In total, peatland restoration could mitigate for 1.7 Mg CO2 /ha/year, with southern wetlands providing an additional 11.1 Mg CO2 /ha/year. These numbers suggest there should be more focus on southern muck wetlands. Therefore a three-pronged wetlands restoration strategy is recommended: protect large northern peatlands, re-wet partially drained unprotected peatlands and restore large southern “mucklands” in agricultural areas for short-term (20-40 year) carbon sequestration gains. While southern wetlands accumulate carbon more quickly it is less feasible to restore wetlands in the highly agricultural southern part of the state due to high costs of land, making northern projects more cost effective.

Peatlands of Antarctica

Here we report a series of recent findings from peat deposits in maritime Antarctica, including the discovery of a mossdominated, waterlogged peatland on Cape Rasmussen (65.2°S, 64.1°W). To our knowledge, peatlands have never been reported in Antarctica. We interpret its peatland initiation, around 2700 cal. BP, as well as its recent resurgence, less than 50 years ago, as new and important indicators of ecosystem changes that have been brought about by warmer conditions in the region. While numerous aerobic moss peatbanks (non-wetland systems) have been described and analyzed across the Antarctic Peninsula over the past few decades (these observations will be briefly reviewed in this presentation), the reported peatland on Cape Rasmussen conforms to the wetland definition and resembles soligenous fen systems typically found in the boreal, subarctic, and sub-Antarctic regions. This recent peatland recovery might have been triggered by ongoing rapid warming, as the area is experiencing climatic conditions approaching those found on milder, peatland-rich sub-Antarctic islands (50-60°S). Assuming that colonization opportunities and stabilization mechanisms would allow peat to persist in Antarctica, our results suggest that longer and warmer growing seasons in the maritime Antarctic region may lead to a peatland-rich landscape in the future. One of the key reasons explaining the widespread occurrence of moss peatbanks and the scarcity of peatlands in Antarctica might be their different surface energy balances. With their saturated grounds, peatlands lose energy to the atmosphere through latent heat flux, such that their surface is often cooler than air temperature during daytime.

Reconstructing Fire Frequency in Peatlands of Northern Michigan

Fire has numerous impacts on peatland structure and function. Peat fires and peat fire suppression across the globe have prompted land managers to question the natural fire history of peatlands under their purview. There are a variety of techniques available to reconstruct fire frequency by detecting remnant charcoal, but those which function well in peat are expensive and time consuming, limiting the scope or accessibility of many research questions. We have developed a new method to address these issues and to answer the question of peatland fire regime using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). This method is comparatively economical and fast, enabling peatland fire research with expanded scope. Combining our char predictive FTIR model with carbon dating, we can estimate fire return interval for individual peatlands and detect trends in fire regime with location and peat type. This also allows peat and carbon accumulation to be related to fire regime. These data provide a long term historical and ecological basis for fire management plans in peatlands, and our method makes peatland fire regime reconstruction more accessible than ever. We describe the method and present results from our work in peatlands of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, connecting fire frequency with peat accumulation rates and present condition. This data contributes to informing land managers and policy makers who seek to understand fire in peatlands.

Restoration of a Sphagnum-dominated peatland disturbed by a road: plant establishment on introduced peat substrate is driven by restoration techniques.

In Northern Alberta, an important anthropogenic disturbance of peatlands is the in situ mining from deep oil sands deposit. Extensive infrastructure for bitumen extraction such as well pads and a vast access road network results in the degradation and fragmentation of habitat, the decrease in biodiversity, the modification of water circulation patterns and the alteration of the physicochemical integrity. This research aims to re-establish typical bog vegetation for a bog disturbed by an access road for in situ bitumen extraction. Site restoration began with removal of the top layer of mineral soil from the road and replacement with a peat layer (20cm, 50cm and 75cm). Diaspores were introduced over the entire road surface and phosphorus fertilizer was spread on half of it. The objectives of this research are to assess the impact of peat thickness and fertilization on plant communities. There is no significant effect of fertilization on early plant establishment. Principal component analysis on vegetation data distinguished three plant communities. Two plant communities were found on the restored area and both were different from the plant community of the undisturbed adjacent peatland. The restored section with 75cm layer of peat exhibited a higher cover of wetland species than the 20cm and 50cm sections. Differences between restored sections could be explained by asynchronous storage time of added peat and by different time gaps between soil amendments and vegetation introduction. This study highlights the importance of best management practices and the need to test germination of stockpiled peat before restoration.

The impact of a black spruce (Picea mariana) plantation on carbon exchange in a cutover peatland in Western Canada.

Northern peatlands are sinks for atmospheric carbon (C), but peat extraction converts these ecosystems to C sources. Due to a dry regional climate, undisturbed bog peatlands in western Canada often have a tree cover of Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P. Thus, a coniferous forest plantation may be an appropriate land use for cutover peatlands. This study determined the effect of a 7- year-old P. mariana plantation on C balance of a cutover peatland. We measured C stored in P. mariana biomass and carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes from bare peat at each of four fertilizer doses. Carbon stored in biomass of Betula papyrifera (Marsh.) that had spontaneously colonized the post-fertilized site was also determined. Given that the water table remained very deep and that the sphagnum moss – ericaceous shrub peat-accumulating vegetation was not present, the site remained a source of C when only the planted P. mariana trees were considered, primarily in the form of CO2 emissions by soil respiration. However, C accumulation in trees, including B.papyrifera biomass, resulted in a net C sink in fertilized plots. Results from this study indicate that tree plantations on cutover peatland maybe a suitable land-management strategy on sites difficult to effectively rewet.

Estimating changes in blanket bog CO2 flux driven by plant functional type during extreme drought using UAVs

Recent climate predictions for the United Kingdom expect a nation-wide shift towards drier and warmer summers. Such shifts in weather patterns have been identified to cause challenges for peatland functioning globally. Blanket bogs are a globally rare peatland types particularly abundant in Scotland, where they hold up to ¼ of the UK’s soil carbon. If extreme drier and warmer summers occur more frequently, leading to a decrease in water availability and an increase in annual temperatures, it could compromise blanket bog’s carbon-sink function. In this study, Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE), Respiration (Reco) and Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) of plant functional types (PFTs) (Sphagnum, graminoids, ericoids) and dominant ground cover types (pools and bare peat) were compared across margins and centers of an upland and lowland blanket bog over a summer drought in 2018 and over the subsequent year. High frequency gas-chamber sampling before, during and after growing seasons provided an overview of flux dynamics across a range of environmental conditions. Mixed-effects models were used to describe CO2 flux behavior and to identify the effect of macro/meso/micro topography on fluxes during extreme drought conditions, suggesting contrasting responses across dominant PFTs. By determining environmental variable driving those responses and classifying blanket bog composition using UAV-derived imagery and Land-Surface Parameters, we are able to predict and upscale the effect of droughts to landscape scale, and begin to understand how potential shifts in vegetation dominance – across ‘near-natural’ and restored sites – could influence carbon sequestration and emission rates in the hyperoceanic setting of blanket bogs.

How does land management influence fire resilience and carbon fate in blanket bogs? The FIRE BLANKET Project

Following a dry and warm spell, a wildfire burnt approximately 60 km2 of blanket bog in May 2019 within the Flow Country peatlands of North Scotland. Unlike other wildfires in the UK, it covered a large area that includes peatlands under a range of management regimes: drained, drained and afforested, under restoration (through forestry removal and drain blocking) and near-natural. As well as the breadth of management types, the fire covered an area of the Flow Country that is actively used for scientific research, where a wide range of prior data are available. This presented an unprecedented and urgent opportunity to quantify the interacting effects of fire, drought and human interventions on peatland C storage and water quality. The NERC-funded FIRE BLANKET project had as 3 main objectives:
1) To estimate the immediate C losses and the fire resilience of blanket bogs under different management regimes, including afforestation
2) To understand legacies of fire on the fate of the vast C store held in the peat and on the water quality by determining how the interplay between management and burning severity alters the postfire fate of dissolved organic matter, water quality and aquatic C exports from land to sea.
3) To develop future-proof management strategies for drained and afforested blanket bogs

In this talk, we will present and discuss key preliminary results collected in 2019-2020 and relate them
to other peatland wildfire research projects around the globe.

Impact of peatland seismic line restoration on CO2 fluxes

Peatlands account for over 134,000 km2 in northern Alberta and are underlain by a vast network of oil and gas formations. Exploration of deposits requires clearing long, linear grids of 1.5-10 m wide disturbances throughout the boreal (seismic lines). Seismic lines remove surface vegetation and flatten, compact, and depress peat, leading to long-term changes in water table depths and vegetation communities that do not recover with time. Over 135,000 km of seismic lines currently exist in Alberta and have been shown to enhance CO2 and CH4 emissions. Mounding treatments have been applied to peatland well pads to recreate microforms and encourage tree regeneration, but little research has looked at treating seismic lines and none have addressed the impact on greenhouse gas production. We aim to quantify CO2 fluxes from these treatments and determine which treatment facilitates the best recovery to carbon sink over time.

During summer 2019 we measured CO2 fluxes and associated environmental variables at three restoration treatments created in March 2019 (two mounding and one ripping) and compared them to fluxes from untreated sections and adjacent natural sites. Mean growing season fluxes of treatments ranged from -8.0 to 1.6 gCO2/m2 /d in the three treatments compared to -12.4gCO2/m2 /d in natural and -15.8 gCO2/m2 /d in untreated sections. CO2 uptake increased with total vascular percent cover and varied with water table and temperature. Overall, GEP and NEE were reduced in the

Integration of Peatland Restoration Projects into Climate-Related Reporting in Russia

Restoring peatland ecosystems is based in many cases on rewetting practices. 2013 Wetlands Supplement (IPCC 2014) considers drainage-rewetting as the activity changing the GHG sinks and sources ratio. Preventing losses of carbon accumulated in peat deposits is an effective measure for climate change mitigation. The high uncertainty in the accounting of carbon emission reduction by peatland rewetting is an obstacle to related reporting. The adaptation effect of peatland restoration could be assessed through the enhancing of ecosystem services. The accounting of ecosystem services gain at the project level is also not a straightforward procedure. The research was aimed to identify the indicators for the assessment of peatland restoration progress, that are also compatible with climate reporting under the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The evaluation was carried out at the peatland restoration site level and for the entire administrative land unit. Geographic scope – the temperate zone of the Central Part of the European Russia and the West Siberia and permafrost ecosystems in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug in the Arctic. At the restoration site level, the calculations of GHG reduction were still uncertain because of the leakages and high spatial and temporal variation of fluxes. For the administrative area, the reduction was assessed using the Tier 2 approach for the limited number of the land classes and given emission factors. The ecosystem services assessment and evaluation of gains due to the restoration were precise enough to be applied to report climate change adaptation. Peatland restoration is recommended as a nature-based solution for meeting the NDC by the Russian Federation. However, using carbon voluntary market mechanisms at the site level demands considerable investments in the monitoring systems.

Developing a Restorable Wetland Index for Minnesota, USA

Minnesota has lost about half of its wetlands to agricultural, commercial, and industrial development. No-net-loss laws and a recognition of the tremendous ecological value of wetlands have driven recent restoration efforts across the state. These efforts benefit from accurate identification of areas that are suitable for restoration. Field surveys, remote sensing, historical record review, and the development of GIS-based indexes are among the most common approaches of identifying suitable areas. Increases in the quality of environmental spatial data and computer processing capabilities have made possible the development of statistically-based indexes at fine resolutions across large geographical areas. We used Random Forest modeling to predict the likelihood of an area being a wetland or a restorable wetland across the state of Minnesota at a resolution of 3 meters. Fifteen predictive variables representing landscape position, topography, hydrology, ecology, and soil were assembled along with information on the wetland status of nearly 8,000 field-verified and 300 remote-verified sites. Out-of-bag testing during model development indicated that uplands were classified with an error rate of 12% and wetlands and restorable wetlands were classified with an error rate of 15%. Areas identified as existing wetlands in the updated Minnesota National Wetland Inventory were removed during post-processing. The resulting Restorable Wetland Index is the most comprehensive effort to date to identify restorable wetlands in Minnesota.

Development of a Tool for Identifying Critical Restoration Zones of Riparian Buffers

Riparian buffers are the vegetated zones along waterways that play a significant role in filtering contamination and maintaining water quality. However, these buffers serve ecological functions far beyond their direct extent. Under stress from climate change, agricultural practices and urbanization, buffers in many areas within New York State are in critical need of restoration and protection. This project developed a tool that uses landscape metrics based on vegetation fragmentation and hotspot analysis across time to identify stressed zones to target for rehabilitation. As a pilot study, this tool was applied to identify critical buffer zones along streams in a sub-watershed of the Hudson River Estuary between 2006 and 2015. We validated the spatial and temporal variations of the critical zones identified using independent visual interpretations. While this study focused on a small area and short time interval, we developed a framework that could be readily expanded. This framework can be used to explore the potential of the approach for riparian buffer modeling and forest applications to address various temporal and spatial scales. This presentation will describe the development and management implications of the tool.

Ecosystem restoration in Mexico insights on the project planning phase

A deep discussion of the phases of planning by all stakeholders will help to identify the challenges faced by countries that are embarking on large-scale restoration actions to comply with international agreements. To assess whether the planning phase of restoration projects were done according to international guidance, we evaluated six of the eight aspects of the international guidance for the planning phase of restoration projects carried out in Mexico between 1979 and 2016. The information about the restoration projects was compiled using a digital survey composed of 137 questions. Seventy-five projects with a total area of 1,556,840 hectares were analyzed, mainly in temperate, humid, and deciduous forest. More projects measured the baseline with biotic than with abiotic variables, and social variables were seldom evaluated. Most projects aimed to recover biodiversity or ecosystem services, and they identified a reference ecosystem. Planned budgets included mainly field work. To promote the integration of ecological, social, and economic priorities, landscape restoration is suggested, since it is done at a scale which maximizes the benefits for nature and people. The inclusion of only field work in the budgets may decrease the total cost, but it may jeopardize project success due to poor planning. Careful and detailed planning of a national strategy constructed by all stakeholders that includes investing in highly trained human resources and restoration of original ecosystems, agroforestry systems (which facilitate social participation and increase land productivity) and patches under natural succession will allow successful compliance with international restoration commitments.

Predicting restoration success in Irish cutover raised bogs

The Living Bog Project is the largest raised bog restoration project undertaken in Ireland to date. Unlike earlier restoration efforts, this project has focused significant resources on restoring the cutover bog, where peat had been extracted in the past for fuel. Baseline surveys of the 12 raised bog sites mapped 770.7 ha of cutover and collected vegetation and environmental data in 234 plots. These data were used to define 16 cutover bog habitat types and also to characterize EU Habitats Directive Annex I active raised bog on cutover. Cutover restoration was accomplished primarily by drain blocking but also by constructing a limited number of berms to intercept surface water runoff over large areas. A hydrological model that predicts where active raised bog is likely to develop was used to target specific restoration measures.

As the hydrological model was developed using parameters designed for uncut but often drained and desiccated raised bog, its predictive ability on cutover remained untested. An additional question is if pre-restoration habitat characteristics can better predict where active raised bog is likely to be restored on the cutover.

A subset of the baseline plots was resurveyed 2-5 yr post-restoration. Plots were reassigned to the habitat types, and the likelihood of active raised bog developing in the future was assessed based on characteristics such as Sphagnum cover, water table and presence of indicator species. The predictive value of the hydrological model was evaluated and compared with that of pre-restoration habitat type and other vegetation and environmental characteristics.

Ten-Year Strategy for Ecological Restoration

For Suzano, maintaining healthy ecosystems is the basis for sustaining its business. The company’s Ecological Restoration Program is one of the largest private initiatives in Brazil, responsible for initiating restoration processes in over 31,000 hectares and plant 10.7 million native seedlings in the last decade.

Given the Program’s complexity and geographical extension, it requires significant mobilization of resources. Some relevant technical and social actions have been developed and are in progress, such as: use of software, applications and technologies, such as LIDAR and drones, to support planning and monitoring; implementation of alternative models of restoration mixing native and exotic species; initiatives with vulnerable rural communities for the production of native seedlings; and environmental education for restoring springs in neighboring communities. The Program has been building a network of partners that includes NGOs, universities, financial institutions, customers, and local communities.

Despite the advances we have celebrated so far, this year, driven by the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, we designed Suzano’s Restoration Strategy. In this document, we stated our goals, objectives, and established roles and responsibilities to demonstrate how we intend to carry out ecological restoration on our properties and enhance these actions in territories where we operate until 2030. Our pillars of action are: Management and Control; Research, Development and Innovation; Operational Excellence; Ecological Landscape Restoration; and Knowledge Management. With restoration, we seek to generate shared value, improving the productivity of landscapes, re-establishing environmental services such as carbon sequestration, soil, water and biodiversity conservation, and generating work and income.

Dispersal vs. environmental filters: comparison between soil seed banks and standing vegetation in a side channel of the Loire River (France)

Soil seed banks may play a major role in restoration projects. In riverine ecosystems, substrate is frequently re-mobilized during floods, and both seed import and export are potentially high. In this context, soil seed banks (SSB) and standing vegetation (SV) are the result of complex and antagonistic processes, which are not well understood.

The study aims to characterize (i) composition of SSB and SV, (ii) similarity between both in different contexts of flooding and soil disturbance, and (iii) to identify whether those contexts induce different community structures.

The study took place in a disconnecting side channel of the Loire River. Seed bank and vegetation were sampled on three zones (upstream, central, downstream) and at two elevation levels (banks and thalweg). SSB was studied via seedling emergence; SV was surveyed in early spring and summer. Both communities were characterized with regard to density, specific richness and species composition using indicator species analysis, NMDS and PERMANOVAs.

Community composition differed significantly across elevation levels in SSB, indicating dispersal filters along the altitudinal gradient. Both elevation levels and zones affected community composition in SV, indicating environmental filters along both altitudinal and longitudinal gradients. Specific richness (in SSB and SV), Sørensen similarity, and SSB density did not show any significant difference between factors. Indicator species differed between SSB and SV for elevation levels or zones.

The study underlines the structuring role of flooding as environmental and dispersal filters in riverine plant communities, and demonstrate how dominant processes can differ over a relatively small spatial scale.

Eastham Great Pond Herring Run Restoration: Re-establishing connectivity along the coastal river continuum

In 2010, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in collaboration with the Cape Cod Conservation District (CCCD) launched the 10-year, $30-million-dollar Cape Cod Water Resources Restoration Project to restore 1,500 acres of salt marsh, improve fish passage to 4,200 acres of spawning habitat, and improve water quality to 7,300 acres of shellfish beds across 76 project sites. One of the sites, the Great Pond system in Eastham, Massachusetts links a series of four freshwater kettle hole ponds to Cape Cod Bay, providing essential fish habitat for a variety of diadromous fish species. The coastal rivers and freshwater ponds that make up the system are connected by a series of engineered fish passage structures, open sluiceways, and enclosed culverts. Failure and siltation of the Great Pond Road culvert restricted access to 27 acres of spawning habitat located further upstream in Deborah’s and Depot Ponds. Working in collaboration with Town officials and NRCS staff, Woods Hole Group explored alternatives to reestablish habitat connectivity along the coastal river continuum, developed comprehensive engineering and site restoration plans, and filed the Towns first Notice of Intent for Ecological Restoration, a specialized permit application for restoration-focused projects. The following presentation addresses the challenges associated with working on a small, restricted site, the factors that contributed to the selection of the preferred design, and the benefits of (and inherent shortcomings associated with) a designated permitting pathway for ecological restoration projects in Massachusetts.

River metabolism: A reliable tool to ensure ecosystem health and evaluate restoration efforts?

Rivers provide diverse ecosystem services, such as nutrient transport, biotic dispersal, water supply and recreation, yet they face multiple threats. Anthropogenic modification led to degradation, necessitating restoration efforts now mandated by national and international agreements. These expensive restoration efforts may fail if the health of ecosystem functions is not a core focus of ongoing monitoring. Here, we present an analysis of river ecosystem health, measured across a wide array of functions, including dissolved nutrient dynamics, algal biomass, and riparian vegetation and its relationship with ecosystem metabolism (gross primary production, GPP, and ecosystem respiration, ER), increasingly adopted as an integrative and readily detectable measure of function. We provide a critical review of the advantages and flaws of ecosystem metabolism as an integrative measure of river function, and consider the evidence for links between it and other desirable river services, in an effort to aid the advancement of restoration science.

Most restoration efforts expected a response of river metabolism. In particular, GPP was anticipated to decline due to reestablishment of riparian vegetation. This was observed for some reaches depending on the initial states. Nonetheless, other restored reaches did not show any metabolic regime change, and in other cases, unexpected changes occurred, suggesting a stronger influence of the landscape, land-use or nutrients in controlling metabolism.

While river metabolism appears to be a valuable functional parameter to assess ecosystem health, it must be evaluated in conjunction with additional parameters, in order to gain comprehensive insight into the functioning and recovery of lotic ecosystems

Using Drones to Improve Visual Stream Ecological Assessment

There is a need for affordable, flexible, and efficient evaluation methods for stream restoration, particularly those that take advantage of geospatial and remote sensing technologies. To help satisfy this need, this work explores the use of illustrative small unmanned aerial system (a.k.a. drone) products, made using structure-from-motion photogrammetry, coupled with a visual ecological assessment protocol as a remote evaluation and ecological condition archive approach. Three New England streams were assessed in the field using the Stream Visual Assessment Protocol Version 2 (SVAP2) and later illustrated in drone products (high resolution video, orthomosaics, and 3D models). Ten stream experts participated in a survey to 1) assess the general utility of the drone products, and 2) test whether the experts could visually interpret the drone products and apply the SVAP2 scoring elements remotely. The survey results determined that channel condition, bank condition, riparian area quantity, and canopy cover aspects are feasible to evaluate via remote visual assessment with drone products. Riparian area quality, water appearance, fish habitat complexity, and aquatic invertebrate complexity were also deemed appropriate for remote visual assessment, but with some potential limitations due to varying site conditions and the quality of the drone products. The survey participants generally agreed that the illustrative drone products are useful for stream ecological assessment and restoration evaluation. This remote visual approach is suitable for restoration projects where more general ecological monitoring is adequate, and the workflow can be built upon as new technology becomes readily accessible.

Assessing the effectiveness of seeding as a cheap large-scale restoration tool in a semi-arid Mediterranean habitat

The restoration of semi-arid zones is increasingly challenging in the face of climate change. The requirement of irrigation to aid the establishment of vegetation exacerbates costs and labour, making the restoration of large areas particularly inhibitive. In this study we attempt to develop a cheap and low intensity seeding strategy to restore a semi-arid habitat on a large scale. We chose to restore a European priority habitat: Tetraclinis articulata forests. In the experiment we sow 800 seed caches with 6 different species without any irrigation, over an area of 10,269 m2 in two different sites, under varying conditions of seed density, soil depth, presence/absence of nurse plants and mycorrhizae. The seeds were pretreated for dormancy and were planted in two different timeframes, autumn and winter. We monitored the seedlings over a two-year period to determine the germination and seedling survive rate following summer and their growth rate over time. In all 278 seedlings belonging to two species germinated: Tetraclinis articulata and Ceratonia siliqua. The seeding density and seeding time each affected the germination rate in these species. Moreover 10-20% of the seedlings survived the first year without any irrigation. We believe that by manipulating the seed density and time of seeding, the survival rate could be brought up further, making it feasible to establish a viable self-sustaining habitat on a large scale. It is thus thought that direct seeding can be an important method to maximize restoration effect with minimal cost and effort over large and poorly accessible terrains.

Restoration on caffeine: Coffee pulp accelerates early tropical forest succession on old fields

Applying nutrient-rich agricultural by-products, such as fruit peels and pulp, to degraded land has been proposed as a strategy to overcome a number of barriers to tropical forest recovery. While such linkages between agroindustry and restoration represent win-win scenarios, practical applications remain largely unexplored. In this case study, we tested coffee pulp as an amendment to catalyze forest succession on post-agricultural land in southern Costa Rica. A 0.5-m-deep layer of coffee pulp was deposited across a 35 ; 40-m area and an adjacent control plot was delineated. Over two years, we measured changes in soil nutrients, ground cover, understory vegetation, tree establishment, and canopy cover across both coffee pulp and control treatments. After two years, soil C, N, and P were significantly elevated in coffee pulp compared to control treatments. Coffee pulp addition significantly altered ground cover characteristics, eliminating pasture grasses, facilitating establishment of herbaceous plants, and increasing percent area covered by leaf litter. Early-successional trees and shrubs established quickly in the coffee pulp treatment, reaching 30-fold greater mean basal area and 20-fold greater woody stem density (>1-cm-dbh) compared to the control treatment. Structural metrics showed 4-fold greater mean canopy height in the coffee pulp compared to control treatment. Canopy height >5 m was ~40% in the coffee pulp treatment but only 2% in the control. Our study highlights the significant potential for using agricultural waste, like coffee pulp, to jump start forest succession on degraded tropical lands and encourages further research to optimize linkages between agroindustry and restoration.

High-diversity seed additions accelerate recovery of herbaceous community during woodland restoration

Propagule limitation represents a fundamental constraint to the restoration of native plant communities, and practitioners often apply seed additions to overcome this barrier. Few studies have experimentally tested whether inter-seeding can facilitate recovery of herbaceous communities of degraded oak woodlands, which have undergone large-scale transformation due to altered fire regimes and exotic invasion. Previous work suggests that removal of woody encroachment, and process-based (prescribed fire) restoration treatments alone are unlikely to restore the full breadth of taxonomic and functional diversity in the herb-layer, which maintains the vast majority of species in woodland ecosystems. To explore whether seed additions can improve restoration outcomes in oak woodland, we sowed high-diversity seed mixes in paired transects (seeded vs. controls) along a topographic gradient in a degraded site undergoing restoration with shrub removal, tree thinning, and burning. Seed mixes represented native forbs, grasses, and sedges (169 species) in the regional species pool, and were designed to match a species’ habitat affinity to appropriate locations along the topographic gradient. The herb flora was sampled before and for two years after inter-seeding. Seed additions significantly altered community and functional composition, and increased native species cover, richness, and floristic quality relative to controls. However, only 69 of the sown species were detected. We found evidence that dispersal and establishment limitation are both important barriers to the recovery of the herb flora in oak woodlands, but that high-diversity seed mixes in conjunction with exotic removal, thinning, and burning can accelerate recovery of herbaceous communities on highly degraded sites.

Restoration of native forest understory community in conifer forests of the western Cascade Range, USA.

Forest understory herbs make an important contribution to the biodiversity and ecosystem processes of conifer forests of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Understory herbs are important to nutrient cycling of conifer forests and make up a large part of the diet of wildlife species in these forests. Many understory herb species are assumed to persist in the seed bank and emerge following a disturbance or forest harvesting. Widespread clear-cut harvesting and broadcast burning during the past century may have diminished seed banks and reduce the biodiversity of understory herbs in second growth forests. Seedling establishment may also be challenging for understory species that generally rely upon clonal development more than seed production and dispersal. We describe a restoration project of understory herb communities in second-growth forests that involved seed collection, propagation, and planting, and monitoring. The project involved five understory herb species that are commonly found in old-growth forests in the Cascade Range of Washington State. Seeds were collected from local populations, propagated in a nearby native plant nursery, and out planted as small container plants. We tracked the survival and growth of the out planted seedlings. Most plants established well under shaded conditions but species and site conditions were important. Ongoing work includes long-term data collection, increasing out-planting locations, and adding more understory herb species.

Vegetation responses to altered nutrient pools on seismic lines

Seismic lines decades old remain in early stages of succession, especially those through peatlands, with restoration often being unsuccessful. P. mariana is a target species for restoration but has poor establishment and survival on the lines while graminoids and shrubs such as R. groenlandicum colonize the lines. P. mariana needles, R. groenlandicum leaves, and peat were sampled from restored seismic lines and surrounding natural areas near Cold Lake, Alberta. Plant and peat were analyzed for total carbon (TC), nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (TP), δ13C, and δ15N. Vegetation surveys were also conducted. Although peat TN increased on the lines, the heavier peat δ15N on the lines indicated a change and potential loss in available N. Foliar TN for both plant species was unchanged. However, the two plant species showed different foliar δ15N responses on the lines to changing peat TN and δ15N, which would suggest either different N acquiring strategies or different N sources. Additionally, TP for R. groenlandicum increased on the lines despite peat TP remaining unchanged. Both plant species showed the same foliar δ13C response with lighter foliar δ13C on older lines and heavier δ13C on newer lines. R. groenlandicum may be more effectively colonizing seismic lines due to adaptations allowing for more competitive nutrient uptake.

A global review on controlling invasive species in ecological restoration

Invasive plant species can hinder the establishment and growth of native and controlling them is a necessary, yet usually expensive, step towards the restoration of an ecosystem. Synthesising literature on this topic helps to understand variation in invasive plants’ impacts and their practical control in restoration contexts, and to identify associated knowledge gaps.

We reviewed 372 articles published from 2000 to 2019 covering the control of undesirable plants (both exotic invasive and overabundant native plant species) in ecological restoration to gather information on the main plants being controlled and methods used. To have a socio-ecological distribution of the studies, we grouped them according biomes, and Human Development Index (HDI).

Grasses and forbs were the most-studied invasive plant species in restoration sites, but invasive trees were also well studied in the tropics. Poaceae and Asteraceae were the most studied families of invasive plants. Non-chemical interventions (mostly mowing and prescribed fire) were used in 57.7% of the reviewed studies, while 42.3% used chemical methods (mainly glyphosate spraying, used in 40% of projects using herbicides). The reviewed studies were mostly performed in countries with very high HDI. Countries with low and medium HDI used only non-chemical methods.

Decisions about which control method to use depend on the invasive plant species’ growth forms, the local economic situation where the restoration sites are. More developed countries tend to use more chemical control, whereas less developed ones use mainly non-chemical methods.

Smother crops ineffective against established perennials in the Southeastern U.S.

Surface mines in the eastern U.S. that were reclaimed between 1977 and 2010 were typically planted with aggressive non-native legumes and pasture grasses. This vegetation has proven to persist for decades and inhibit the establishment of native vegetation, leaving vast areas of land in a state of arrested succession. Reforestation of these sites first requires subsoiling to relieve compaction, and herbicide to control invasive species. We tested the potential of fast growing annual species to act as a “smother crop” to control tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) and sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneate), as an alternative to herbicide. Nine species were selected based on early growth, rapid establishment of dense foliage, and their suitability for the site conditions. After subsoiling, the site was planted with native tree seedlings and within each of 50 plots, annual species were seeded in 1m2 plots, along with an unseeded control, in the spring of 2017. In late summer, visual estimates of cover were made then all above-ground biomass within the plots was harvested, separated into categories, dried, and weighed. Although vegetation covered more than 70% of the plots, on average, no annual species was able to occupy more than 15% of the plot. However, few plots were dominated by fescue or lespedeza, but rather were dominated by native perennial forbs. It appears that the disturbance of subsoiling initiated a shift in vegetation allowing established native perennials to dominate over non-native vegetation, as has been observed on other similar sites.

Synthesizing results from a landscape-scale adaptive management program for non-native Phragmites australis

Non-native Phragmites australis (common reed) can degrade fish and wildlife habitat, reduce property values, and increase fire hazards as it invades wetlands throughout North America. Management of this invasive species is a high priority for resource managers, but landscape-scale collaboration and learning among managers is difficult. In addition, data-driven best management practices are not readily available, and uncertainties exist concerning optimal treatment options. Therefore, the Phragmites Adaptive Management Framework (PAMF; http://www.greatlakesphragmites.net/pamf) was initiated in 2017 to support land managers and reduce uncertainty surrounding what Phragmites treatments are most effective given site-specific levels of infestation. PAMF participants collect and upload monitoring data about their Phragmites-impacted site to a centralized web hub. These data update the PAMF learning model, which then provides site-specific management guidance that is predicted to maximize the efficacy and efficiency of control efforts. Guidance provided by the data-driven model, therefore, is improved through time and as the number of participants increases. PAMF is evaluating 16 unique combinations of management actions that include applying herbicide, cutting, flooding, and rest. Six states (i.e., levels) of infestation are used to characterize the intensity of Phragmites invasion at each site, both before and after treatment. Optimal management approaches differ by state of invasion, with cost of treatment driving model results at lower invasion states. The PAMF program continues to expand rapidly as managers become aware of the program and recognize the value of participation.