Resource Database

Predicting and alleviating dormancy in challenging species: Insights and innovations from the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership

The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (UK) works with countries in the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership (MSBP) to carry out germination tests on locally sourced seed collections of wild plant species from all over the world. Germination tests are conducted after drying seeds at 15% equilibrium relative humidity (eRH) and 18°C prior to hermetic storage at -20°C. Seed dormancy, which functions to ensure seeds germinate at the best possible time for seedling establishment, represents a significant obstacle in monitoring viability in some species. Understanding how dormancy functions in the natural environment is crucial and so climate data are used for choosing dormancy breaking treatments and germination conditions. For instance, Dry afterripening (seeds held at 60% eRH and warm temperatures of c. 20°C) alleviates dormancy by simulating a dry season. In some species dormancy ensures seeds germinate sporadically over several years in nature. It is possible to shorten this time by extracting the embryo from seeds in the laboratory, as in the case of Galeopsis angustifolia, but this is time consuming and not suitable for large-scale restoration works. Move-along experimental designs, where seeds are moved through a sequence of different temperatures to simulate different seasons, are preferred. This protocol has been successfully used to propagate seeds of Adonis annua. Heat and smoke pre-treatments can also be used for breaking seed dormancy and cuing germination in restoration. Light or darkness may function as an important germination cue, such as photoinhibition of seed germination in some monocots in open, disturbed, and dry habitats.

Bet hedging through fine-scale intraspecific variation in seed dormancy and seed germination cues in the Australian arid tropics

Seed biology in the annual herbaceous flora of ecologically stressful, seasonally wet habitats remains largely unexplored. Temporal and spatial species turnover among these habitats is often high, yet little is known about how fine-scale habitat variation drives intraspecific variability in seed dormancy depth and seed germination requirements. We present seed biology data from over 50 species of wetland plants from the Australian Monsoon Tropics, as well as complementary habitat data, and show that fine-scale differences in the thermal and hydrological conditions of seasonally wet habitats appear to be strong drivers of dormancy depth. Widely distributed species exhibit high levels of plasticity in seed-dormancy depth and germination response to germination stimuli such as biogenic ethylene among different habitats, with similar responses being observed for sympatric species. Sediment seed banks may represent significant drivers of species persistence and diversification in these ecosystems, and inhabitant flora display a high degree of adaptation to local hydro-geological conditions, potentially reflecting a long and relatively geologically and climatically stable evolutionary history.

Direct seed harvesting techniques in mesotrophic grasslands

Brush harvesting, hay transfer, and other ‘near-natural’ direct harvesting techniques are effective and well-established means of overcoming seed limitation in grassland restoration. The species composition and viability of seed captured by these techniques significantly influences restoration success, varying according to grassland type, local environmental conditions, and harvesting methodology, but is not always fully understood or accounted for in restoration projects. In this study, carried out at RBG Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank (MSB), we compare the species composition and viability of seed harvested using brush and combine harvesting techniques in mesotrophic grassland, and brush and green hay transfer techniques in calcareous grassland. The effectiveness of each technique in capturing the species-diversity of the donor community is assessed, including interactions between harvesting technique and key plant traits including dispersal time and height. Costs and practical considerations associated with each technique will be discussed alongside new MSB protocols for species composition analysis and viability testing of large mixed-species harvests.

Effectively conserving a species’ genetic diversity ex situ: the case of Fraxinus excelsior in the UK

Well planned seed bank collections play a vital complementary role to in situ conservation and ecological restoration by preventing extinctions, providing seed for habitat recovery, and providing accessible, well-documented germplasm for research and experimentation. It is vital that such collections capture the genetic diversity of a target species over the geographic area in which it will be used. The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership, led by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, comprises a range of seed collecting projects worldwide. The UK National Tree Seed Project has placed particular importance on the capture of intra-specific genetic diversity for native trees and shrubs.  The project provides a useful case study for common challenges to capture genetic diversity, whether for long-term conservation or more immediate use in restoration. The UKNTSP has developed a detailed sampling strategy which, in the absence of detailed knowledge of population genetics, uses biogeographic zones as a proxy for genetic diversity and adaptation. The outcomes of this sampling strategy were evaluated using a modelling approach using simulations and geographic distribution data for the species Fraxinus excelsior. The model estimates that UKNTSP ash collections have captured >90% of all alleles present in Britain. The approach can be used to help design, justify, or evaluate seed collection outcomes for any species or application.

Prioritization of the restoration species pool to maximize restoration outcomes

It is worth thinking critically about which plant species are appropriate to use for restoration treatments and why. Can we restore targets for not only diversity, but also for supporting ecosystem services and function? Can we be more effective in selecting species for particular targets to maximize desired outcomes and minimize inputs? Our study suggests we can. Here for the first time, we applied decision support software, to prioritize plant species by maximizing the provision of plant traits that enable ecosystem functions in order to compile optimized selections of plant species for restoration treatments. Using European alpine grasslands as a case study, we identified and prioritized plant species to meet restoration objectives that support and may accelerate regeneration. We compared the prioritized species selections to that of selecting plant species for biodiversity (systematically selecting one plant species of every taxonomic family or genera), for dominant species, and for selecting species completely randomly.  Our results suggest that the functional identity of plant species matters more for ecosystem function than the number of species. This novel framework transcends that of a case study, and may be applicable to any initiative, in any habitat, seeking to apply quantitative decision making to ecological restoration objectives so as to optimize the provision of desirable ecosystem functions or targets. You can prioritize anything that can be measured, and this approach has an exciting range of potential applications to restoration and conservation. We present a simple proof of concept but suggest approaches to practical situations.

The decade of ecological restoration: Plans for required urgent synthesis of restoration across ecosystems and treatments

The recently declared ‘Decade on Ecological Restoration’ by the United Nations represents a timely opportunity to develop a strong and integrative path forward for ecological restoration. One of the most effective ways to do this is to create a living data repository where restoration successes (and failures) are collated and made freely available to researchers and practitioners alike. Restoration has been taking place for decades across ecosystems, in every part of the world, with millions being spent. Different types of restoration ‘action’ have been taking place, depending on the definitions and targets of individual projects and their context. Data collected are used for monitoring, the results of which are sometimes published in academic journals, sometimes not. Projects and investment will continue, the results of which will affect legacies for decades more. We are in the process of developing a large, cross-cutting and collaborative effort to compile data from across the world, across ecosystems and across restoration efforts and types. We plan to publish an open-access data paper, maintain and grow the database as other efforts join, and lead the syntheses of these data in order to move forward into this dawning decade with an idea of what works and doesn’t, what constitutes success, and major lessons learned. We invite anyone involved in restoration, in any corner of the world to join us on our mission and donate existing data to be a part of an effort to quantify success and synthesize the future of ecological restoration.

The critical value for transferring knowledge between restoration projects

As the number of restoration projects increases, the potential for knowledge exchange between them becomes more relevant. Utilizing the experiences from one project in others can be challenging and calls for a systematic approach: what is transferable, under what conditions, and how to communicate between projects? We use the restoration of a mountain area in Norway as a case project to illustrate our approach. The project, Hjerkinn PRO, has an aim formulated by the Norwegian Parliament, to restore a 165 km² former military training area into National Park. This is the most prominent restoration project in Norway so far, ongoing for almost 20 years, including stages of planning, implementation, and documentation. The experiences from Hjerkinn PRO have to some extent been adopted and continued in other restoration projects, nationally and internationally. More specifically, we will discuss transferability relative to goal formulation, restoration methods, cooperation between actors during implementation, and system for documentation and evaluation. In this presentation we want to suggest a model for how to identify and separate the relevant and transferable experiences from those that are unique and not relevant to others in more general terms. We will also discuss barriers for transfer of knowledge and from this identify further potentials. Finally, we give examples of how such transfer can improve the quality and effectiveness of future restoration.

Promoting rangeland restoration and climate resilience through case studies

Rangelands occupy over a third of the ice-free land on Earth. Domestic livestock operations are a primary user of this grazing resource and will have to adapt to climate change effects on rangelands. Management directed toward current rangeland stresses that may be amplified under a changing climate—including fire risk, invasive plants, and variable forage production—is beneficial under every future scenario. And although climate change discussions have become highly politicized, our experience suggests that U.S. ranchers support management strategies and practices that provide ecological and economic benefits in addition to benefits relating to climate change. Our goal is to foster adoption of these “no-regrets strategies” by sharing individual success stories of rangeland restoration and sustainable management. Successful ranchers are already experienced at considering economic, ecological, and social risks in decision-making. They can identify and implement practices that increase resilience to climate change and support wildland restoration while balancing the other risks they face. Forward-thinking ranchers can provide insights into their resilience management practices, enabling others to join them. Farmer-to-farmer communication is known to be more successful than “expert” outreach. Our multi-media case studies are designed to encourage other ranchers to make management changes toward promoting rangeland restoration, resilience, and economic sustainability. Each case study consists of a short documentary film highlighting an innovative rancher and a peer-reviewed written factsheet with descriptions of the rancher’s ecological context, innovative practices, and a discussion of challenges and benefits of adopting restorative practices. These innovations apply worldwide in regions with semi-arid plant communities.

Ecological restoration 30 years later: Which priorities should we focus on?

Since 1987 ecological restoration (ER) has evolved from a technical discipline to a trans-epistemic one in terms of its socio-cognitive organization. It became a transversal space for knowledge production and degradation solution. Multiple approaches and research/management subjects coexist under a common umbrella that harbors scientists, practitioners, and, especially, stakeholders directly linked to decision making. Colleagues from government agencies, NGOs, private companies, or international banks are also regular members of the restoration community. Although science and technology are still the core of the discipline, current major challenges are (1) to integrate political, cultural, and economic interests; (2) meet local, regional, and global targets of ER, and (3) prevent new degradation processes. Such challenges require strong social agreements to solve key issues (e.g. land planning and tenure). In order to investigate which questions should be addressed from now on, we did a critical review of the literature, national plans, and international policies. In particular, we tested whether the major conclusions and recommendations from SIACRE-2015 (4th conference of the Latin American and the Caribbean Society) could be applied worldwide. We established 63 statements pooled into nine thematic subjects: epistemological, degradation causes, principles, land use planning, governance, social-cultural, scientific, technological, and standards. We also found that efforts and approaches are related to cultural values and welfare conditions. In conclusion, restorationists should devote efforts to other priorities: “how well was this hectare restored” or the nice “before-and-after picture” of a rehabilitated site, are no longer enough.

Protecting and restoring rivers and fish migration in Africa

The economic benefit and viability of dams has long been the topic of controversy. While many countries have begun to realise both the economic and ecological benefit of removing dams, Africa remains at the forefront of proposed dam constructions. The provision of electric power, flood control, water supply, and reservoir creation are attractive motivators for dams in third world countries such as those dominating the African continent, where the lack of electricity and sporadic water supply due to intermittent rainfall patterns remain as key social concerns. However, no dam is the same and thus, efforts to generalise from a few continues to cause controversy and debate. Dam removal decisions are complex, requiring owners and regulators to weigh a dam’s current value in accomplishing its original purpose, such as water supply for agriculture or industries and power generation, against the dam’s ongoing effects on public safety, water quality, water quantity to the downstream resources, impacts to fish migration and populations, etc. In rural Africa, the social implications of dam removals are considered less straightforward, as communities have been observed to adapt their lifestyles based on the continuous provision of a water supply and year-round food security many dams provide. In the presentation we will consider the evaluation of the practicality of dam removal in the context of long-term maintenance costs, against the costs of removal including several of the social considerations once communities have become reliant on the relatively short-term benefits of these structures.

Riparian rehabilitation in the upper Berg & Breede River, Western Cape, South Africa

Intaba Environmental Services has been involved in rehabilitation and re-vegetation projects in the Western Cape, South Africa, since 2009 with specific focus on the river riparian on private land in the upper Breede and Berg River (Western Cape) since 2012. This has been in partnership with the Dept. of Environmental Affairs & Development Planning (DEADP) and Department of Agriculture (LandCare), Western Cape. Approximately 356,000 plants have been propagated at Kluitjieskraal Nursery (Wolseley, Western Cape, RSA) and planted over 14 sites within a 3-year time frame (2016-2019). Sites on the Berg River are located in Franschoek, through Paarl, Wellington to Hermon. Sites on the Breede River are located from Wolseley to the Breede Valley towards Worcester. The objective of such an initiative has been the active rehabilitation of degraded areas to improve ecosystem functioning and catalyse further succession within the broader catchment. This is regarded as the largest project of its kind within South Africa for rehabilitating riparian land. There have been numerous obstacles and challenges to overcome as we facilitate the return of nature. Main challenges have been: 1) drought and irrigation, 2) landowner participation, and 3) capacity of staff. The following topics will be expanded: 1) drought and irrigation – attempts to increase plant survival while decreasing irrigation requirements, 2) successful landowner relationships, and 3) capacity building of staff. The high variation in conditions between sites required site specific rehabilitation plans and an adaptive mitigation approach to challenges that were faced. 

Restoring the Colorado River Delta – A framework for binational cooperation in restoration science, finance, and resource management

The Colorado River delta once consisted of 800,000 hectares of riverine, wetland, and estuarine habitat. This ecosystem has contracted to a fraction of its historic extent due to flow regulation and water consumption upstream. In 2012 a novel agreement between Mexico and the US provided for sharing of water under drought conditions and committed water and funding for ecological restoration. A coalition of environmental groups that facilitated negotiations partnered with the two governments to fund and implement restoration. Successful implementation has led to a successor agreement that provides additional commitments of water and funding to support expanded restoration. Remnant wetlands in the delta are part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar wetland. The Colorado River is one of the most intensively managed of 263 international rivers; it provides water for 40 million people and supports critical year-round agriculture through an extensive network of dams, reservoirs, and canals in an arid climate. A 1944 treaty provides for annual delivery of municipal and agricultural water from the US to Mexico, leaving the river with no flow through Mexico. The agreement to dedicate environmental flows to support restoration establishes a global precedent and model for other nations. While upstream water demands limit full restoration of the delta ecosystem, restoration and monitoring implemented to date, as well as creative funding and water ownership models that are driving binationally supported restoration, provide a framework for the restoration and protection of an international river corridor and estuary in a politically challenging border region.

Application of an EFlows Model in the eco-revitalization of the River Ravi, Pakistan

The River Ravi is one of six transboundary rivers comprising the Indus River system. Approximately 50 million people live in the basin, with more than 10 million in Lahore, its largest city. Political differences and careless development have come at profound cost to the River Ravi. In terms of the Indus Water Treaty, all Ravi flow upstream of Pakistan is abstracted by India, and flow downstream is dominated by heavily polluted discharges from cities that lack any effective infrastructure, policies, or regulations to treat their effluents. Most river reaches do not sustain aquatic life throughout the year. In the cities and towns, the stench is overwhelming, affecting the health, safety, and enjoyment of residents and eroding property prices and tax bases. Eco-revitalization efforts in the basin are multi-pronged and include status assessments, visioning, policy and institutional analyses, and investigation of cost-effective waste water treatment. The nature and level of interventions required to meet stakeholders’ visions are being guided by an ecosystem-based EFlows model that uses scientific reasoning and logic to model river ecosystem responses to past influences and interventions aimed at improving water quality, promoting year-round flows, and restoring river channels. The model captures the understanding of driving catchment processes and functioning of the rivers and uses this to provide information on how the implementation of suites of interventions would affect river ecosystem condition and, as a consequence, the potential cultural, recreational, and public health value of the River Ravi and its tributaries.

Restoring fragmented habitats using eland as a veld management tool

With the ongoing threats to biodiversity and pressure from human activities on the unique flora of the Cape, the need for modern restoration and conservation practices has emerged. Experimenting with new tools to restore and conserve fragmented habitats is creating opportunities for novel veld management practices in the urban environment. The aim is to reach a balance between human needs while restoring and protecting biodiversity and eco-system services and functioning in the face of climate change. Remaining natural areas within the Cape hold a high biodiversity value and through understanding and enhancing the way we restore these fragmented areas, we will enhance the way people experience and value such sites. The Gantouw Project is testing a restoration tool for modern conservation practises on small, isolated conservation areas in Cape Town, and involves using habituated eland antelope to combat bush encroachment. It is expected that the eland’s browse and trampling activity will reduce canopy size, opening up the veld resulting in changes to faunal and floral communities, mimicking historical actions of large herbivores. The method of using eland as a veld management tool, apart from the ecological value, is also proving to have other beneficial spin-offs to youth of the local community. Employment opportunities are created for youth as eland monitors. Eland monitors go through various skills development programmes, contributing to growing the green economy of South Africa. Mystical eland, once a sacred animal to the San people of southern Africa, are important ambassadors, connecting people, young and old, with nature.

Restored ecological infrastructure supports livelihood: Research provides the evidence

The SDG: 2030, the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, Africa Agenda 2063, the NDP (2011), are just some of the high-level plans meant to tackle ecosystem degradation, thereby securing the services they provide to society. In-fact the World Economic Forum lists climate change resilience, water crisis, extreme weather events, biodiversity loss, right at the top of highest world risks. Unless these high-risk issues are dealt with sooner, the world population, particularly in developing countries will remain in abject poverty, unemployment, and inequity into the future despite the “ambitious” targets. The targets are driven by the extent of degradation which can no longer be tolerated, such as soil erosion, dam siltation, and alien and invasive plants. These targets can be met; however, a lot of resources are required to achieve the targets, especially those due in 2020! Ecological infrastructure (EI) is a concept which has not been taken up by policy and society, including business. Amongst the reasons is proof or evidence that it can secure water at catchment level if cared for. The Water Research Commission of South Africa in partnership with more than 30-organizations funded research projects in uMngeni and uMzimvubu catchments in order to establish facts behind the value played by the EI in water security. One of the key reports highlighting the evidence will be launched at the end of the ecological infrastructure symposium. This is a key policy document which should lead to Government recognition and uptake of the EI, similarly by business and society.

Water and financial flows to guide investment in catchment protection and restoration

This paper forms part of a workshop focussed on sharing findings from the uMngeni Ecological Infrastructure Partnership. Through this initiative, a range of catchment stakeholders have committed to investment in restoring, maintaining, and managing the natural landscape to deliver water supply services and other benefits such as job creation, improved agricultural productivity, securing cultural benefits, reduced flood damage, and increased adaptive capacity to climate change. This component seeks to identify sites in the uMngeni catchment where investment can provide long-term and sustainable returns. In essence, “what to do and where to do it” in the catchment to provide optimal benefits. This seemingly simple question encompasses complexity in time, space, and in the connections between different biophysical, social, political, economic, and governance actors as well as uncertainty regarding the most appropriate way of estimating return on investment. Based on an analysis of 10 years of water supply data, we present and test methodologies to consider the returns on investment using the cost to provide 1m³ of water from restoration activities as a basis. Drawing on analysis of ten years of water and financial flow data supply in the catchment, we consider appropriate discount rates and ROI methods and compare these to the volumes provided and costs associated with traditional forms of infrastructure investment. The methodology adopted, results obtained, and recommendations provided are particularly appropriate for rapidly developing landscapes but are also applicable in a wide range of other restoration studies.

Catchment connectivity – a society-water-space trialectic

Understanding the connectivies between the social, economic, biophysical, and political dimensions of the uMngeni Catchment across different landscapes is critical for building improved water governance and water security. Lefebvre’s (1991) concept of a trialectic is employed to map out the multiple relations in the hydro-social cycle of the uMngeni Catchment. The paper explores how ecological infrastructure can be used as a ‘lever of change’ within this set of relations of the water-society-space trialectic to improve water security. Research was conducted in four case studies, all pilot projects of the uMngeni Ecological Infrastructure Partnership. In the Upper Catchment critical issues are the pollution of Midmar Dam due to poor service provision and agricultural run-off. Baynespruit, in the Middle Catchment, is impacted on by discharge of industrial effluent, illegal dumping and poor stormwater management. Here constructed wetlands and the rehabilitation of riparian zones are being employed as ‘experiments’ to assess the value of EI in mitigating pollution. The Palmiet Catchment is located in the urban core of Durban. It is exposed to high levels of pollution due to a range of land uses which impact on the river, including industrial pollution, poor maintenance of sewerage systems, and poor service provision in informal settlements. Mzinyathi River is located in the Qadi Traditional Authority, an area undergoing rapid densification. This densification takes place outside of formal planning processes and is having significant impacts on the catchment. These case studies are used to assemble the water-society-space trialectic to show connectivity.

Multi-sector partnership and collaborative water governance in the uMngeni Catchment

In South Africa there has been a shift towards managing catchments as integrated socio-ecological systems to address water security challenges. Catchments represent an appropriate level of water resource governance and management. This approach intentionally links water security to ecological infrastructure management and society benefits. This relies heavily on stakeholder engagement and participation to understand the society demands and pressures on natural resources. The uMngeni catchment in KwaZulu-Natal of South Africa is typical of many rapidly developing catchments with the growing population and increase in economic development resulting in water security challenges. The catchment covers more than 4250 km² and occupies less than 5% of the surface area of KwaZulu-Natal, even though it supplies water to approximately 42% of the population of the province. Despite the investment in built infrastructure, the catchment is no longer able to provide sufficient water of adequate quality to people. The uMngeni Ecological Infrastructure Partnership (UEIP), a multi-stakeholder partnership, has focussed on understanding the role that ecological infrastructure (EI) can play to supplement built infrastructure. Multi-sectoral stakeholder governance towards effective collaboration and coordination of activities associated with catchment management has become particularly important for this catchment. The partnership is committed to strategic investment in ecological infrastructure to enhance water security in the catchment. The UEIP has a well-developed research component that improves the knowledge base and contributes to various points along the science-society-policy-practice continuum. This paper provides an overview of the uMngeni Catchment, the UEIP and introduces the key research topics.

A framework for lesson learning in FLR

Lesson learning generates new knowledge that is particularly important in the context of recently developed approaches, processes, and complex systems with much uncertainty. One such approach is forest landscape restoration (FLR). Although grounded in a number of disciplines (e.g. conservation biology, landscape ecology, restoration ecology), FLR has remained very fluid and moulded to suit different stakeholders, from local to global. Today, many countries or organisations commit to implement FLR. Global commitments, especially following the Bonn Challenge on FLR (2011), aim to up-scale FLR to achieve social, biodiversity, and carbon benefits. However, the FLR approach is relatively new (less than 20 years), complex due to its multifaceted nature, and long-term field experience is still limited. FLR practitioners mainly learn by doing. That makes lesson learning particularly urgent. Combining learning theory and field studies from WWF’s portfolio of long-term FLR projects worldwide, the paper proposes here a framework for lesson learning in FLR that can serve to ground both practice and policy in field experiences to date.

Ecological restoration as a tool to increase resilience to climate change: Learning with small farmers of the Colombian Andean-Amazon Piedmont

The Colombian Andean-Amazon Piedmont is one of the richest ecosystems on the Planet and also one of the most endangered. Deforestation of river basins and micro-catchments in the upper reaches has local consequences, but also affects the flow and dynamics of major tributaries. Therefore, WWF Colombia started working towards maintaining key attributes of several micro-catchments based on the results of climate change vulnerability analyses. Traditional farm systems in the area are based on small scale cattle ranching, which depends on clearing forests and using water sources irrationally. WWF used Ecosystems-Based-Adaptation theory and Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) as tools to develop actions towards increasing the sustainability of local production systems. The main difficulty in the process was to show farmers the significance of being part of the project, for which it was necessary to make them realize the increasing necessity of adapting to climate change. The main lessons derived from the process were:

• Translate the scientific climate-change jargon into concepts the locals understand.
• Permanent and fluent communication between all implementation partners, technicians conducting the analyses, local field officers, local technicians and farmers and their families is essential.
• Validating with locals all aspects of the methodology including definitions, actions on the farms and the development of climate change indicators, among others.
• Assessing the risks and threats at the farm level with the local technical teams before validating them with the spatial analyses.

Forest Landscape Restoration: Conservation outcomes and lessons from Terai Arc Landscape, Nepal

Nepal has adopted landscape an approach of conservation, establishing the Terai Arc Landscape in 2004. Tropical and subtropical broadleaved forests, riverine forests, grasslands, and floodplains of the Terai Arc Landscape harbor meta-populations of tigers, elephants, and rhinoceros. WWF Nepal initiated the Terai Arc Landscape Program in partnership with the Government of Nepal to mobilize local communities and stakeholders for effective management and restoration of critical corridors and bottlenecks within the landscape to create and maintain ecological connectivity linking protected areas with community forests, plantations, and other conservation-friendly land-uses. A total of 22,791 ha of degraded forest and degraded land has been restored in critical corridors during last 15 years. Moreover, 237,050 families have been managing 162,818 hectares of forests as community forests that increase access to forest resources to local communities. Forest restoration and community-based forest management resulted in an increase in tiger and rhino populations. The tiger population has nearly doubled in the last ten years from 121 in 2009 to 235 in 2018, whereas the rhino population increased from 372 in 2005 to 645 in 2015. Water springs have reappeared in the restored areas within the landscape. Local communities have benefited from economic opportunities through forest and farm based green enterprises and ecotourism. It is recognized that government ownership and community stewardship could bring significant positive results in forest and landscape restoration and in increasing populations of targeted wildlife species.

Lessons learnt from 13 years of restoration in a moist tropical forest: The Fandriana – Marolambo Landscape in Madagascar

In 2005, WWF initiated a Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) programme in the Fandriana-Marolambo landscape situated in Madagascar’s iconic moist forest (Center-East). The landscape, harbouring fragmented forest interspersed with savannah, exotic plantations, and fields stretches over 203,080 ha and is home to 150,000 people. It is rich in biodiversity but under pressure of deforestation. The objective of the programme was to restore ecological integrity and improve human well-being. The main lessons learnt:

• Establish multi-level partnerships and start with capacity building so stakeholders and partners understand all concepts. It is necessary for sustainability and includes technical aspects as well as organizational ones.
• Strengthening local governance structures and working with a strong social dimension: the sites that were established through a local decision-making process, which was based on social conventions, present the best rate of success and are currently still developing. While those established following unilateral decisions from the forest administration and those decided in a mixed way have varying success. Also, restoration methodologies matter as areas with active and mixed restoration actions are more successful compared to sites with passive restoration.
• Ground implementation in scientific knowledge: the recommended species have statistically higher growth rates. Linked to the household strategies, restoration areas with households that are less dependent on forest and with other additional activities have good results.
• Commit to the long term and design an exit strategy.

Gathering lessons learnt from WWF’s experience worldwide: An overview based on 8 FLR long term field projects

WWF has supported Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) development since 2000 and shares the goal of restoring 350 million hectares of forest landscapes by 2030. Today more than 200 WWF staffs are involved in an active FLR community. WWF run dozens of field projects (various scales, durations, forest types, and contexts). The program also includes education efforts (EFN Reforestation grant), lobbying for private or governmental engagement including issues initiated by partnerships, participates in platforms (GPFLR, SAFRA, NGP, Trillion Trees) and supports ambitious policies (AFR100, Bonn Challenge). Restoring at the landscape scale is a long-term planned process, requiring multifaceted interventions (both ecological and social), and overall is a much richer but more difficult task than just planting trees. Providing good FLR guidance and implementation to meet commitments made by governments may be the main challenge of the coming decade. FLR practitioners only learn by doing. Thus, facilitating exchanges among field practitioners and grounding all activities on lessons learnt in the field is crucial for WWF. In 2018, WWF launched a lessons learnt exercise based on the analysis of its ‘long-term’ projects (10 to 20 year) to restore landscapes in Tanzania, Madagascar, Nepal, Malaysia, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Mexico, New Caledonia, and the Lower Danube. The exercise is ongoing. It has already analysed five projects, producing specific reports and 10 to 15 high level lessons for each project. Others are under way (to be completed in 2019). This presentation will capture and share some key lessons learnt and emerging needs.

Methods for estimating the total economic values of accelerating restoration: Results for Washington’s Elwha River after dam removal

At an increased cost, ecologists can increase the rate and spatial extent of restoration and thereby accelerate the provision of ecosystem services. In order to justify the increased costs, we estimate the Total Economic Values of ecosystem services (TEVs of use and passive/non-use values) associated with alternative rates of restoration after dam removal on Washington’s Elwha River. TEV was estimated for two distinct restoration projects of: (1) native salmon; (2) riparian forests with associated wildlife. TEV of both projects is measured at three different restoration rates: (a) baseline recovery at no added cost; (b) moderate habitat restoration at medium cost levels; (c) extensive restoration actions at the highest cost levels to households. Washington households would pay a one-time $283 to moderately increase and $332 to substantially increase native salmon restoration beyond the baseline rates. Oregon’s households would pay a one-time $236 to moderately increase and $321 to substantially increase native salmon restoration. This pattern demonstrates that households in both states value increasing the rate of restoration. In addition, the Oregon results demonstrate that there is significant value of restoration even at substantial distances away from Washington’s Elwha River. Lastly, to increase the rate and spatial extent of riparian forest/wildlife habitat restoration, households in both states would pay an average one-time $257. This research demonstrates that the public values and would pay for accelerated restoration. In addition, measuring the full benefit of restoration requires that surveys not be limited to population centers immediately adjacent to the restoration site.

Restoring wetlands on a limited budget: The evolution of engineered interventions

South Africa’s Working for Wetlands programme was established in 2000 through Expanded Public Works funding with the aim of restoring wetlands in a manner that maximizes employment creation, develops small enterprises, and transfers relevant and marketable skills to local communities. Balancing between the ecological and social outcomes of wetland restoration presented challenges in terms of the performance triangle of cost, time, and quality of constructed engineered interventions. The use of small, inexperienced contractors and labour drawn from local communities to work in often difficult wetland conditions and at isolated locations compounded the problem. The scale of degradation and the nature of the wetland systems requires a range of “soft” and “hard” interventions to be designed and constructed, and these range from the re-vegetation of mildly eroded soils to complex concrete weir structures that protect bed profiles of large wetland systems. Over time, the engineering budget has been declining, yet the pressure to improve efficiency and deliver more with less has been mounting. This has pushed the boundaries of innovation for the engineering team in terms of more cost-effective materials and cost-efficient designs. New design and construction principles, and more tolerant risk assessment criteria, sometimes going beyond the conventional approaches to engineering design have been developed. This paper presents the history, with examples, of how the engineering component of wetland restoration in South Africa has evolved. These engineering experiences have shaped the way wetland restoration planning and implementation are conducted in the country and may be applicable outside South Africa.

Examining the cost effectiveness of stream and coastal restoration in the Chesapeake Bay, U.S.A.

Legislative and regulatory changes since 2013 have significantly increased compliance challenges for many localities within the Chesapeake Bay watershed located in the eastern United States of America. These localities are responsible for sediment and nutrient load reductions from existing sources, or retrofits, for the first time. Stormwater retention ponds and engineered wetland facilities are commonly considered one of the more costly interventions on a dollar per pound of removal basis. Stream restoration, on the other hand, has recently proven to be one of the more cost-effective practices that are approved for water quality (WQ) treatment purposes. The US EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Office (CBPO) estimates that 670 kilometers of urban stream restoration will be implemented by 2025 in Virginia and Maryland because of these new water quality requirements. To quantify nutrient reductions, the CBPO developed a practical guidance document outlining acceptable methodologies for both river and coastal restoration projects. Within these documents are protocols that assist the locality in quantifying nutrient reductions for proposed WQ improvement projects.  Over the past 6 years, Stantec has tested the relevant protocols, evaluated case studies, and consulted our clients on the most cost-efficient practices for sediment and nutrient crediting towards these requirements. This presentation discusses where numerous case studies on stream and coastal restoration practices fall regarding cost effectiveness versus more traditional engineering approaches. Understanding these data and conclusions has assisted many municipalities with making the best financial decisions regarding both their environmental responsibilities and their tax paying constituents.

Assisting natural regeneration in agricultural landscapes

Landscape transformation due to agriculture affects ca. 40% of the planet’s land area and is the most important driver of losses of biodiversity and its services (ES) worldwide. Strategic revegetation including living fences, road sides, riparian systems, and woodland islets are an alternative to designing ecological restoration in extensive agricultural landscapes. Some benefits of such green infrastructure are well documented in the scientific literature. However, the benefit of triggering natural regeneration is poorly quantified and guidance for large-scale restoration to provide multi-functional landscapes is often lacking. I provide evidence of natural regeneration in Mediterranean cropland 25 years after abandonment and introduction of small woodland islets. Over that time period, an average of 3.8 individuals per ha per year were established. Initial oak regeneration triggered by the planted islets is slowed down by high acorn predation, seedling herbivory, and stressful microclimatic conditions. In addition, I present seven guidelines for buffer strip and hedgerow restoration that stem from ecological principles, the scientific evidence, and experience as practitioner. I tailor these guidelines to a case study in a Chilean biodiversity hot spot as a step towards cost-effective restoration. The target landscapes require restoring 0.89 ha km^-2 of woody buffer strips to meet Chilean law; 1.4 ha km^-2 of new hedgerows are also proposed. The cost of restoration in this landscape is estimated in ca. USD 6,900 planted ha^-1 of buffer strips and hedgerows. Financial incentives, education, and professional training of farmers are identified as key issues to implement the suggested restoration actions.

The potential for passive restoration in alien plant-invaded ecosystems in the Cape Floristic Region (CFR)

Invasion by alien woody species is one of the greatest threats to the conservation of fynbos ecosystems in the CFR. This degradation impacts negatively on ecosystem services, such as water provisioning, as well as biodiversity. Fire is the main ecological driver in fynbos but also provides a window for invasion by fire-adapted alien trees and shrubs. Many fynbos species are killed by fire – termed obligate reseeders – while the remainder may resprout from lignotubers and other below-ground storage organs. Dense stands of alien trees shade out fynbos so natural recovery potential depends on the persistence of native soil-stored propagules and their germination following alien clearance. Few fynbos species can disperse far, thus colonization of highly degraded sites from intact remnants is slow. Density and duration of invasion are key to understanding thresholds to natural recovery. Other factors that influence recovery potential include the dominant invader species, vegetation type, quality of initial alien clearance and proximity to sources of fynbos and secondary invader species’ propagules.

Use of seed enhancement technologies for overcoming abiotic and biotic limitations to native plant establishment

Rangeland degradation and desertification is a global problem with many regions of the world experiencing declines in ecosystem goods and services and biodiversity. Often the only means of restoring these lands involves seeding with native species. The sagebrush steppe ecosystem of western North America is an example of a dryland system that is undergoing rapid ecological change as wildfires and other disturbances remove native perennial plant communities and convert the system to an exotic annual grassland. Land practitioners currently do not possess the tools needed to consistently reestablish native plants in these degraded landscapes. In this presentation, we will examine limiting factors impairing seedling establishment and show how seed enhancement technologies have the potential to overcome these identified barriers to restoration success. We will specifically share how seed enhancement technologies have the potential to improve seed delivery, protect seeds from predation and pathogen attack, improve seed germination timing, minimize mortality from freezing soils, preserve seed energy levels, and enhance seedling vigor to promote survival under drought conditions. These seed enhancement strategies have the potential to dramatically improve the effectiveness of seeding treatments that are intended to protect or restore the diversity and productivity of dryland ecosystems.

Making small seeds matter in restoration

In ecosystems where the severity of disturbance precludes autogenic recovery, targeted seeding with a diverse mix of native species can be the only means of restoring ecosystems. However, the success rate of broadcast seeding can be constrained by biotic and abiotic factors that impair seedling emergence and development. These effects are felt most strongly for small seeded species. Pelleting small seeds has emerged as a promising strategy to address issues such as poor seedling emergence, physical soil crusting, seed predation, and low rates of seedling establishment. However, there have not yet been any comparative studies undertaken to understand whether single seed or multi-seed pellets represent the most effective strategy for delivery of native seeds in seed-based restoration activities. In this study, the efficacy of single versus multi-seed pelleting was assessed for three different small seeded species from the Midwest region of Western Australia, Eucalyptus loxophleba subsp. supralaevis, E. leptopoda subsp. elevata and Melaleuca hamata (Myrtaceae). Seeds were coated using a Pan Coating machine due to their small size and mass, representing the first such attempt based on review of the seed coating literature for native seeds. The study focused on the comparative performance of un-pelleted seeds, single seed pellets and multi-seed pellets based on the pellet’s physical quality and germination performance in lab-based experiments.