©Danilo Lima, Agripalm Ambiental
The RRC database contains a wide variety of resources and publications related to ecological restoration, and we are actively working to expand this collection. It is our aim to serve as the principal clearinghouse for information and tools to support the work of researchers, practitioners, land managers, educators, students, and anyone else interested in restoration. Use the filter tool below to search the database by title, author, resource type, keyword, or any combination of these factors.
Although SER does review all entries in the database for relevance and quality, these resources have not been rigorously reviewed or extensively vetted in every case, and SER therefore makes no claim as to their accuracy or accordance with generally accepted principles in the field. The database is provided as a resource for visitors to the SER website, and it is ultimately left to the individual user to make their own determinations about the quality and veracity of a given publication or resource.
If there is a resource we missed, please let us know! We are interested in current books, articles, technical documents, videos, and other resources that are directly relevant to ecological restoration science, practice or policy, as well as resources treating the social, cultural and economic dimensions of restoration.
Collective exploration of the impact of restoration in the Baviaanskloof through the lens of the Water, Energy, and Food Nexus
Abstract:The Baviaanskloof catchment in the Eastern Cape of South Africa encompasses the Kouga and Baviaanskloof mountains and is comprised of private farms surrounded by the largest wilderness area in South Africa. The catchment is a source of water for the agriculturally significant Gamtoos Valley as well as the Nelson Mandela Bay municipal area. As part of the Cape Floristic Region, it boasts an enormous botanical diversity and forms a meeting place of different biomes. Decades of overgrazing from goat farming has led to massive vegetation loss and soil erosion. We employ the 4 returns framework for large scale ecosystem restoration: each restored area provides inspirational, social, and natural returns to bring down the risks for a sustainable financial return. This transformative model combines ‘restoring’ people’s inner drivers and purpose seeking to concrete ecosystem restoration on the ground, based on business cases, using a landscape zoning approach and the Theory U (Otto Scharmer) as a stakeholder management tool. We aim to address ecological challenges such as water retention, social challenges such as effective governance and economic challenges such as diversification of income. Through participation in this session we will further explore the impact of our work in the Baviaanskloof through the Food, Energy, and Water Nexus lens. We will share examples illustrating the benefits and avoided the costs of restoration interventions, highlighting the interlinkages we have observed within the Food, Energy and Water Nexus.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Why the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration matters for the Food-Energy-Water Nexus
Abstract:The unprecedented levels of degradation of the Earths ecosystems can be seen from space. Anthropogenic and natural impacts have altered vital ecosystems and the services they provide for humans and nature. The recognition that self-sustaining and functional ecosystems are vital for our collective human wellbeing formed the premise behind the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Championed by the Government of El Salvador, the decade was passed as a United Nation General Assembly resolution on the 1st of March, ushering into motion probably the most immersive UN Decade. National Governments have called upon the world to help them explore the best way to work towards restoring our vital life-lines that provide our very sources of food, water, and energy. Based on many years of scientific and field-based evidence, there is a realization that degraded ecosystems create an imbalance in the Food, Energy, and Water Nexus. Through this paper, the aim will be to share the work that UN Environment and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the two UN Agencies mandated to lead the decade, will undertake. It will also explore what the wider world can also do as part of the restoration agenda in their respective communities.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Fire drives abandoned pastures to a savanna-like state in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: Implications for ecological restoration
Abstract:Most tropical forests are threatened by a myriad of human-induced disturbances associated with land use changes, altered fire regimes, and direct deforestation. The combined effect of multiple disturbances can shift forests towards a new, resilient state that is qualitatively distinct in structure, species composition, and function. We found that abandoned pastures affected by fires showed similarity in terms of vegetation structure, species composition, and plant functional traits to a savanna-like ecosystem. The study was carried out at Poço das Antas Biological Reserve, located in the Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil (22º 32`17“S, 42º 16`50“W). Burned communities exhibited more C4 grass cover, a higher proportion of resprouts, and lower canopy cover as compared to the old-growth forest. Moreover, 81% of species at the burned sites have a widespread distribution and are also found in the Cerrado biome. Species composition was strikingly different from old-growth forests since burned sites were dominated by Moquiniastrum polymorphum (Less.) G. Sancho (Asteraceae), which was absent in the old-growth forests. The results observed in this study provide biological evidence of arrested succession with the establishment of a savanna-like ecosystem as an alternative stable state. These results have important practical implications because differences between tropical savannas and forests imply important changes in the provision of ecosystem services, restoration and conservation strategies, as well as in the way these communities will respond to climate change.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pine savanna plant community patterns after fifteen years of biennial fires in different seasons
Abstract:Fire regimes that deviate from inferred historical norms are a management concern in biodiverse, fire-prone regions. Plant communities are considered to have been historically filtered by a specific fire regime, generating a community of species with life history traits linked to that regime. If the filter (i.e., fire regime) is changed, specialized or endemic species would presumably be lost, and/or species that are not harmed by this alternate fire regime would become more frequent. Our objective was to test this assumption in southeastern USA pine savannas, a biodiversity hotspot of North America. We compared groundcover plant community composition in wet-mesic and dry pine savannas in north Florida before and after fifteen years of biennial prescribed fires in different seasons. We classified fire seasonality as: (1) phenological (occurring in the dormant or growing season), and (2) wet/dry (occurring during the early dry, mid-dry, late dry, or wet season). Based on species frequencies, fire season did not change community composition in dry or wet-mesic pine savannas, regardless of season classification. Species composition only changed significantly over the 15 years in the dry pine savanna. Our results suggest a degree of resilience in these communities to different fire seasons (at high fire frequency) over at least two decades.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
An investigation into the fire regimes of the upper Tsitsa River catchment
Abstract:South African grasslands are rich in flora and have co-evolved with fire. Fires have been the primary tool used to manage grasslands for livestock production for many years, however, there is debate about how they impact and alter landscapes. There are two schools of thought in the literature, one that states fires are detrimental to landscapes, causing excess soil erosion and changing soil properties, and the other being that fires are beneficial to ecosystems, maintaining vegetation structure, preventing bush encroachment, cycling nutrients, and allowing for new plant growth. This study focused on the effects of Fire Return Intervals (FRI) on soil properties in order to better understand the role that fire plays in geomorphic processes in the upper Tsitsa River catchment. Fire frequency was determined using Landsat satellite imagery, and testing was carried out at 60 sites on soils exposed to different FRIs. It was found that soils that were exposed to a high fire frequency (1-2-year FRI) exhibited a higher degree of water repellency than soils that were exposed to a low fire frequency (3-4 year FRI). The degree of soil water repellency between the sites was not significant, showing that fires are not affecting soils to the degree previously thought and that literature might suggest. There are multiple variables to consider, however, results suggest that fires may not be as detrimental to soil properties and erosional factors in the Tsitsa catchment as previously thought, and erosion may be a product of grazing practices and soil type.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Review on land restoration training in eastern Africa: Case studies from Uganda
Abstract:Land is an important resource for humanity as livelihoods depend on it. Humans utilize land to sustain livelihoods, but it is degraded partly because of the increasing human population and climate change, among other factors. Land degradation is thus a threat that needs to be addressed globally, partly through restoration. Within Eastern Africa, as is indeed the case in developing countries globally, there is a scarcity of professionals in land restoration. This paper evaluates an effort undertaken by the United Nations University Land Restoration Training Programme partnering with Makerere University and the National Environment Management Authority in Uganda, to offer training in land restoration. We compare this to other land restoration training initiatives in East Africa. We examined curricular of training institutions, including universities, to understand the inclusion of land degradation and restoration issues. We also interviewed practitioners involved in land management to assess their knowledge and skills. Two trainings have so far been conducted in Uganda, targeting district local officers in the Natural Resources Sector, which is a novel approach for spreading skills in land restoration. Case studies of participants in the trainings are used to show that they are causing change. Aroused interest in land restoration issues following the trainings shows that the existing capacity (knowledge and skills) in land degradation and land restoration is inadequate. This study provides basic guidelines to training institutions regarding strategies for re-aligning their programmes to enhance their contribution to addressing land degradation, demonstrating benefits of the north-south collaboration.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Socio-economic factors affecting adoption of soil and water conservation measures in Malawi
Abstract:The Department of Land Resources Conservation and other stakeholders have been promoting Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) measures in Malawi for decades. Despite these efforts, it has been noted that the adoption of the technologies is still low. The 2016 soil loss study found that the average soil loss has increased from 20 tons/ha/year to 29 tons/ha/year since 1990. This study was conducted to understand the socio-economic factors that affect the adoption of SWC measures in Malawi. The study was conducted in Malingunde and Mngwangwa Extension Planning Areas (EPA) in Lilongwe District. The two EPAs are some of the sites where SWC measures are being promoted. Data was collected from a sample of selected farmers through the administration of a questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised closed- and open-ended questions. The study found significant positive correlation between age of the household head and adoption of SWC measures. The study also found that belonging to a farmer group, receiving training and farmer contact with the extension worker have significant positive correlation with the adoption of SWC measures. Based on these findings, it is recommended that farmers should be encouraged to belong to farmer groups as it enables mutual learnings and the exchange of ideas. Farmer trainings in the form of demonstrations should also be prioritized as it helps the farmers to have a practical approach to technology implementation. The study needs to be replicated in other areas as farmers operate under different socio-economic and ecological conditions.
Resource Type:SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Capacity building for restoring land
Abstract:The status of the global environment has deteriorated in the last decades, with major increases in degraded land, freshwater uses and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Land degradation has become a major threat to both earth’s ecosystems and human livelihoods, accelerating climate change, causing land to be more predisposed to natural disasters, risking food security, and contributing to increasing conflicts and refugee crises. With an ever-growing world population, demand for land will continue to rise, putting more pressure on land resources and increasing people’s vulnerability to food insecurity and poverty. Land restoration is highly important to address these challenges. Restoration reverses land degradation and helps mitigate and adapt to climate change, while at the same time it improves people’s livelihoods. The UN University Land Restoration Training Programme has for over 10 years built capacities of specialists working for local institutions in several African countries in ecological restoration and sustainable land management. In this talk, we discuss the role of capacity building for restoring land in Africa. We will present results from a survey sent out to former trainees on how the training has strengthened their individual capacity as well as the capacity of their institutions, to improve land health and people’s livelihoods.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Global restoration opportunities in tropical rainforest landscapes
Abstract:Over 140 Mha of large-scale restoration commitments have been pledged across the global tropics, yet guidance is needed to identify those landscapes where implementation is likely to provide the greatest potential benefits and cost-effective outcomes. We identify restoration opportunities in lowland tropical rainforest landscapes by overlaying seven recent, peer-reviewed spatial datasets as proxies for the socio-environmental benefits and feasibility of restoration. Restoration opportunities, areas with higher potential return of benefits and feasibility, were found throughout the tropics. The area with the top 10% of the restoration opportunity score (i.e. restoration hotspots) covers 88% and 73%, respectively, of the global biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities and countries committed to the Bonn Challenge, a global effort to restore 350 Mha by 2030. However, a small proportion of the total extent of the Key Biodiversity Area network (19.1%) were restoration hotspots. Concentrating restoration investments in landscapes with high benefits and feasibility would maximize the potential to mitigate anthropogenic impacts and improve human wellbeing.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Tropical forest natural regeneration: predicting successes and accessing uncertainties
Abstract:Natural regeneration and the outcomes arising from it vary widely across multiple spatial and temporal scales and are affected by linked environmental and socioeconomic drivers. Investors operating in different businesses usually avoid high-risk transactions, which likely constrains the flow of financial resources to restoration initiatives that are perceived as uncertain and risky. Although predicting both the potential rate and location of natural regeneration through time and how its outcome varies within landscapes is inherently difficult, but such knowledge is critical to policy design and evaluation. Here we predict and map both the potential for natural forest regeneration over the next years and the landscape variation in biodiversity recovery at the global scale. We demonstrate substantial opportunity for cost-effective, large-scale natural and assisted regeneration in the humid tropical forests that could achieve numerous economic, social, and environmental benefits. By far the most important predictor of the occurrence of natural regeneration was the proximity to forest. On the other hand, not only environmental variables, but also socioeconomic variables were critical to predict landscape variation for vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants. Therefore, our global maps are useful for guiding decision-making under several different circumstances, such as: i) prioritizing landscapes for restoration, ii) improving regulations on biodiversity offsetting, and iii) estimating implementation costs of forest restoration at the global scale. We capitalize on natural forest regeneration as an innovative perspective to guide global, national, and sub-national forest restoration policies and practices cost-effectively.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Global restoration opportunities in tropical rainforest landscapes
Abstract:Over 140 Mha of large-scale restoration commitments have been pledged across the global tropics, yet guidance is needed to identify those landscapes where implementation is likely to provide the greatest potential benefits and cost-effective outcomes. We identify restoration opportunities in lowland tropical rainforest landscapes by overlaying seven recent, peer-reviewed spatial datasets as proxies for the socio-environmental benefits and feasibility of restoration. Restoration opportunities, areas with higher potential return of benefits and feasibility, were found throughout the tropics. The area with the top 10% of the restoration opportunity score (i.e. restoration hotspots) covers 88% and 73%, respectively, of the global biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities and countries committed to the Bonn Challenge, a global effort to restore 350 Mha by 2030. However, a small proportion of the total extent of the Key Biodiversity Area network (19.1%) were restoration hotspots. Concentrating restoration investments in landscapes with high benefits and feasibility would maximize the potential to mitigate anthropogenic impacts and improve human wellbeing.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Capacity building for restoring land
Abstract:The status of the global environment has deteriorated in the last decades, with major increases in degraded land, freshwater uses and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Land degradation has become a major threat to both earth’s ecosystems and human livelihoods, accelerating climate change, causing land to be more predisposed to natural disasters, risking food security, and contributing to increasing conflicts and refugee crises. With an ever-growing world population, demand for land will continue to rise, putting more pressure on land resources and increasing people’s vulnerability to food insecurity and poverty. Land restoration is highly important to address these challenges. Restoration reverses land degradation and helps mitigate and adapt to climate change, while at the same time it improves people’s livelihoods. The UN University Land Restoration Training Programme has for over 10 years built capacities of specialists working for local institutions in several African countries in ecological restoration and sustainable land management. In this talk, we discuss the role of capacity building for restoring land in Africa. We will present results from a survey sent out to former trainees on how the training has strengthened their individual capacity as well as the capacity of their institutions, to improve land health and people’s livelihoods.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) approach to ecological restoration in the Lake Chad Basin area
Abstract:The UNESCO Man and the Biosphere programme (MAB) put ecological restoration at the top of its agenda in the framework of its 2016-2025 Action plan framework. It is a technical partner of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) in the implementation of the Programme of Rehabilitation and Strengthening the Resilience of Socio-ecological Systems in the Lake Chad Basin (PRESIBALT), UNESCO through BIOsphere and Heritage of Lake Chad Basin (BIOPALT) Project. The project’s final objective is to support countries to establish World Heritage and biosphere reserves transboundary sites in the cultural landscape of Lake Chad. In doing so, the project aims at reconciling conservation and development in the area. In particular, the project is engaged in pilot actions of ecological restoration and ecosystem rehabilitation as well as promotion of green economies to contribute to increasing livelihoods and conservation of ecosystem services. These actions could ensure sustainable use of natural resources and reverse the trend observed in land degradation and ecosystem depletion in the Lake Chad Basin as well as reduce resources access conflict and promote peace among millions of peoples whose livelihoods depend on it. This presentation will present the multisectoral approach of the BIOPALT project and its added value to address multifaceted issues for achieving sustainable development in the Lake Chad area.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Socio-economic factors affecting adoption of soil and water conservation measures in Malawi
Abstract:The Department of Land Resources Conservation and other stakeholders have been promoting Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) measures in Malawi for decades. Despite these efforts, it has been noted that the adoption of the technologies is still low. The 2016 soil loss study found that the average soil loss has increased from 20 tons/ha/year to 29 tons/ha/year since 1990. This study was conducted to understand the socio-economic factors that affect the adoption of SWC measures in Malawi. The study was conducted in Malingunde and Mngwangwa Extension Planning Areas (EPA) in Lilongwe District. The two EPAs are some of the sites where SWC measures are being promoted. Data was collected from a sample of selected farmers through the administration of a questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised closed- and open-ended questions. The study found significant positive correlation between age of the household head and adoption of SWC measures. The study also found that belonging to a farmer group, receiving training and farmer contact with the extension worker have significant positive correlation with the adoption of SWC measures. Based on these findings, it is recommended that farmers should be encouraged to belong to farmer groups as it enables mutual learnings and the exchange of ideas. Farmer trainings in the form of demonstrations should also be prioritized as it helps the farmers to have a practical approach to technology implementation. The study needs to be replicated in other areas as farmers operate under different socio-economic and ecological conditions.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Review on land restoration training in eastern Africa: Case studies from Uganda
Abstract:Land is an important resource for humanity as livelihoods depend on it. Humans utilize land to sustain livelihoods, but it is degraded partly because of the increasing human population and climate change, among other factors. Land degradation is thus a threat that needs to be addressed globally, partly through restoration. Within Eastern Africa, as is indeed the case in developing countries globally, there is a scarcity of professionals in land restoration. This paper evaluates an effort undertaken by the United Nations University Land Restoration Training Programme partnering with Makerere University and the National Environment Management Authority in Uganda, to offer training in land restoration. We compare this to other land restoration training initiatives in East Africa. We examined curricular of training institutions, including universities, to understand the inclusion of land degradation and restoration issues. We also interviewed practitioners involved in land management to assess their knowledge and skills. Two trainings have so far been conducted in Uganda, targeting district local officers in the Natural Resources Sector, which is a novel approach for spreading skills in land restoration. Case studies of participants in the trainings are used to show that they are causing change. Aroused interest in land restoration issues following the trainings shows that the existing capacity (knowledge and skills) in land degradation and land restoration is inadequate. This study provides basic guidelines to training institutions regarding strategies for re-aligning their programmes to enhance their contribution to addressing land degradation, demonstrating benefits of the north-south collaboration.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Creating species-diverse resource-conserving plant patches: A way forward to restore drylands
Abstract:The particular structure-function relationships of dryland landscapes are rarely considered in the design of dryland restoration actions. Promoting the establishment of species-diverse plant patches that enhance resource conservation could contribute to restoration success and biodiversity conservation in drylands. Using experimental plantations on bare slopes, we investigated the effect of increasing plant density and/or diversity within the plant patch on the productivity, resource conservation, and restoration potential of the target area. On 56 experimental plots, we created replicated patchy plant communities that varied in the number of both individuals and species per patch (1, 2, 4 and 8) and, for certain patch sizes, only in the number of species. For the first three years after planting, we found that increasing plant diversity and density, and thus patch size, reduced individual plant growth due to increasing competition within the patch. However, the individual biomass reductions did not compromise a positive net increase in total patch biomass with increasing patch size and diversity, which suggests some degree of functional complementarity within the patch. For equal patch size, increasing diversity either enhanced or did not affect individual plant growth, depending on the plant functional group considered. In general, larger and more diverse vegetation patches benefited from a higher sink capacity for rainfall and runoff water and a higher capacity for trapping sediments. Our results demonstrate that patch diversity and size control the recovery of drylands and highlight the potential of establishing functionally-diverse plant patches as a cost-effective approach for dryland restoration.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Restoration of degraded dryland ecosystems: A case study of Kuwait
Abstract:Kuwait’s native flora comprises 256 annuals, 83 herbaceous perennials, 34 shrubs and one tree species. Historically, native vegetation in Kuwait is subjected to several natural (harsh, unpredictable weather, scanty and unpredictable precipitation, extended drought, and relatively short growing period) and anthropocentric (overgrazing, off-road vehicular movements, camping) pressures. The invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990, and the two Gulf wars that followed subjected the desert resources, including the native vegetation, to additional pressures. Because dryland ecosystems are very slow to recover, the State of Kuwait initiated specific short-to-medium and long-term restoration measures under the Kuwait Environmental Remediation Program (KERP). In this program, five protected areas covering a total area of 1,680 km² spreading across different dryland ecosystems were established, and a revegetation island approach was adopted to restore the ecosystems. Seeds of keystone native species (Rhanterium epapposum, Farsetia aegyptia, Calligonum comosum, Pennisetum divisum, Panicum turgidum, and Haloxylon salicornicum) were mass produced and nursery facilities for raising large volumes of quality seedlings were established. Both direct seeding and seedling transplantation approaches along with seed enabling technologies are being tested to maximize revegetation success, which is being assessed through long-term ecological monitoring. This program represents one of the world’s largest dryland restoration efforts of its type. When successfully implemented, the lessons learned from Kuwait’s efforts will undoubtedly contribute significantly to the state-of-the-art knowledge on revegetation under arid climatic conditions. The presentation will cover the findings of several years of ecological restoration efforts in Kuwait.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Rethinking wetland restoration by considering natural dynamics: Evidence from the Krom River unchannelled valley-bottom wetland, Eastern Cape
Abstract:Wetland restoration in the global and South African contexts traditionally considers the hydrological regime as the primary driver of physio-chemical processes that influence wetland ecosystem structure and function. However, in a dryland situation such as South Africa that is dominated by weathering over timescales of tens of millions of years and erosion processes as a consequence of sub-continental uplift over the last 30 million years, geomorphological processes governed by flowing water play a key but largely unrecognised role in shaping the landscape to host wetlands, fundamentally influencing wetland structure and function. As such, the geomorphic work of flowing water and its benefits for wetland formation and maintenance has not before been incorporated into wetland restoration efforts. The Krom River wetland highlights the range of processes in an erosional landscape that contribute to creating a landform well suited to host wetlands. Erosion events happen at intervals of hundreds of years, which leads to both longitudinal slope reduction and valley widening. Erosion is associated with deposition of a gully-fan at the toe of the gully, which happens over timescales of years to decades. It is proposed that this variation in hydrodynamic and geomorphic processes, operating over different time scales, have contributed to the limited success of the large-scale engineering structures that have been put in place as part of wetland restoration activities in the area. It is argued that restoration activities need to incorporate hydrodynamic and geomorphic processes that work with, rather than in opposition to, the natural dynamics of the system.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Identifying ecological threshold breaches in wetlands: Development of a framework to improve wetland prioritisation and restoration in South Africa
Abstract:Thresholds in ecology refer to a point where even a small change in conditions can lead to a shift in an ecosystem to an alternative ecological state. Once a threshold has been crossed, an ecosystem may not easily return to its pre-threshold state and, as a consequence, this may result in a change in composition, structure, and functionality. When assessing a wetland ecosystem for the purposes of planning restoration it is essential to develop an understanding of ecological thresholds and the resilience of the system in its present state. If basic processes such as hydrology, geomorphology, and vegetation community dynamics are highly altered, it may be prohibitively expensive or even impossible to restore the system. In contrast, a less degraded system that has yet to breach a threshold may be a better candidate given that it has better restoration potential. We present an overview of the development of an assessment framework and indicators that can be used to identify thresholds in degraded wetlands and assess their significance to the restoration potential of the wetland. The framework considers thresholds of change in relation to three important components of wetlands, namely hydrology, geomorphology, and vegetation community dynamics and provides a set of field-based indicators that can be used to identify thresholds.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
What existing wetland classification systems do not tell us: Implications for restoring wetlands in drylands and a proposal for a genetic geomorphic classification system
Abstract:Due to climatic constraints in dryland regions, wetlands usually occur at confluences of flow paths, whether from surface flow, inter-flow, or occasionally at locations of groundwater discharge. Long-term landscape processes that shape valleys and focus the movement of water and sediment are accountable for providing a suitable template with which hydrology interacts to allow wetland formation. Understanding the temporal and spatial scales of these dynamics, as well as the drivers behind them, is key to successful wetland management and rehabilitation. Existing wetland hydrogeomorphic classification systems focus on hydrology, which is an outcome of interactions of geomorphology and climate. These systems typically neglect the role of sediment accumulation in maintaining wetlands in drylands, or potentially shifting the system from one of aggradation to one of erosion by crossing slope thresholds. A classification system is proposed that focuses on mode of wetland formation and is based on the understanding that genetic processes impact on the outcome hydrology, sedimentology, geomorphology, ecosystem service provision, and long-term dynamics of wetlands in drylands. The classification aims to impart understanding of dynamic processes of sediment transport in wetlands, such that restoration plans can be sensitive to long-term landscape processes. The classification system, developed primarily for wetlands in southern Africa, has four wetland macrotypes based on sediment source (colluvial, alluvial, aeolian and geochemical), which may be subdivided into 8 wetland types based on landscape location, shape and the occurrence of geomorphic characteristics indicative of process (hillslope seep, floodplain, valley-bottom, plain, blocked-valley, alluvial fan, aeolian depression and geochemical depression).
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Disciplinary perspectives on timescales of ecosystem formation, degradation, and recovery in wetlands in drylands: What is the natural reference state?
Abstract:One of the defining characteristics of southern African wetlands is the limited to non-existent imprint of recent Quaternary glaciation, such that these systems have much longer morphodynamic histories than those in cool-humid regions. This complicates the definition and assessment of a wetland present ecological state (PES), which serves as a measure of ecosystem degradation relative to some definition of the natural reference conditions. It is argued here that the underlying assumptions inherent in defining natural reference conditions and assessing PES differ by discipline, primarily due to differences in the appreciation and conceptualisation of time. The introduction of deeper-time concepts into an assessment of PES may be viewed as an inconvenience for assessors of ecosystem components that measure controls over short timescales (e.g. hydrology, physico-chemistry), but it is sacrosanct to geomorphologists. For geomorphology, more so than for any other component, the evaluation of natural reference conditions is complicated by the dimensionality of geomorphic investigation (a nested hierarchy of 3D space and time); geomorphologists are compelled to recognise that their subject of study is a product of both the recent and long-distant (geological) past. As such, the PES cannot be evaluated apart from this context. This paper presents a meta-analysis of timescales and rates of wetland morphological change extracted from a large body of literature on southern African wetlands to interrogate the idea of a natural reference state, and to provide a framework through which the value of such context may be better demonstrated to multi-disciplinary teams working on wetland restoration activities.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Alien tree invasions, fire, and restoration in the Cape Floristic Region (CFR)
Abstract:The CFR is dominated by fire-adapted fynbos shrublands. Invasive alien trees cause major fynbos degradation, and fire is recognized as an important restoration tool. Serotinous invaders (Pinus, Hakea) can be managed using “Fell & Burn”: felling releases seeds after which seeds and seedlings are killed by fire. An alternative for serotinous species is short rotation burning, but this risks eliminating native serotinous species. More challenging are long-lived, soil-stored invader seed banks, a feature of Acacia: in dense or long-term infestations fire stimulates germination, resulting in extremely dense recruitment which overwhelms recruiting native flora, and is difficult and prohibitively expensive to control. Postponing fire may simply delay the problem, but granivory can reduce invader seed banks after clearing. At lightly invaded sites, or in subsequent follow-ups of denser invasions, clearing must be integrated with fires – whether planned or accidental – to prevent invaders outcompeting the local flora. Fire successfully suppresses germination of secondary invaders, such as weedy annual grasses, that otherwise benefit from Acacia’s legacy of increased soil nitrogen. Indigenous grasses also benefit from nitrogen and may suppress recruitment of other species, creating an undesirable alternative state dominated by herbaceous species. Post-fire timing of fynbos re-introduction is critical as exposure to wind and sun may kill seedlings where resprouter species have been lost. Sowing of fast-growing forbs and shrubs may partially counter this. Management authorities remain reluctant to burn and prescribed fires are generally cool fires that are more easily managed and seldom the intense, summer fires ideal for restoration.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Landscape change or climatic extremes? Analyzing the main drivers of megafires and the barriers to ecological restoration in the Chilean Mediterranean-climate region
Abstract:Chile differs from other Mediterranean-climate regions because fire has not been a major factor shaping vegetation composition and structure for most of the Holocene. Since 1990, a clear pattern of increasing human-ignited fires poses a major threat to conservation, ecosystem services, and human lives and property. In Chile, megafires devastated nearly a million hectares of agroforestry lands and native vegetation and affected thousands of people between 2017 and 2019. In contemporary Chile, catastrophic fires are strongly linked to: (1) the vicinity of roads and the expansion of the urban-rural interface, (2) the massive expansion of forest production systems based on plantation of highly flammable species (mainly Pinus and Eucalyptus spp.), and (3) climate warming and recent regional droughts. In response to synergies between fire and grazing, vegetation in central Chile is shifting from originally-continuous closed canopies to a mosaic of shrub patches and forestry plantations over a fire-prone ephemeral herbaceous cover that is dominated by non-native species. Recovery and restoration of biodiversity in Chile under this scenario will be complex, as we are dealing with a system going through a critical transition. Reduction of fire risk will depend on our ability to manage the landscape away from the fire-prone condition. While other Mediterranean ecosystems with a long history of fire have ecological legacies and plant traits that favor or speed up recovery, ecosystems in central Chile will likely become dominated by fire-resistant species that prevent recolonization by the original native vegetation.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Connecting fire and ecosystem restoration in California shrublands and forests: New tools and strategies
Abstract:California wildlands are dominated by ecosystems adapted to two fundamentally different fire regimes. Before Euroamerican settlement (EAS), most widespread shrubland ecosystems were characterized by relatively infrequent but severe wildfires that removed much aboveground biomass. Uniquely among the Mediterranean Climate Regions, most forest in California is dominated by conifers ill-adapted to high severity fire, and the pre-EAS fire regime was characterized by frequent, mostly low-severity fire. In both ecosystems, recent wildfires have trended larger and more destructive to human life and property but causes and ecological effects of the megafire trend differ in the two systems. In California conifer forests, fire suppression has greatly reduced fire occurrence, leading to increases in forest density and continuity and – in interaction with climate warming –increases in fire size and severity. In chaparral and related ecosystems, high numbers of human ignitions, invasion by annual grasses, and drought-induced mortality have interacted to increase fire frequency to the point that the sustainability of woody vegetation is threatened. In California, management of fire and “green” vegetation is inextricably linked to restoration and management of “black” vegetation after fire. We describe ecosystem management initiatives that seek to ensure the success and sustainability of fire and ecosystem restoration efforts in these two contrasting ecosystems. We focus on the importance of “ecological forestry”, ecologically-informed fire management, and flexible post-fire restoration strategies that center on long-term and broad-scale outcomes, and we describe a set of new tools that permit rapid identification of restoration priorities in both shrubland and forest ecosystems.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Secondary invasion: The need for a proper river restoration management plan
Abstract:Effective ecological restoration following alien plant removal requires detailed monitoring to determine the success achieved through different interventions. However, unintended secondary invasion by alien plants may occur, thus affecting the native species recovery trajectory. Between 2011 and 2017, vegetation recovery was monitored on riparian sites along the Berg River in the Western Cape, South Africa, that were cleared of Eucalyptus camaldulensis in 2010 using two clearing methods (fell-and-stackburn and fell-and-remove) and two restoration approaches: passive and active. In 2011, significant increase in vegetation cover (P < 0.001) and diversity (P < 0.05) of secondary invaders, mostly alien grasses and herbs was recorded in both passive and active restoration sites. Although native vegetation cover and diversity increased six years later, the increase in the cover of woody invasive alien plants was observed. Only four of the nine native species that were planted to fast-track restoration were still present, but the abundance of these native species was significantly (P < 0.001) lower in 2017 than in 2011. The study concludes that although native vegetation recovery following E. camaldulensis removal is following a positive recovery trajectory, the reinvasion by secondary invaders has the potential to slow down and halt the recovery process. Management interventions that prioritizes removal of secondary invaders are required. Such interventions may include removal of reinvading invasive alien plants during follow-up monitoring, seeding fast growing native species that can out compete secondary invaders, and soil nutrient manipulation soon after clearing to reduce growth of secondary invaders.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Anticipating secondary invasions: Cautionary tales for ecosystem restoration
Abstract:Invasive plants are often removed without plans for follow-up management, be it further clearing or active restoration. However, most ecosystems have multiple rather than single plant invaders, which can lead to one species taking over after another is removed. There is a need for general principles regarding invader interactions across varying environmental conditions, so that secondary invasions can be predicted, and managers can allocate resources towards pre-treatment or post-removal actions. By reviewing removal experiments conducted in three Hawaiian ecosystems, we evaluate the roles of environmental harshness, priority effects, productivity potential, and species interactions in influencing secondary invasions. We generate a conceptual model with a “surprise index” to describe whether long-term plant invader composition and dominance is predictable versus stochastic after a system perturbation. Under extremely low resource availability, the surprise index is low, while under intermediate-level resource environments, invader dominance is more stochastic, and the surprise index is high. At high resource levels, the surprise index is intermediate: invaders are likely abundant in the environment, but their response to a perturbation is more predictable than at intermediate resource levels. We suggest further testing across environmental gradients to determine key variables that dictate the predictability of post-removal, invader composition.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Interactions between fire and ecological restoration in southwest Australia
Abstract:Although an important natural process in SW Australia’s terrestrial ecosystems, fire interacts with ecological restoration in diverse ways. Fire, per se, is rarely considered to cause degradation requiring restoration, however, ‘changed fire regime’ (often poorly defined) is a listed threat in many conservation-listed ecosystems. Restoration-focussed fire management and post-fire restoration activities occur but are limited. Reference ecosystems themselves are often managed to reduce fire risk, and restoration may create perceived and actual, fire risk – to restoration and/or its neighbours – and consideration for fuel management. Vegetation parameters have similar trajectories in recovery after fire and restoration establishment. Post-fire features (e.g. ephemeral species) provide functions and benefits, but restoration targets are often based on mature-phase ecosystems. Can awareness of post-fire establishment processes and trajectories enable smarter restoration objectives and more timely interventions? As many plants flower and/or recruit seedlings largely or solely after fire, vegetation structure and composition are limited by initial establishment until subsequent disturbance occurs. Can we assess long-term persistence and sustainability of restoration without fire? Should we implement fire to encourage it? Resilience, another critical restoration objective, cannot be directly assessed unless an impact occurs. Can we define and assess resilience in relation to fire? And at what age do restored ecosystems achieve resilience? Fire ecology can assist with restoration techniques. Advances in fire-related seed biology have improved plant establishment rates, while treatment of topsoil donor sites with fire may also improve transfer effectiveness. Examples from research and practice are provided to illustrate each of these points.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Secondary invasion after clearing invasive Acacia saligna in the South African fynbos
Abstract:It is often assumed that clearing invasive alien species will lead to the dissipation of their negative impacts and recovery of native biodiversity. However, this is often not the case because clearing of primary invasive alien species can lead to secondary invasion by non-target species. We investigated the effects of vegetation type and application of fire during management of biomass after clearing invasive acacias on secondary invasion in the South African fynbos. Furthermore, we determined how these effects change with years after clearing. We sampled vegetation in lowland and mountain fynbos cleared of Acacia saligna using the “fell, stack and burn” method. During burning of the stacked slash, the area at the centre of the stack experiences a high severity fire while the area at the edge experiences a low severity fire. After fire, burn scars remain in place of the stacked slash. We sampled in and outside of 80 burn scars over three years after clearing. We identified 32 secondary invader species. Secondary invader cover was lower where there were no fires compared to where there were high severity fires (27%) and low severity fires (30%). Three years after clearing, secondary invader richness and cover remained similar to or higher than in the first year, while secondary invader richness was similar between lowland and mountain fynbos. We conclude that practicing restoration ecologists have to manage these species to ensure successful restoration of native biodiversity.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Dynamics and management of invasions, re-invasions, and secondary invasions in Great Salt Lake wetlands
Abstract:Wetlands are highly prone to invasions but even after extensive management, they often experience re-invasions and secondary invasions. What are the best approaches to manage invasions, re-invasions, and secondary invasions? We address these questions in Great Salt Lake wetlands, the most important wetlands in the Intermountain West of the U.S., which have been invaded by the non-native grass Phragmites australis. In a field experiment at two Phragmites patch scales (0.2 and 1.2 ha), we investigated the response of Phragmites, secondary invaders, and native plants to various herbicide treatments. We found that Phragmites cover was greatly reduced overall with herbicide, but there was some Phragmites reinvasion, particularly at the large patch scale, relative to the lowest Phragmites covers reached in the first two years post-herbicide application. At both patch scales over the five years, as the cover of native emergent plants increased, the cover of Phragmites decreased substantially. We saw a similar relationship with Phragmites cover declining over time as a secondary invader, Typha, increased in cover. These findings highlight the importance of native plant communities for minimizing reinvasions. Thus, in two outdoor mesocosm experiments, we looked at competitive dynamics between Phragmites and native emergent plants. We identified which species (Schoenoplectus acutus) and which native seeding rates (2, 3, and 5x the standard restoration seeding rate in the region) were most effective at limiting Phragmites invasion. Taken together, these studies highlight how invasions, re-invasions, and secondary invasions can be managed more effectively in wetlands through native plant biotic resistance.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Secondary invasion: The bane of weed management – identifying and overcoming the gap
Abstract:Exotic plant invasions present a global threat to natural ecosystems, yet successfully mitigating this threat remains a challenge. An implicit assumption in weed management has been that killing target invasive weeds addresses this problem. However, studies increasingly demonstrate that a common response to killing a dominant target weed is secondary invasion – an increase in abundance of non-target exotics following target invader suppression. We present results from a global literature review and meta-analysis quantifying the magnitude of the secondary invasion problem and identifying possible causes. Of 168 studies examining the efficacy of exotic plant management in terrestrial habitats, only 29% quantified community responses sufficiently to evaluate secondary invasion. Meta-analysis of 60 cases from 38 studies showed that control efforts strongly reduced target invader abundance overall, but the system responses tended toward increases in secondary invaders more than native plants. Importantly, 89% of the secondary invaders identified were classified as noxious or invasive plants. Available information suggests that control method may sometimes favor secondary invasion due to side effects of management tools, such as when the use of broadleaf herbicides to target invasive forbs facilitates invasive grasses. However, secondary invasion is most strongly linked to reductions in the target invader’s abundance, suggesting that other invaders simply outcompete native plants in recolonizing following target weed suppression. These results demonstrate that we are becoming more effective at controlling target invaders. However, suppressing a dominant invader does not necessarily restore plant communities. We discuss current strategies for mitigating secondary invasion and future research needs.
Resource Type:Audio/Video, Conference Presentation, SER2019Publication Date: 2019
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program