Resource Database

Transitioning from carbon offset to optimised biodiversity: The Buffelsdraai Reforestation Project

EThekwini Municipality, (Durban, South Africa), embarked on a Community Reforestation project at its Buffelsdraai Landfill site in 2009. At that time, the intention was to offset ex-ante 42 000 tons CO2 equivalent over a 25-year period through tree planting. The project was catalysed through Durban’s hosting of several 2010 FIFA World Cup™ soccer matches and the opportunity to deliver a carbon neutral event. The project transitioned from early targets (set in 2009) that focussed on planting of easy-to-access, fast-growing local tree species, to a new focus on climate change adaptation and socio-economic development through optimising on-sight biodiversity. In 2015, a decision to increase floral species richness and diversity was initiated. This was achieved through targeted propagation and planting of selected species, following comparisons made with a reference site, namely Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve. Propagation of desired species was achieved through training community members to find and grow plants on the new ‘target list’. On-site propagation of some ‘difficult-to-grow’ species was also done. Active shaping of species richness and diversity targets helped ensure closer alignment between the newly restored forest and the reference ecosystem. The timing also allowed for successful introduction of understory plants, which have thrived under established trees that were planted early on. High on-site plant biodiversity is expected to bolster the diversity of faunal species, improve storm water attenuation and filtration, and reduce soil erosion. The propagation skills gained by local people ensure long-term business opportunity benefits and an appreciation for local biodiversity.

Building community resilience to climate change impacts through watershed restoration in Alebtong District, Northern Uganda

Uganda is a landlocked nation in East Africa where over 80% of the population depends on rainfed agriculture, which is affected by climate change (MEMD 2017/2021). The Alebtong district, located in Northern Uganda, experiences prolonged dry spells and erratic rainfall, which distorts the crop calendar and drives communities to reclaim watersheds for crop production. This is a maladaptation strategy to climate change impact because watersheds in the form of seasonal or permanent wetlands are crucial for ground water recharge, water purification, water storage, rainfall formation, climate modulation, and flood control. Through implementation of the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund III (NUSAF III), provided by World Bank and the Office of the prime Minister, Alebtong District is building community resilience towards climate change impact through watershed restoration. The fund is given directly to community groups who are guided by technical staff to invest in and implement projects such as:  (1) nursery bed establishment (exotic and indigenous tree species), (2) institutional and roadside greening with seedlings purchased from nursery bed projects, (3) pond fish farming, (4) cage fish farming, (5) ox-traction and crop production and, (6) community access road construction in flood prone areas. Environment and social management plans are developed for all projects to prevent or minimize environmental impacts. Projects have also helped to resolve underlying tensions that would ordinarily emanate from the fact that wetlands are a common property resource. Currently, pond fish farming generates approximately 4,131 US Dollars income per annum for each of the ten fish farming groups.

Unpacking Ecosystem-based Adaptation in the Western Cape in the context of existing nature-based projects and programmes

Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) advocates that well-functioning ecosystems are critical for building resilience and supporting society’s adaptation to the adverse impacts of climate change.  Ecological/green (as opposed to built) infrastructure can help mitigate the effects of climate extremes, while many ecosystem services are important in supporting adaptation to new risks. The National Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries in South Africa has taken the decision to mainstream EbA into its climate response actions, developing a strategy and set of guidelines to steer implementation. However, there has been little work to grasp different actors’ perspectives and understandings of EbA, its implementation, and how to link it to existing related projects and programs that focus on natural resource management and ecological restoration. This research presents findings from a study in the Western Cape that sought to unpack what EbA means ‘on the ground’ and how it can be actioned. In-depth interviews were conducted with 19 government officials. Some initial findings suggest that: 1)  there is still uncertainty as to what EbA is and how to engage with it;  is it a concept, framework or a set of guidelines to apply to current work, or does it require something new?; 2) there are concerns related to what successful EbA is and what this means for repurposing existing projects and for monitoring and evaluation; and 3) multiple barriers to EbA implementation exist, with one frequently mentioned example being the difficulties in collaborating across sectors and ensuring communication and coordination between relevant actors.

Genomics and gene editing innovations in restoration

Genomic analysis has facilitated new research opportunities, particularly in identification of signals of adaptation to climate. Studies in many species are identifying signals of adaptation across climate gradients that provide an evidence base for the use of climate adaptation strategies such as climate-adjusted provenancing to maximise the resilience of restoration plantings to future climates. Applications of genomics are becoming more prevalent in restoration, paving the way for more advanced innovations. Gene editing is revolutionising many fields and has potential for future applications in restoration.  CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing enables production of novel genotypes with desirable traits and gene drives can then spread these genes through populations. To date, considerations in conservation have mainly focused on application of gene drives to control disease vectors and exotic pest species. In plants gene editing is being used in breeding, and in restoration could be used to generate new genotypes suited to challenging, novel environments, whilst retaining existing desirable traits and a local genetic background and may be applicable to large scale control of exotic weeds prior to restoration of native ecosystems. These applications require significant knowledge of particular genes and desired traits. Considered evaluation of gene editing for invasive species control or restoration of challenging environments will require scientific discussion, community acceptance and establishment of regulatory control mechanisms based on risk assessment frameworks. While field-based applications of gene editing and gene drives are some years away, it is imperative that scientists contribute to informed discussion of these innovations.

Working with the mine rehabilitation industry to develop large-scale seed enhancement technologies and restoration solutions

Depending on the level of impact and degree of active intervention, degraded ecosystems may recover to pre-disturbance conditions by achieving representative levels of species diversity, structure, and cover metrics. However, sites that have experienced longer-term, higher-impact disturbances, such as mined lands, may not be able to return to their pre-disturbance state without significant economic, biological, and technological inputs. Achieving successful plant establishment for a wide range of species requires the development of techniques to overcome various biotic, abiotic, and dispersal filters. Seed enhancement technologies that include precision flash flaming, hydro- and osmo-priming, polymer-based seed coating, and extruded seed pelleting are one approach that has gained recent attention in dryland restoration. For instance, combined with optimised dormancy break treatments, hydro-priming and applying a polymer seed coat to seeds of Triodia pungens (dominant Australian desert grass) increased seedling emergence to ca. 35-40%. This represents a 4-fold increase in global seedling recruitment averages. To apply seed enhancement technologies at scale, however, we are faced with the difficulty of transferring these findings to large-scale operations. It is with this complexity that we introduce and discuss several knowledge gaps and emerging biological, technological, and precision-engineering solutions that have been developed between a diverse team of researchers to increase the overall species pool available for use in restoration programs. We use examples from seed-based dryland research in Australia and the United States of America. This evidence-base represents a solid example for how multi-disciplinary rehabilitation programs can offer (seed- and engineering-based) solutions to the global restoration challenge.

Social-ecological catchments for prioritizing restoration efforts

Ecological restoration efforts occur within coupled social-ecological systems, and therefore these efforts must consider human behavior to be effective. The allocation and distribution of limited resources to restore social-ecological systems involves trade-offs among potential actions and associated outcomes. What habitats should be prioritized to optimize our efforts and how will these actions influence human behavior?  Recreation-based systems, like inland fisheries in the USA, offer a unique opportunity to explore how anglers respond to habitat restoration efforts on aging and degraded reservoirs. Anglers and the waterbodies they use are patchily distributed across the landscape; tracking and understanding how these non-uniform spatial distributions concomitantly respond to restoration efforts is difficult. To address this challenge, we constructed waterbody-specific, social-ecological catchments that represent the spatio-temporal draw of anglers to a waterbody. Social-ecological catchments were developed from U.S. Postal Service Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) information collected from anglers who were fishing at a waterbody; these angler distributions were mapped using kernel density estimation techniques. We highlight how ecological restoration efforts could benefit by considering landscape context (i.e., waterbody rich vs. waterbody poor, urban vs. rural), heterogeneity of angler types, and reservoir age or degradation status. We discuss how social-ecological catchments could provide a powerful and practical tool for managers to visualize and quantify changes in social-ecological dynamics on the landscape.

Understanding abiotic and biotic drivers of plant establishment processes to anticipate future ecological resilience

Global climate change is expected to decrease the resilience of many ecosystems, reducing their ability to recover to prior states following disturbance. Direct effects may include increasingly unsuitable conditions for post-disturbance recruitment and survival, which will have significant effects on restoration success. These effects can be largely inferred based on differential species establishment across climatic gradients. However, primary effects of climate shifts will be not only on the underlying abiotic environment, but also on disturbance regimes, species invasions, and species interactions, including both competition and facilitation. Anticipating these impacts requires a mechanistic understanding of the processes underlying plant community dynamics. Here, we provide the conceptual basis for evaluating these effects. We provide a case study from semiarid woodlands of the western USA, where warmer temperatures coupled with annual grass invasions are increasing the frequency and extent of wildfires. Post-fire woodland recovery requires successful tree regeneration, but seedling establishment is largely limited to favorable under-shrub microsites that modify the harsh abiotic environment. Nurse shrub recovery is expected to be diminished by warming and annual grass invasions in some portions of the landscape, decreasing the availability of favorable microsites for tree regeneration, even where climatic conditions are generally suitable. A process-based understanding of how biotic interactions and multi-species responses to disturbance vary across the landscape can be used to assess ecological resilience and anticipate ecosystem responses to future environmental change to both prioritize restoration efforts and determine the most effective strategies.

Restoration for resilience

Landscapes change over time in response to multiple interacting drivers, including climate, disturbance, and land-use, which all leave a lasting legacy on ecosystem structure and function. In this review I explore the utilisation of long-term data in restoration ecology, under two main themes: 1)   Our perceptions of landscape change are influenced by the timescales of observation. The same change in vegetation cover may elicit different restoration responses, depending on the history of the landscape. Therefore, long-term data is essential to contextualise recent changes and plan appropriate restoration responses. 2)   As the dynamic nature of ecosystems is increasingly recognised, there is an accompanying paradigm shift in the ecological restoration community to move from strategies that promote restoration to a prior condition to restoration of process and function. Furthermore, restoring a former ecosystem state may not always be possible or desirable as we approach no analogue conditions, where some ecosystems are showing evidence of new stable states outside of the historic range of variability. Rather than recreating prior reference conditions, in these cases, restoration may focus on restoring ecological processes that support resilience, specifically resistance, recovery, and re-organisation. Long-term data can assist in understanding these processes that form a sound basis for the restoration of resilience. For these reasons, there is a natural synergy between restoration ecology, long-term ecology and palaeoecology that warrants further exploration and the development of new collaborations.

Using ecological resilience concepts to prioritize restoration efforts and determine effective strategies

In an era of rapid global change, it is increasingly important to target restoration efforts where they are most likely to have ecological and socio-economic benefits and to use strategies that optimize success. Application of ecological resilience concepts provides the basis for locating and implementing restoration actions to enhance the ability of ecosystems to cope with stressors and disturbances over time. Scaling up to the landscape provides the necessary perspective of how ecosystem attributes and processes interact with landscape characteristics to influence the capacity of ecosystems to support resources and habitats and effects of disturbances. Here, we discuss developing an understanding of how resilience differs across landscapes to create resilience-based frameworks and decision-tools to inform restoration policies, goals, and actions. Knowledge of general resilience, the broad ability of ecosystems to maintain fundamental processes and functioning following disturbances, can be used to assess relative ecosystem recovery potentials and risks of crossing critical thresholds. Information on spatial resilience, or how spatial attributes, processes, and feedbacks vary over space and time in response to disturbances to affect resilience, provides the basis for evaluating spatial constraints on ecosystem recovery and resource and habitat availability to support biodiversity. Coupling information on general and spatial resilience, the predominant disturbances, and capacity to support resources and habitats provides the basis for prioritizing management actions and determining effective strategies. Spatially explicit approaches and decision matrices allow managers to quantify and visualize differences in resilience in relation to focal resources and predominant disturbances and to make informed restoration decisions.

Are the ‘building blocks’ of South Africa’s wetland restoration working? A focus on the integrity and functioning of structural interventions

While it is recognised that the metric of success for wetland restoration is derived from multiple components, within a South African context two aspects are considered critical, namely: 1) integrity and functioning of structural interventions, and 2) land user engagement and aftercare. The importance of structural interventions towards achieving wetland restoration success suggests that these ‘building blocks’ be carefully considered and monitored using a reliable tool. Existing tools for assessing the success of wetland restoration applied at various sites across South Africa were found to be lacking in terms of guidance and consideration of different intervention types.  Through Water Research Commission funding, an updated check sheet was developed in collaboration with the Working for Wetlands programme. This check sheet was applied at multiple sites to evaluate the integrity and function (towards meeting predefined objectives) of structural interventions. Through these evaluations, trends were identified relating to the integrity of different types of interventions and their success within different wetland hydro-geomorphic settings. The study found that concrete and gabion structures were most often adopted as interventions across the study sites with concrete generally requiring less maintenance than other intervention types. With the adoption of earthen structures, a review of land use was identified as being critical to understand whether livestock trampling will pose a threat. Recurring issues affecting the structural integrity of the different types of interventions were identified. These have been highlighted and fed back into the planning and implementation process to improve future wetland restoration efforts.

Alignment of biodiversity and ecosystem service benefits under Forest and Landscape Restoration

The success of Forest and Landscape Restoration (FLR), the world’s guiding framework for the restoration of forest ecosystems, demands multiple co-benefits. This task is particularly pressing for biodiversity conservation, which often is side-lined by ecosystem services in FLR’s agenda-setting and fails to benefit when tree plantations are deemed sufficient for FLR goals. The key to enabling multiple co-benefits under FLR lies in understanding their synergies and trade-offs with each other, but such knowledge has been severely limited by the narrow focus on the biodiversity-carbon co-benefit and their geographical overlap, leaving out the major ecosystem services of soil erosion control and water provisioning that are also major FLR motivations worldwide, and failing to inform what tree covers FLR should restore. Focusing on biodiversity, carbon storage, soil erosion control, and water provisioning, we conducted a global meta-analysis to address these knowledge gaps by asking: of the tree covers FLR can restore, which ones deliver more desirable performances when considering all four environmental outcomes, and does the same answer hold across the world’s forest biomes? We found that native forests had clear advantages over tree plantations as the target of restoration, and that these advantages aligned among all four environmental outcomes. Moreover, the additional benefits of restoring native forests, instead of monoculture plantations, are higher for regions closer to the tropics. For FLR, these findings make a strong environmental case for restoring native forests for the world’s biomes but particularly for regions closer to the tropics.

Restoration in freshwater ecosystems – taking climate change into account

Humans are dominant bioengineers that dictate the form, function, goods, and services of freshwater resources across the globe. Freshwater systems are also among the most highly impacted ecosystems globally. Humanity uses over 50% of all accessible freshwater runoff and species diversity losses in freshwaters are greater than for terrestrial or marine systems. This is a resource that is globally rare (i.e. <1% of earth’s surface). Climate change will interact with current stressors, further disrupting freshwater ecosystems and the goods and services they provide. However, climate change means more variability, which will occur unpredictably. Its interaction with current stressors is locally unpredictable, and the ecosystems and species themselves show large variation in capacity to cope with or adapt to this stress. Providing ecosystems the best chance to adapt should be the best strategy to ensure freshwater goods and services. This means conservation and connectivity in pristine areas but focusing management on current and past stressors (i.e. eutrophication, acidification, connectivity, flow regime) in impacted areas. At a national level, we categorized and mapped water types according to their sensitivity and likely exposure to climate change, degree of present impact, current protection, and location. The results systematize water types and their threats in order to focus management actions and restoration at local and regional scales. Part of this management is accepting that change will occur and forming realistic restoration goals under a changing climate.

Wetland restoration policies in the European Union

We present an overview of the trend and current status of wetland ecosystems in the EU. In the context of the current pressures/threats and future prospects, the policies for wetland restoration in the European Union are discussed. Some main challenges for the scientific community will be highlighted.

A multi-criteria analysis approach to strategic planning for wetland rehabilitation in South Africa – progress and pitfalls

The South African Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries is home to the Working for Wetlands Programme, a national wetland restoration initiative. The recently identified strategic framework for the WfWet programme has underlined the need for a more refined planning process with catchment-scale planning. Catchment-scale planning seeks to promote ecosystem-scale outcomes, long-term custodianship, and embedding of rehabilitation in broader local institutions and frameworks. The WfWet strategic planning framework aims to provide a platform for development and strengthening of partnerships with landowners, other institutions, organisations and individuals. The main vehicle for the strategic planning process is the Provincial Strategic Plan, which is developed on a 5-year cycle. The Strategic Plans are data-driven, with stakeholder involvement, and followed a multi-criteria analysis approach. In order to provide the Provinces with sufficient data to present priority catchments for wetland restoration to their stakeholders, the authors were tasked with developing prioritisation criteria, and sourcing the datasets required to score these criteria. The planning unit used for the prioritisation of catchments was the quinary or sub-quaternary catchment.  A number of datasets were consulted in order to attribute characteristics to each quinary that relate to three categories of prioritisation criteria:

• Rehabilitation potential: soil erodibility and wetland condition;
• Wetland importance: biodiversity, wetland ecosystem services, and socio- economic vulnerability;
• Partnerships

These characteristics were scored, weighted, and summed for each catchment, and the catchments ranked.  The author will present the method used, and results for two very different Provinces in South Africa, the Western Cape, and the Northern Cape.

Assessing the structural integrity and functionality of wetland restoration interventions: A case from Working for Wetlands, South Africa

Globally, restoration outcomes are seldom assessed. In South Africa, wetland restoration is a relatively new field of practice and requires monitoring and evaluation to: (1) detect intervention maintenance requirements before loss of intervention integrity is too far advanced; (2) identify further interventions and/or modifications that may be required to enhance the functionality of interventions; and (3) learn from the outcomes of restoration interventions in order to improve overall practice. A checksheet tool for assessing integrity and functionality of a variety of restoration intervention types was developed in collaboration with the Working for Wetlands Programme and is now actively applied as part of routine monitoring and evaluation. In order to demonstrate the application of the tool and how the results are being interpreted and used by the programme, two wetlands in contrasting land-use contexts are presented. The assessment showed that in certain portions of the wetlands the integrity of the interventions, mainly weirs in the channel and furrows, was good and functioning effectively to re-wet adjacent wetland areas. However, in the first wetland, in a conservation area, structures were compromised due to hydraulic pressures as a result of high sediment loads upstream of structures and undercutting downstream. In certain areas of the second wetland, located in communal grazing land, the functionality of the interventions was poor, notably where flows were bypassing the interventions amongst other reasons, due to tampering. These evaluations highlighted key locations in the two wetlands where maintenance needs were high.

Ecological opportunities and constraints for wetland restoration for water quality enhancement

It is internationally recognised that a number of wetland ecosystem services contribute to improving water quality, namely: nitrate, phosphate, and toxicant assimilation; sediment trapping, and erosion control. Although the South African Working for Wetlands Programme, whose objective is to protect wetlands, promotes wise-use and restoration of degraded wetlands, has made significant strides in restoring degraded wetlands nationally, a large portion of the South Africa’s water resources remain in poor condition. In order to assist Working for Wetlands and other restoration initiatives, a set of published guidelines were developed to aid in selecting restoration sites, assessing wetland condition and functionality, and evaluating restoration interventions. These include the WET-Prioritise, WET-Health, WET-EcoServices and WET-RehabEvaluate, respectively. This presentation aims to draw from case studies on how an outcomes-based approach, which includes an assessment of opportunities and constraints of wetland features for restoration, can add value and strengthen the existing abovementioned guidelines with regard to the improvement of water quality-related ecosystem services. The assessment of the ecological constraints and opportunities of key wetland features includes, but is not limited to: condition, land cover, potential to increase contact time, source of water inputs, wetland attributes, wetland context, and wetland area to be enhanced. These features, which are associated with the wetland’s capability to contribute towards improving water quality, can inform the selection of wetland restoration sites, which specifically contribute towards improved water quality, prioritising restoration interventions within a subset of restoration sites as well as contributing to the evaluation of wetlands post-implementation of restoration interventions.

Using landscape function analysis as a mine rehabilitation monitoring tool in South Africa

In Africa, mine site rehabilitation is largely still considered an event rather than a process. The ‘event’ is assessed, post-disturbance, either on purely geotechnical merits or on purely biological development, both of which have substantial shortcomings when considered in isolation. A landscape ecology approach to evaluating rehabilitation development bridges the gap between the two opposing camps. Landscape function analysis (within the framework of ecosystem function analysis) provides a peer-reviewed, rapid method to assess, analyse and report on multivariate indicators that best describe the recovery of an ecosystem after disturbance and subsequent interventions. We have undertaken landscape function assessments on rehabilitating mine sites across the South African climatic sphere for multiple commodities and on a variety of waste landforms. In this symposium presentation we present the fundamentals of landscape ecology, the theoretical basis for landscape function analysis as a monitoring tool, and a series of case studies highlighting the applications and results of monitoring rehabilitated chronosequences over time. Attendees will receive a detailed overview of techniques and will be provided with reference lists, MS Excel spreadsheets, and a field manual.

Rehabilitation of opencast coal mines in the Mpumalanga Highveld, South Africa: Challenges and opportunities

The Mpumalanga Highveld is endowed with high potential, arable land that produces much of the country’s rain-fed maize. Ironically this part of the country is also endowed with rich, shallow coal reserves that can be easily mined by strip-mining methods, causing significant surface disturbance. Mines are typically required to reinstate these areas to resemble as closely as possible the pre-mining land capabilities. This is to ensure continuity of agricultural production and to provide food security into the future. Unfortunately, in the main, this has not been achieved, due to the loss of arable land. The loss of arable land capability is matched by an increase in grazing or wilderness land capability, with the transformation lowering the overall productivity and ecological sustainability of the land. Loss of arable land relates to topographical variation, loss of topsoil through under-stripping ahead of mining, and the undesirable changes in soil texture caused by over-stripping. It also relates to increased compaction caused by the heavy mining equipment for soil stripping and placement activities, especially when soils are too wet. Simple, effective rehabilitation guidelines for strip mines in South Africa have been available for over 30 years, but in many instances these guidelines have not been followed. Proper planning at the project (EIA) phase and execution during the construction and operational phase can significantly reduce loss of high potential arable land. This paper looks at the main causes for mines not meeting their post-mining land capability commitments and recommends approaches to improving rehabilitation success.

Rehabilitation of Tailings Storage Facilities by re-seeding: A review of 10 years of research

Tailings Storage Facilities (TSF) developed after mining operations are characterized by different shapes, sizes, and growth mediums, depending on the ore that is mined and the use of top-soil. TSF are generally rehabilitated by grass species to stabilize the surface (reduce erosion and pollution) and for aesthetic reasons. Research carried out by scientists and post-graduate students at the North-West University in collaboration with AGT Foods over 10 years will be presented. This includes results from the rehabilitation of mainly gold and platinum TSF that have been re-seeded by different coated and non-coated grass seed types as well as natural soil conditions characterized by different clay textures as the control. Data from laboratory, nursery, glasshouse, and field trials in different ameliorated soils will be compared. Results indicate that the soil-, climatic- and other environmental conditions, as well as the slope geometry of the TSF, the amelioration technique, seed type, and the pre-seeding conditions (such as seed traits, storage facilities including temperature and moisture contents, harvesting and coating techniques) will influence the rehabilitation success. It is evident that no single recipe exists and that all attributes have to be considered per specific site before making sound decisions for the rehabilitation of TSF.

Rehabilitation of mine tailings in Southern Africa

Rehabilitation of mine tailings is not necessarily a new science but rather a collection of established technologies and experiences with new approaches and in some cases, it includes new experimental and research results. This presentation discusses a multi-phase rehabilitation approach on the most abundant tailings materials in South Africa by means of case studies and site-specific analytical results. The first and most important objective of tailings rehabilitation is to stabilise the surface to prevent or minimise wind and water erosion. The most appropriate principle is to follow a multi-phase approach and the first is to identify the site-specific attributes which have a major or composite influence on the end product. These are (in alphabetic order):

• Climate
• Geochemistry: dispersiveness, EC, K fixation-deficiency
• Landscape functionality *
• Microbiology: enzyme activity
• Mineralogy: AMD
• Organic carbon: C:N ratio, soil microbiology
• Slope geometry: slope angle and length
• Soil quality and health
• Species selection
• Surface covers: top soil, rock armour, rock cladding, amelioration
• Texture: particle size distribution

The following phase is to prioritize these attributes according to their real time environmental quality in terms of their influence on the long-term functionality of the rehabilitation end product. Thereafter it is up to the rehabilitation scientists to determine the follow-up phases.

Ecological restoration through the management of hyperabundant wildlife: A 10-year review of predation, partnerships, and policies

In Canada’s National Parks, some forest ecosystems are unable to regenerate due to hyperabundant wildlife, such as moose and deer, which consume and damage vegetation. As a result of this damage, habitat for insects, birds, and small mammals declines. Over time, hyperabundant wildlife can cause a cascading loss of species and ecological processes. Since 2008, reducing wildlife population densities through harvest improved the ecological integrity of national parks in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Alberta. Supported by national policies and guidelines, the Parks Canada hyperabundant wildlife management program has also provided opportunities for meaningful partnerships with Indigenous peoples and local communities. Conflicting public values and politics have also presented challenges for these operations. This 10-year review evaluates the policies, engagement, monitoring, and implementation of the hyperabundant wildlife management program in Parks Canada. We found that the strength of the ecological response depended on the longevity and efficacy of the population reduction. Unexpectedly, controversy surrounding the population reductions generally centred around which stakeholder groups were involved in the wildlife management activities, rather than objections to lethal wildlife management in national parks. Key recommendations will be presented including: a) Use Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) designs to control for the effects of natural variability such as weather and insects, and b) When communicating with the public and stakeholders, focus on ecological restoration outcomes rather than on wildlife management.

Developing a conceptual framework for restoring ecological function through rewilding: The Guam case study

Rewilding has emerged as an approach aiming at restoring extirpated functions through the introduction of locally-extinct or analogous species. While most efforts focus on the long-term survival of introduced species, little focus is done on aiming to optimize functional restoration spatially across ecosystems, which is essential for the ecological success of such ambitious projects. We use the island of Guam as an ongoing example of a potential rewilding project, which has seen all its native seed dispersers functionally or completely extirpated by the invasive brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis). The absence of seed dispersers is linked to reductions in species diversity and changes in native forest structure, as well as slowed regeneration of degraded forest. Stakeholders aim at rewilding the island with the Micronesian starling (Aplonis opaca), an effective seed disperser with a remnant population still on the island. Using the case study, we developed the “Spatial planning of rewilding efforts’ (SPORE) framework, combining spatially-explicit ecological models, spatial data, economics, and participatory approaches to identify effective management scenarios for functional restoration. This framework allowed us to identify (i) areas to prioritize for functional restoration to restore the native forests of Guam, (ii) potential costs of controlling the brown treesnake in these areas to allow for the rewilding of the Micronesian starling in regard to all possible management combinations, and (iii) conservation priorities of the different stakeholders and local actors through a participatory approach. By its flexible nature, the Spore framework could successfully be applied in a wide range of systems.

Restoring trophic cascades and the need for baselines and monitoring

As conservationists we aim to conserve representative and functional ecosystems across the world. However, current conservation practices are inadequate as global biodiversity continues to decline drastically. Many species are not covered by our network of protected areas. Protected areas are often too small and/or too isolated to allow for all natural processes to occur such as top-down and bottom-up regulation, movement of species, and natural disturbance. Static boundaries prevent adaptation to long-term change. These ecosystems will not persist and as a result, species continue to decline and go extinct even when protected. Rebuilding complete native food webs through the restoration of trophic interactions and habitat, as envisioned by rewilding and large-scale restoration, is needed to complement conservation. The common goal is self-sustaining and fully functional native ecosystems maintaining high levels of biodiversity. To achieve this, we need an existing reference ecosystem, or a model informed by science and local or traditional knowledge. This is the baseline or endpoint. Having a defined endpoint allows us to assess the progress of recovery, deviations in the trajectory and persistence of the system over time. It also enables us to measure resilience of an ecosystem following disturbance and guide management and active intervention where needed.

Testing multiple substrates for terrestrial biodiversity monitoring using environmental DNA metabarcoding

Biological surveys are challenging, expensive, and time consuming, yet crucial for ecological restoration. Metabarcoding is a developing complementary technology that can enable biological auditing from DNA in the environment and may provide cost-effective monitoring to detect flora, fauna, and microbial communities. Metabarcoding involves the use of next generation sequencing to sequence barcode regions of the genome to determine the community composition of a sample. This study aims to test multiple sample substrates (soil, ant middens, scat, plant material, arthropods in pitfall and vane traps) to determine what organisms can be detected from each and where they overlap. Samples were collected in the Pilbara and Swan Coastal Plain regions of Western Australia and transported to facilities in Perth where the DNA was extracted, amplified, and sequenced targeting multiple gene regions. Results indicated that soil samples, despite showing promise for biological auditing in some climates, yielded little plant or animal DNA, likely because high temperatures and UV radiation in the study areas degraded the DNA. Bulk samples, such as arthropods from traps, and scat samples detected greater diversity. With these findings in mind, scat and arthropod samples were then collected from chronosequences of mining restoration to investigate the use of metabarcoding in restoration monitoring. By sampling chronosequences of restoration we hope to examine whether metabarcoding data can distinguish between reference and restoration sites. We aim to provide a guide for terrestrial metabarcoding sample collection in biological surveys and provide an example of how this method may be applied to restoration monitoring.

Using monitors to monitor mine site restoration: How does Australia’s largest lizard species respond to mine site restoration?

Globally, the increasing rates of mine site discontinuations are resulting in the need for immediate implementation of effective biodiversity and conservation management strategies. Over 60 000 mines across Australia have been identified as discontinued, yet despite restoration being a legislative requirement, the number of these sites confirmed as restored and officially closed is extremely low. Monitoring vegetation structure and condition is a common method of assessing restoration success, however monitoring animal responses is relatively uncommon. Animals are generally assumed to return to pre-disturbance abundances following the return of vegetation (Field of Dreams hypothesis; ‘build it and they will come’). In practice, recovering animal biodiversity and community structure can be some of the most difficult components to achieve and asses following the restoration of degraded sites. Using VHF and GPS tracking, and the T-LoCoH method of home range construction, we assessed the behavioural responses of a sub-adult female perentie (Varanus giganteus) to habitat change and differing thermal environments presented in reference and restoration vegetation at a Mid-West Western Australian mine site. We highlight a reduction of vegetation cover and spatial heterogeneity as a major constraint to the movements and behavioural ecology of the perentie, and hence although restoration may be facilitating return, behavioural use of restoration vegetation differs from that in the reference vegetation. Understanding the complex interactions between animals, and their behavioural responses to their environment is fundamental to their conservation in the face of ever-increasing rates of human induced habitat change and degradation.

eDNA Metabarcoding ‐ A new approach to monitoring of restoration

Recent decades have seen a marked increase in both the scope and complexity of ecological restoration projects, partly in response to the increasing scale and severity of degradation to natural ecosystems. Individual restoration projects now operate over scales from hectares to hundreds of square kilometres and are increasingly underpinned by diverse and multidisciplinary science. These projects must be supported by measurable and realistic outcomes and standardised, accurate, and reliable approaches to their monitoring. However, studies indicate that monitoring is conducted ineffectually, or not at all, resulting in a poor return from restoration investments. This talk first outlines limitations of current approaches to monitoring biodiversity throughout ecological restoration, including their limited focus on the return of vegetation. I will then discuss how eDNA metabarcoding has potential to revolutionize the practical contribution of genetics to monitoring in a restoration context. I also discuss current limitations (e.g. assay design and taxonomic reference databases) to a DNA based approach to biodiversity assessment in restoration.

Ecological restoration on magnetite tailings: Six years of lessons learned

Mine tailings are challenging substrates for ecological restoration as the establishment of diverse native plant communities can be constrained by a range of edaphic factors. Understanding the effect of edaphic filters on community establishment is foundational for developing effective restoration solutions for tailings and requires a clear evidence-base as to what types of species and communities are likely sustainably reinstated. We present evidence from six years of glasshouse and field studies examining species and community establishment on magnetite tailings. While the majority of native plant species and nutrient-acquisition guilds (approximately 75% of reference floristic biodiversity) are selected against on unweathered tailings with plant growth limited by a lack of available nitrogen and high alkalinity (pH >9), a small number of species exhibiting particular functional and nutrient acquisition strategies represent potential pioneer taxa capable of kick-starting critical ecological processes. Achieving successful restoration goals on alkaline mine tailings is likely unsuccessful unless strategies to ameliorate substrate hostility such as acidification of the soil profile and improving N availability are prioritised.

Making the most of seeds in mine site restoration

Seeds are a key component for the successful restoration of landscapes degraded by mining operations. The collection and production of seeds of the appropriate origin, in the quantity and diversity needed to achieve a satisfactory degree of recovery, are onerous tasks that require careful planning and a significant budget.  However, once seeds are obtained, at an average cost of 750 $/kg, sub-standard storing and processing practices can drastically reduce the viability (and value) of the collections. The adoption of practices, standards, and technologies used in the agriculture seed industry and conservation seed banks can help obtain high quality seeds and maintain viability through the seed supply chain. This would improve chances of seed germinating; however, numerous impediments of post-mining restoration scenarios, such as unsuitable substrates and abiotic stresses, still limit seedling emergence and successful plant establishment. Seed coating could help overcome some of these logistical and ecological barriers. Seed coating is a technology developed in the agricultural sector that is used to modify the shape and size of the seed and deliver active ingredients that provide protection from predators and pathogens, stress resistance, enhance growth, and improve survival. A recent study showed that seed coating with salicylic acid improved the survival of three Australian grass species, during the dry summer months. Ongoing research is testing the effect of germination promoters and beneficial microbes, delivered via seed coating, in order to promote plant establishment and, ultimately, improve mine site restoration outcomes.

Moving from reclamation to restoration after mining

Response of the ecological restoration plant Neyraudia reynaudiana for use in alleviation of heavy metal contamination

Vegetation rehabilitation is one of the most cost-effective ways to realise heavy metal rehabilitation and comprehensive treatment in contaminated mine sites. Neyraudia reynaudiana was used as a slope restoration plant originally in many parts of China, but in the survey of mine waste sites in Sichuan province, China, we found that it accumulated more heavy metals than common landscape plants. In order to explore the possibility of using N. reynaudiana in ecological restoration, we hypothesised that by planting N. reynaudiana in soil with different concentrations of heavy metals (Cr, Cd, Pb) that the species could hyper-accumulate and ameliorate the contaminants. The results showed that heavy metals had inhibitory effects on plant height as the concentration increases. In order to cope with heavy metal stress, the activity of antioxidant enzymes of N. reynaudianachanges. We also found that the increase of heavy metal concentration in soil, increased the activity of plant-based enzymes, but when the concentration of heavy metals in soil exceeds 200 mg/kg, the activity decreased. N. reynaudiana is not a hyper-accumulative plant, but a high accumulation plant, and has value in use in slope stabilisation. The potential, multi-functional remediation opportunity presented by N. reynaudiana represents a good choice for phytoremediation projects.