Resource Database

Earthworms in Soil Restoration: Lessons Learned from United Kingdom Case Studies of Land Reclamation

Here, case study material relates the use of earthworms at selected sites in the United Kingdom. Due to their soil-forming capabilities, these organisms may be essential to reconstruction of soils when drastic activities have despoiled an area. While describing in brief the type of work undertaken, these case studies seek to illustrate some of the misunderstandings/problems/deliberately negative acts that have too often accompanied use of earthworms in soil restoration. From such experiences, implications for practice are suggested that should lead to a greater understanding and appropriate utilization of earthworms in future projects.

Ecological Engineering of Floodplains

We have proposed restoring and creating over 2 million hectares of wetlands in the 3 million km2 Mississippi-Ohio-Missouri River Basin in the USA to serve as sinks for farmland nutrients that are otherwise causing a 15 000 – 20 000 km2 hypoxic (extremely low oxygen) condition in the downstream Gulf of Mexico. We have conducted two main multi-year experiments on full- scale wetlands at the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park in Ohio, USA, to investigate proper ecological design for these wetlands. One of those experiments – a river pulsing study – is presented here.

Ecological Restoration and Physiology: An Overdue Integration

There is growing recognition that opportunities exist to use physiology as part of the conservation and management of populations and ecosystems. However, this idea has rarely been extended to the field of restoration ecology. Physiological metrics (e.g., gas exchange, energy transfer and metabolism, stress response, nutritional condition, gene expression) from a range of taxa can be used to understand the function of ecosystems as well as the factors that influence their structure. Such knowledge can assist the development and implementation of effective restoration strategies that recognize the role of habitat quality on organismal performance.

Ecological Restoration for Future Sustainability in a Changing Environment

Restoration with past-focused, idealistic, and/or ad hoc goals may not work in the future because an ecosystem that is restored for the past environment is not likely to be sustainable in the changing environment of the future, simple recomposition of isolated and fragmented naturalistic patches is not likely to restore ecosystem functions, and unrealistic goals and work plans are not likely to gain public support. We advocate directing the principles and practice of ecological restoration to the future. Future-aimed restoration should acknowledge the changing and unpredictable environment of the future, assume the dynamic nature of ecological communities with multiple trajectories, and connect landscape elements for improving ecosystem functions and structures. In this paper, we discuss the predictability of restoration trajectories under changing environmental conditions, the application of ecological theories to restoration practice, the importance of interdisciplinary approaches and human interventions in ecosystem recovery, and the social context of ecological restoration.

Embracing Variability in the Application of Plant–Soil Interactions to the Restoration of Communities and Ecosystems

Plant–soil interactions are the foundation of effective and sustained restoration of terrestrial communities and ecosystems. Recent advances in ecological science have greatly contributed to our understanding of the effects of soil conditions on plant community dynamics and our understanding of plant composition impacts on almost every aspect of soil structure and function. Although these theories provide important guidelines for the practice of restoration, they often fall short of providing the level of information required to make effective site- specific management decisions. This is largely because of ecology’s search for simple unifying theories and the resulting tendency to generalize from studies at one or only a few sites.

Establishing Oak Woodland on Cutaway Peatlands: Effects of Soil Preparation and Fertilization

This research was part of a large-scale project investigating various species and silvicultural techniques in order to improve afforestation success on cutaway peatlands in Ireland. Successful establishment, in terms of fast growth and good quality may be hampered on most cutaway peatlands by harsh environmental conditions. The effects of various soil preparation techniques and fertilization rates and methods on the survival, growth and quality of pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) were studied in two cutaway peatland sites. Results from cultivation trials would suggest that mounding should be avoided while deep ploughing would benefit oak performance. Protection from exposure that leads to shoot die-back was found to be critical for oak development. Overall, the hypothesis that oak requires specific silvicultural management techniques adapted to various site conditions of the cutaway peatlands was confirmed.

Experimental Tree Planting on U.K. Containment Landfill Sites: Results of 10 Years’ Monitoring

A series of experiments was set up in England in the early 1990s on five containment landfill sites engineered to modern standards to test the relative performance of 14 native and nonnative woodland tree species. This article describes the results of monitoring their survival, growth, and nutrition over a 10-year period. The experiments demonstrated that several species, notably ash, whitebeam, white poplar, and wild cherry, can usually be established on landfill sites with survival rates comparable to other brownfield sites. Despite general site infertility, growth of many tree species (for example, ash, beech, English oak, sycamore, Italian alder, silver maple, white poplar, and whitebeam) was similar to that expected on greenfield sites in the locality of the landfill sites. As well as infertility, soil droughtiness and mammal browsing were identified as limiting tree performance of particular species on some sites. After 10 years, there was no evidence of interaction with landfill containment systems or landfill gas.

Best Practice Guidelines for Aggregate Rehabilitation Projects: Extracting the Benefits for Species at Risk and Rare Habitats

This report offers a series of best restoration and management practices for rehabilitating former aggregate sites to achieve the goal of maximizing the biodiversity value (including species at risk) while minimizing maintenance costs. The recommendations are outlined within the context of the latest developments in recovery planning and implementation for species at risk, best management practices and ideas that the industry or its related clients may be able to follow or to build upon.

Constructed Farm Wetlands (CFW): Design Manual for Scotland and Northern Ireland

Digging In: A Guide to Community-based Habitat Restoration

The purpose of this guide is to assist inspired individuals and organizations in undertaking community-based habitat restoration projects, and to help maximize the success of these projects. The guide is designed for people who seek to develop new programs, but may also be helpful in expanding or improving an existing program. The guide explains, in easy-to-follow instructions, the basic steps of information gathering, site selection, team building, project implementation, monitoring, maintenance, and working with volunteers. Also included are tips on battling non-natives, as well as propagating and installing native plants. While this guide is focused on the Commission’s experiences in marshes, creeks, and coastal sage scrub communities, we reference several other coastal habitat types as well.

Ecological Restoration: Foundation for Ecological Security Internal Sourcebook

The crux of our efforts lies in locating forests and other natural resources within the prevailing economic, social and ecological dynamics in rural landscapes and in intertwining principles of conservation and local self governance for the protection of the natural surroundings and improvement in the living conditions of the poor. By working on systemic issues that can bring about a multiplier change, we strive for a future where the local communities determine and move towards desirable land use that is based on principles of conservation and social justice.

Establishing Resilient Marine Protected Area Networks—Making It Happen

This guide helps us to better understand the role of MPAs and MPA networks at local and regional scales to achieve marine conservation. It utilizes current scientific knowledge, institutional experience and global case studies to outline the latest information pertaining to building resilient and functional MPA networks. It also highlights global commitments for marine conservation and shows how to move from individual MPA sites to an effective system of national and regional MPA networks. The design of an MPA network encompasses many considerations, including social, economic, legal and ecological, which collectively contribute to management decisions and implementation. Guidance contained in this document provides MPA practitioners, managers and field staff with techniques for designing effective MPA networks that are resilient to human and environmental threats.

Generic Guidelines for Mainstreaming Drylands Issues into National Development Frameworks

This document provides broad generic steps for mainstreaming environment and drylands issues into national development frameworks, as well lessons drawn from various countries on environment and drylands mainstreaming. The steps arise from experiences in sample countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, including Argentina, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Samoa, Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda. These national case studies documented the countries’ lessons, processes, challenges and experiences in mainstreaming.

Generic Guidelines for Mainstreaming Drylands Issues into National Development Frameworks

The guidelines have been informed by lessons drawn from 21 countries on mainstreaming environment into development frameworks with a particular focus on drylands issues, and by a review made of other international organizations’ guidelines on the same subject.

Global Peatland Restoration Manual

The following document presents a science based and practical guide to peatland restoration for policy makers and site managers. The work has relevance to all peatlands of the world but focuses on the four core regions of the UNEP-GEF project “Integrated Management of Peatlands for Biodiversity and Climate Change”: Indonesia, China, Western Siberia, and Europe. Chapter 1 “Characteristics, distribution, and types of peatlands” provides basic information on the characteristics, the distribution, and the most important types of mires and peatlands. Chapter 2 “Functions & impacts of damage” explains peatland functions and values. The impact of different forms of damage on these functions is explained and the possibilities of their restoration are reviewed. Chapter 3 “Planning for restoration” guides users through the process of objective setting. It gives assistance in questions of strategic and site management planning. Chapter 4 “Standard management approaches” describes techniques for practical peatland restoration that suit individual needs.

Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters

This handbook is intended to help communities, watershed organizations, and state, local, tribal and federal environmental agencies develop and implement watershed plans to meet water quality standards and protect water resources. It was designed to help any organization undertaking a watershed planning effort, and it should be particularly useful to persons working with impaired or threatened waters. EPA intends for this handbook to supplement existing watershed planning guides that have already been developed by agencies, universities, and other nonprofit organizations. The handbook is generally more specific than other guides with respect to guidance on quantifying existing pollutant loads, developing estimates of the load reductions required to meet water quality standards, developing effective management measures, and tracking progress once the plan is implemented.

Mangrove Restoration in Vietnam: Key Considerations and a Practical Guide

The aim of this report is to provide in a nutshell the key considerations for successful mangrove rehabilitation or planting project. It can be used as a practical guide to the planning of these projects, although it must be stressed that using this guide alone does not guarantee success. Equally important is to involve an appropriate mix of experts, both from the ecological and socioeconomic, engineering and juridical domains.

Recognising and Supporting Indigenous & Community Conservation: Ideas and experience from the grassroots (Briefing Note No. 9)

Indigenous and community conserved areas (ICCAs) have emerged as a major new phenomenon in formal conservation circles, though their existence is as old as human civilisation itself. International policies and programmes, notably those under the Convention on Biological Diversity, require countries to provide them with recognition and support. There is precious little guidance, however, on how to do this in ways that strengthen the governance of indigenous people and communities, rather than undermining their initiatives. This Briefing Note attempts to provide some tips towards sensitive recognition and support of ICCAs. It addresses governmental and non-governmental organizations, indigenous peoples and local communities willing to engage in exchanges of experiences and mutual learning and active support.

Saltwater Wetlands Rehabilitation Manual

Adaptation at the Interface of Forest Ecosystem Goods and Services and Livestock Production Systems in Northern Mali

Local adaptation to climate change for sustainable natural resource management lacks an appropriate political and institutional framework, or can even be counteracted by interventions that do not take account of existing local adaptive responses. Further efforts are needed to link local efforts to national and global approaches, and ensure planned and strategic adaptation to climate change. The study was designed as demand-oriented research combining national and local activities. In order to feed research results immediately into on-going adaptation processes, the site selection was based on an initial interview phase at national level to harmonise research activities with national processes. This was followed by further interviews at regional level (Tombouctou) and a workshop on vulnerability and adaptation to climate change at district level (Goundam). An intense field research was then undertaken at two sites north of the Lake Faguibine area (Tin Aicha and Raz’al’Ma), combining bio-physical (transects: forest cover, density, estimation of biomass production, etc.) and participatory social research related to livestock production systems, natural resource utilization and adaptation strategies.

Creating New Wetlands: Key Principles and a Project Model

This report reviews real wetland (re-)creation schemes and two theoretical approaches to environmental projects in order to identify best practice and common pitfalls. The results of this review are used to produce a model of wetland (re-)creation which can be used as a template to plan new projects. The model aims to maximise the benefits from new projects and minimize risk of failure.

Ecosystem Services: A Guide for Decision Makers

By offering decision makers the conceptual and practical guidance for choosing policies that better attend to ecosystem services, this guide aims to help unite nature and development. Instead of solely working to protect nature from development, we may also begin to invest in nature for development.

Governance as Key for Effective and Equitable Protected Area Systems

Governance is about power, relationships, responsibility and accountability. It is about who has influence, who decides, and how decision-makers are held accountable. There are many important decisions to be made about protected areas and, related to those, come specific powers and responsibilities.

Grassland ecosystems hold an important part of Europe’s biodiversity. They offer ideal conditions for a vast diversity of habitats and species, are the source of a wide range of public goods and services, and also act as carbon ‘sinks’. Changes in agricultural practices and land use pressures mean that grasslands are disappearing at an alarming rate. This brochure highlights a selection of LIFE co-funded projects targeting grassland ecosystems within the Natura 2000 network.

Grassland ecosystems hold an important part of Europe’s biodiversity. They offer ideal conditions for a vast diversity of habitats and species, are the source of a wide range of public goods and services, and also act as carbon ‘sinks’. Changes in agricultural practices and land use pressures mean that grasslands are disappearing at an alarming rate. This brochure highlights a selection of LIFE co-funded projects targeting grassland ecosystems within the Natura 2000 network.

IUCN-ICMM ROUNDTABLE ON RESTORATION OF LEGACY SITES Roundtable Report

At the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) launched a joint dialogue on mining and biodiversity1. The overarching aims of the
dialogue are:

• To improve the performance of mining industries in the area of biodiversity conservation, with a focus on reducing the negative impacts of the industry’s operations and enhancing the industry’s positive contribution to biodiversity; and
• To raise mutual awareness and understanding between the conservation community and the mining industry, so that both can contribute to improved
  outcomes for conservation and development in areas where they interact.

To further the discussion relating to the restoration of legacy sites, the Post-Mining Alliance was engaged by ICMM and IUCN in 2007 to organize and develop materials for an international roundtable of experts in this field in March 2008. This report is the result.

Relevance for the Short Term Action Plan for Ecosystem Restoration:
Highly important

Species’ Traits and Ecological Functioning in Marine Conservation and Management

Marine conservation increasingly focuses on describing and maintaining ecosystem functioning. However, it is difficult to find suitable measures for whole-ecosystem functioning because the concept incorporates many different processes and includes physical, chemical and biological phenomena. An approach is presented here for describing functioning based on traits exhibited by members of biological assemblages. Species’ traits determine how they contribute to ecosystem processes, so the presence and distribution of such traits can be utilised to indicate aspects of functioning. This multi-trait approach is relatively new to marine ecology and the few studies to-date have mainly described patterns of functioning with respect to environmental variability and investigated the impacts of bottom trawling. Areas where the approach can make a significant contribution to conservation and marine management are discussed, such as monitoring the effects of human activities and success of subsequent management strategies, identifying species likely to become invasive or those particularly vulnerable to extinction and predicting the effects of future disturbance such as climate change.

Spontaneous Succession versus Technical Reclamation in the Restoration of Disturbed Sites

We address the question: under which circumstances can we rely upon spontaneous succession and when are technical measures more effective in restoration programs? To answer this question, the position of a disturbed site along the productivity–stress gradient was considered. The probability of attaining a target stage by spontaneous succession decreases toward both ends of the productivity–stress gradient, whereas the acceptance of technical measures generally increases. In correspondence with that, the monetary cost of restoration increases toward the ends of the gradient. Therefore, spontaneous succession is advocated especially if environmental site conditions are not very extreme.

Stability of Exotic Annual Grasses following Restoration Efforts in Southern California Coastal Sage Scrub

In restoration of semi-arid shrub ecosystems, grass control can reduce exotic grasses over the short-term. However, recovery of grasses in the longer term indicates that restoration does not form a new stable state. Restoration and management of semi-arid shrublands may therefore require continual grass control. Exotic forbs should also be considered for control, as they may increase when exotic grasses are removed. Yearly variations in precipitation confound determination of successful restoration efforts, and require long-term observations to detect the response of native species to treatments.

Techniques for Restoring Fen Vegetation on Cut-away Peatlands in North America

Sphagnum transfer, a reintroduction technique commonly used for bog restoration in North America, was effective for establishing Sphagnum and Carex species. The hay transfer method, commonly used for fen restoration in Europe, was much less successful, probably due to questionable viability of reintroduced seeds. The treatments which included light phosphorus fertilization, had a higher Carex cover after three growing seasons. The timing of the reintroductions had no impact on the success of vegetation establishment. However, vegetation reintroduction should be carried out in the spring while the ground is still frozen to minimize other ecological impacts. The success of the diaspore reintroduction technique on small-scale units indicates that a large-scale restoration of fens using this technique is feasible.

Testing the Framework Species Method for Forest Restoration in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand

The framework species method of reforestation, developed by FORRU (Forest Restoration Research Unit) has been used successfully to restore evergreen forest on degraded former agricultural sites in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, Chiang Mai province, Thailand. This paper reports 3 year results of an attempt to duplicate the FORRU reforestation techniques at Ban Toong Yah, Mae Chaem district, at a similar elevation as FORRU’s original plots at Ban Mae Sa Mai, Mae Rim district.