Resource Database

Restoring and Managing Native Wetland and Upland Vegetation

In the summer of 2002 the Minnesota Wetland Conservation Act (WCA) was amended to include requirements that wetland mitigation sites must have vegetation management plans developed and implemented. The intended goal is to ensure that restored wetlands develop into the desired wetland type meeting the function and value requirements of WCA. The following guidelines were originally written for restoring and managing newly created transportation (Mn/DOT and BWSR Local Road) wetland mitigation sites.

Shore Erosion Control Guidelines: Marsh Creation

Fire Management: Voluntary Guidelines – Principles and Strategic Actions

These non-binding, voluntary guidelines set out a framework of priority principles that will aid in the formulation of policy, legal, regulatory and other enabling conditions and strategic actions for more holistic approaches to fire management. They have been tailored primarily for land-use policy makers, planners and managers in fire management, including states, the private sector and non-governmental organizations. The guidelines for fire management cover the positive and negative social, cultural, environmental and economic impacts of natural and planned fires in forests, woodlands, rangelands, grasslands, agricultural and rural/urban landscapes. The fire management scope includes early warning, prevention, preparedness (international, national, subnational and community), safe and effective initial attack on incidences of fire and landscape restoration following it.

Forest Rehabilitation in Vietnam: Histories, Realities and Future

Future efforts will need better knowledge if they are to increase their impact and cost- efficiency. Previous forest rehabilitation experiences can provide important and valuable lessons for the future. For that reason, this report assesses the experiences of forest rehabilitation in Vietnam and draws strategic lessons from these experiences to guide new forest rehabilitation projects. The report highlights lessons from Vietnam’s experiences that will be helpful beyond the country’s border.

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning in Restored Ecosystems: Extracting Principles for a Synthetic Perspective

In a nutshell, the BEF perspective considers all ecosystems in the modern landscape as biogeochemical systems on or displaced from a fundamental relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. From this perspective, restoration is the activity that seeks to restore displaced ecosystems to this fundamental relationship.

Coral Reef Restoration Handbook

The Coral Reef Restoration Handbook is the first published volume devoted to the science of coral reef restoration. It offers a scientific, conceptual framework along with practical strategies for reef assessment and restoration. Contributors from a variety of disciplines discuss engineering, geological, biological, and socioeconomic factors to create a text that is designed to guide scientists and resource managers in the decision-making process from initial assessment of the injury through conceptual restoration design, implementation, and monitoring. An excellent selection of relevant case studies is utilized to illustrate concepts and challenges inherent in the process of restoration.

Lake Restoration on Farmlands and Community Co-management: The Restoration of the Qingshanyuan Embankment Wetland, Western Dongting Lakes, Hunan Province, China.

The eco-environment and water quality in Qingshanyuan was improved under the implementing of community co-management, and it may become a production base for organic fisheries. The synthesis of ecological, social and economic efficiency has been achieved by this restoration project. The project today serves as a successful case study for community co- management and wetland restoration.

Restoring the Pacific Northwest: The Art and Science of Ecological Restoration in Cascadia

The Pacific Northwest is a global ecological “hotspot” because of its relatively healthy native ecosystems, a high degree of biodiversity, and the number and scope of restoration initiatives that have been undertaken there. Restoring the Pacific Northwest gathers and presents the best examples of state-of-the-art restoration techniques and projects. It is an encyclopedic overview that will be an invaluable reference not just for restorationists and students working in the Pacific Northwest, but for practitioners across North America and around the world.

Wetlands: Functioning, Biodiversity Conservation, and Restoration

This book gives a broad and well-integrated overview of recent major scientific results in wetland science and their applications in natural resource management. After an introduction into the field, 12 chapters contributed by internationally known experts summarize the state of the art on a multitude of topics. The coverage is divided into three sections: Functioning of Plants and Animals in Wetlands; Conservation and Management of Wetlands; and Wetland Restoration and Creation.

A Financial Analysis of Small-Scale Tropical Reforestation with Native Species in Costa Rica

In 1990 four Peace Corps Volunteers in Costa Rica completed their service and started a private reforestation project. The goal was to see if a small tree plantation could be profitable compared with traditional land uses. This article discusses the economics of the first 15 years of the project, using actual cash flows, and makes projections for financial outcomes. We documented the yearly expenses and revenues (cash flows) for operating a small tropical woodlot, costs and/or revenues from the specific woodlot management operations, and profit projections over the 25-year life of the project. We used realized growth rates, milling costs, and wood sale prices to show that small-scale reforestation with mixtures of native species can be financially profitable, both for an investor and a farmer/landowner.

A Rehabilitated Wetland in Southeastern China that Supports Traditional Ways of Fishing and Farming: The Xixi National Wetland Park, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China

There are six principle restoration and conservation goals at Xixi: a priority on minimal ecological interference; Preservation of the historic site configuration; recognition of traditional culture; consideration of human needs; and sustainable development, to restore wetland ecosystem and its biodiversity entirely. For example, during the implementing of restoration project, previously isolated water patches were integrated to allow the free association of different species in a larger space and to provide desirable food sources for birds attracted to the site. The Xixi Wetland has undergone a restoration of both its natural ecology and its cultural heritage, and it is a unique combination of city life, agriculture and traditional culture in China.

A system to evaluate the scientific quality of biological and restoration objectives using National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plans

Future restoration efforts may benefit by using this evaluation system during the process of plan development, to ensure that biological and restoration objectives are of the highest scientific quality possible prior to the implementation of restoration plans, and to allow for improved monitoring and adaptive management.

Accelerating the Restoration of Vegetation in a Southern California Salt Marsh

Re-establishing plant cover is essential for restoring ecosystem functions, but revegetation can be difficult in severe sites, such as salt marshes that experience hypersalinity and sedimentation. We tested three treatments (adding tidal creeks, planting seedlings in tight clusters, and rototilling kelp compost into the soil) in a site that was excavated to reinstate tidal flows and restore salt marsh. The magnitude of responses was the reverse of expectations, with tidal creeks having the least effect and kelp compost the most.

Agroecosystem Restoration through Strategic Integration of Perennials

One major and widely held conclusion developed over the last several decades is that agroecosystems need to be designed and managed to serve multiple functions: they should satisfy society’s needs for food, fiber, and perhaps energy at an affordable price while protecting environmental quality and human health, conserving nonrenewable resources, fostering economic development, and providing desirable places to live in rural areas. We suggest that the strategic integration of perennial plants in agricultural landscapes is a fundamental strategy for restoring agroecosystem health and function.

Aiming to Restore Forests: Evaluation with SER Criteria

The Society for Ecological Restoration Primer on Ecological Restoration (SERPER) states, “Ecological restoration is an intentional activity that initiates or accelerates the recovery of an ecosystem with respect to its health, integrity, and sustainability” and attempts to return an ecosystem to its historic condition. Active, intentional management (AIM) is a conservation approach that emphasizes a full range of active and passive management techniques to manage important ecological and hydrologic processes to conserve biodiversity; reconcile conflicts over management of natural resources; and provide various goods, ecological services, and recreational and spiritual opportunities to people over the long term. AIM includes intangibles such as knowing that rare species exist, that “wild” places are deliberately in place, and that ecological services important to the biosphere are maintained. How does AIM compare to restoration? Can AIM meet restoration goals? Specifically, can AIM reproduce the 10 traits of pristine ecosystems identified by SERPER? Measures can be used to evaluate success.

Are Ecosystem Composition, Structure, and Functional Status Related to Restoration Success? A Test from Semiarid Mediterranean Steppes

We conducted experimental plantings of the native late successional shrub Pistacia lentiscus in 10 semiarid steppes located in southeast Spain and related seedling survival rates to measures of ecosystem structure and composition and to surrogates of ecosystem functioning. Our results suggest, but cannot confirm, that the functional status of the ecosystem may not limit the early stages of establishment of P. lentiscus in semiarid steppes and that abiotic conditions play an overriding role in this process. If true, its introduction in these areas would not necessarily need a previous phase of recovery of ecosystem functions like nutrient cycling and infiltration.

Aspects of Adaptive Management of Coastal Wetlands: Case Studies of Processes, Conservation, Restoration, Impacts and Assessment

Coastal wetlands are dynamic and include the freshwater-intertidal interface. In many parts of the world such wetlands are under pressure from increasing human populations and from predicted sea-level rise. Their complexity and the limited knowledge of processes operating in these systems combine to make them a management challenge. Adaptive management is advocated for complex ecosystem management. Adaptive management identifies management aims, makes an inventory/environmental assessment, plans management actions, implements these, assesses outcomes, and provides feedback to iterate the process. This allows for a dynamic management system that is responsive to change.

Assessing Grassland Restoration Success: Relative Roles of Seed Additions and Native Ungulate Activities

Grassland restorations often lack rare forb and grass species that are found in intact grasslands. The possible reasons for low diversity include seed limitation, microsite limitation and a combination of both. Native ungulates may create microsites for seedling establishment in tallgrass prairie restorations by grazing dominant species or through trampling activities, but this has never been tested in developing prairies. These results suggest that tallgrass prairie restorations are primarily seed limited and that grazing alone may not be able to increase seedling emergence of rare species without the addition of seeds. Therefore, adding seeds to grassland restorations may increase seedling emergence of rare species, and mimicking effects of grazing may increase emergence when seeds are added.

One Century of Forest Rehabilitation in the Philippines: Approaches, Outcomes and Lessons

The main objective of the study and this volume is to enhance the success and sustainability of forest rehabilitation efforts in the Philippines, with enhanced production of forest goods and services and positive outcomes for local communities by: 1) Assessing the characteristics and outcomes of past rehabilitation efforts, 2) Identifying and disseminating the most promising approaches that could sustainably supply the targeted goods and environmental services, while benefiting local communities, and 3) Determining the enabling factors and actions different stakeholders must undertake to move forward.

Restoring Waikato’s Indigenous Biodiversity: Ecological Priorities and Opportunities

This document highlights priorities and opportunities for restoring depleted ecosystems across the Waikato region. It also identifies ecosystems that are in most need of restoration. More importantly, it provides a context of indigenous ecosystem restoration in the Waikato, so that people who want to be involved in restoration projects can see where they fit into the bigger picture.

Stream restoration databases and case studies: A guide to information resources and their utility in advancing the science and practice of restoration

Recently, there has been a
proliferation of Internet-accessible databases, lists, and case
studies of stream and river restoration projects.. However, to easily use information that is currently
scattered in multiple files and Web sites, databases would optimally use a common, standardized format. We provide a recommended list of information to be included
in restoration databases. These efforts may provide a blueprint for development of compatible international databases of stream restoration projects.

Stretch Goals and Backcasting: Approaches for Overcoming Barriers to Large-Scale Ecological Restoration

There are numerous barriers that prevent large-scale ecological restoration projects from being proposed, initiated, or carried through. Common barriers include the ‘‘shifting baseline syndrome,’’ the scale and complexity of restoration, the long-term and open-ended nature of res There are numerous barriers that prevent large-scale ecological restoration projects from being proposed, initiated, or carried through. Common barriers include the ‘‘shifting baseline syndrome,’’ the scale and complexity of restoration, the long-term and open-ended nature of restoration, funding challenges, and preemptive constraint of vision. Two potentially useful approaches that could help overcome these barriers are stretch goals and backcasting. Stretch goals are ambitious long-term goals used to inspire creativity and innovation to achieve outcomes that currently seem impossible. Backcasting is a technique where a desired end point is visualized, and then a pathway to that end point is worked out retrospectively. A case study from the Scottish Highlands is used to illustrate how stretch goals and backcasting could facilitate large-scale restoration. The combination of these approaches offers ways to evaluate and shape options for the future of ecosystems, rather than accepting that future ecosystems are victims of past and present political realities.

Systematic Landscape Restoration Using Integer Programming

In some agricultural regions, reservation of remnant natural lands will not maintain the natural biodiversity and large-scale ecological restoration is required. Geographic planning for restoration is essential to obtain the maximum ecological benefit from the limited resources available for landscape restoration. In this paper, we present a proof of concept that implements principles of systematic conservation planning, such as adequacy, representativeness, efficiency and flexibility, within an integer programming framework to identify geographic priorities for landscape restoration in a small catchment in South Australia.

The Concept of Organisms as Ecosystem Engineers Ten Years On: Progress, Limitations, and Challenges

The modification of the physical environment by organisms is a critical interaction in most ecosystems. The concept of ecosystem engineering acknowledges this fact and allows ecologists to develop the conceptual tools for uncovering general patterns and building broadly applicable models. Although the concept has occasioned some controversy during its development, it is quickly gaining acceptance among ecologists. We outline the nature of some of these controversies and describe some of the major insights gained by viewing ecological systems through the lens of ecosystem engineering. We close by discussing areas of research where we believe the concept of organisms as ecosystem engineers will be most likely to lead to significant insights into the structure and function of ecological systems.

The Political Practice of Mountain Forest Restoration: Comparing Restoration Concepts in Four European Countries

This paper compares the Alpine countries of Switzerland, Bavaria (Germany), Austria and Slovenia, and investigates how institutions influence the development and application of mountain forest restoration concepts. In practice, different restoration approaches have been developed in these countries depending on the distribution of forest ownership and the administrative arrangements. According to the different institutional settings, different actors are involved in the policy networks. With their different interests and value systems, these actors determine the goals, the design and the outcome of restoration programmes. Policy change might become effective by including new participants in the network. As the need for restoration is often caused by unsustainable forest management, the change of institutional arrangements is crucial to facilitate advanced management systems, which aim at avoiding degradation in the future.

The Potential and Risks of Using Exotics for the Rehabilitation of Ethiopian Dryland Forests

Case studies from South Africa are discussed to, firstly, illustrate the potential of exotics, especially eucalypts, in providing much needed timber while also protecting the natural forest. These species, when genetically improved, can reach yields of more than 20 m3·ha-1·year-1, even under relatively dry conditions. Secondly, the risk of using exotics, such as eucalypts and Australian Acacias, e.g. in terms of water use, uncontrolled spread and destruction of local biodiversity, is discussed and examples are given of management procedures to manage the risks. Finally, some suggestions are proposed on strategies to be followed for the use of exotics in the Ethiopian highlands, especially on the questions how much, where and how to use them. It is pointed out that, with sufficient control, including spatial planning, policy and legislation, exotic species could play an important role in filling economic and social demands that need not be in conflict with environmental objectives.

The Role of Ecological Theory and Practice in Poverty Alleviation and Environmental Conservation

The fight against global poverty has gained momentum following the creation of the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to halve extreme poverty by 2015. Traditionally, ecologists have not played leading roles in poverty alleviation. Yet, knowledge of ecosystem functions and processes can be applied to improve the lives of millions of people, suffering from hunger, lacking clean drinking water and reliable, efficient energy sources, dying from preventable diseases, and suffering disproportionately from natural disasters. Here, we describe ways in which ecologists can apply ecological theory and tools to help improve the efficacy of poverty alleviation programs.

The Role of Nurse Plants in the Restoration of Degraded Environments

Traditional ecological models have focused mainly on competition between plants, but recent research has shown that some plants benefit from closely associated neighbors, a phenomenon known as facilitation. There is increasing experimental evidence suggesting that facilitation has a place in mainstream ecological theory, but it also has a practical side when applied to the restoration of degraded environments, particularly drylands, alpine, or other limiting habitats. Where restoration fails because of harsh environmental conditions or intense herbivory, species that minimize these effects could be used to improve performance in nearby target species. Although there are few examples of the application of this “nursing” procedure worldwide, experimental data are promising, and show enhanced plant survival and growth in areas close to nurse plants. We discuss the potential for including nurse plants in restoration management procedures to improve the success rate of such projects.

The Role of Wildlife Science in Wetland Ecosystem Restoration: Lessons from the Everglades

This paper traces the evolution of wetland ecosystem restoration in North America and proposes three roles for wildlife science in wetland ecosystem restoration: (1) contribute to conceptual ecosystem models, (2) develop quantitative performance measures and restoration targets that track the progress of restoration, and (3) achieve social feasibility by sustaining long-term public support for a project.

Towards an Ecohydrology-based Restoration of the Usangu Wetlands and the Great Ruaha River, Tanzania

An open channel flow model, calibrated against field data, suggests that cattle intrusion in the eastern Usangu wetlands, as well as both dry and wet weather irrigation upstream, are responsible for the seasonal drying out of the Great Ruaha River (GRR) downstream. This human-induced change has severe socio-economic implications downstream, including hindering hydroelectricity production, as well as a devastating impact on the Ruaha National Park (RNP) ecosystem that is now shifting from wet tropics to dry tropics. To ensure sustainable development, governance is urgently needed for the Usangu catchment in a way that is compatible with ecohydrology principles for the sustainable use of water resources. In order to do that, perennial flow must be restored to the GRR. For this to happen this study suggests that all the livestock must be removed from the eastern Usangu wetlands and dry weather irrigators must return at least 25% (_4 m3 s_1) of the water to the river.