December 23, 2019

by

December 22, 2019

by

Natural regeneration and the outcomes arising from it vary widely across multiple spatial and temporal scales and are affected by linked environmental and socioeconomic drivers. Investors operating in different businesses usually avoid high-risk transactions, which likely constrains the flow of financial resources to restoration initiatives that are perceived as uncertain and risky. Although predicting both…

by

Over 140 Mha of large-scale restoration commitments have been pledged across the global tropics, yet guidance is needed to identify those landscapes where implementation is likely to provide the greatest potential benefits and cost-effective outcomes. We identify restoration opportunities in lowland tropical rainforest landscapes by overlaying seven recent, peer-reviewed spatial datasets as proxies for the…

by

The status of the global environment has deteriorated in the last decades, with major increases in degraded land, freshwater uses and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Land degradation has become a major threat to both earth’s ecosystems and human livelihoods, accelerating climate change, causing land to be more predisposed to natural disasters, risking food security,…

by

Land is an important resource for humanity as livelihoods depend on it. Humans utilize land to sustain livelihoods, but it is degraded partly because of the increasing human population and climate change, among other factors. Land degradation is thus a threat that needs to be addressed globally, partly through restoration. Within Eastern Africa, as is…

by

South African grasslands are rich in flora and have co-evolved with fire. Fires have been the primary tool used to manage grasslands for livestock production for many years, however, there is debate about how they impact and alter landscapes. There are two schools of thought in the literature, one that states fires are detrimental to…

by

Fire regimes that deviate from inferred historical norms are a management concern in biodiverse, fire-prone regions.  Plant communities are considered to have been historically filtered by a specific fire regime, generating a community of species with life history traits linked to that regime.  If the filter (i.e., fire regime) is changed, specialized or endemic species…

by

Most tropical forests are threatened by a myriad of human-induced disturbances associated with land use changes, altered fire regimes, and direct deforestation. The combined effect of multiple disturbances can shift forests towards a new, resilient state that is qualitatively distinct in structure, species composition, and function. We found that abandoned pastures affected by fires showed…

by

The unprecedented levels of degradation of the Earths ecosystems can be seen from space.  Anthropogenic and natural impacts have altered vital ecosystems and the services they provide for humans and nature. The recognition that self-sustaining and functional ecosystems are vital for our collective human wellbeing formed the premise behind the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration….

by

The Baviaanskloof catchment in the Eastern Cape of South Africa encompasses the Kouga and Baviaanskloof mountains and is comprised of private farms surrounded by the largest wilderness area in South Africa. The catchment is a source of water for the agriculturally significant Gamtoos Valley as well as the Nelson Mandela Bay municipal area. As part…