December 21, 2019

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Ecologists, hydrologist, and restoration scientists in South Africa have contributed substantially to the knowledge on how interventions in ecological infrastructure, such as alien clearing and wetland restoration, can increase surface water flows, groundwater infiltration, and water quality with additional benefits for disaster risk reduction (floods, droughts and fires). Much less research exists on the socio-economic…

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A sizable investment gap exists in South Africa for the sustainable and scaled funding of landscape-wide interventions to restore and/or rehabilitate functionally critical ecological infrastructure (EI). Such interventions have considerable potential to address water insecurity and contribute to the development of sustainable livelihoods. The analysis of existing EI restoration investment models can reveal the characteristics…

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In 2011, Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania installed a three-hectare, 1.6-megawatt solar field.   Half was previously agriculture and half was a low-quality meadow. Following panel install, four seed mixes were installed and evaluated to determine if any mix could serve as an effective, ecologically diverse seed option for solar fields in the region. Mixes were low…

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Functional traits are important predictors of species distributions and abundance, and their response to the environment. During community assembly, species that colonize the newly established habitat must be able to adapt to contrasting environmental conditions, in comparison to the undisturbed forest, and thus belong to contrasting functional groups. Although functional groups are well described for…

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In recent decades, quantitative trait-based models have been used to predict how plant communities develop under variable environmental conditions. Trait values obtained from mature plants are typically used to inform such models. These values may not be appropriate for understanding the development of restored communities for two reasons: (1) trait values from different populations of…

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This paper considers some of the challenges affecting rehabilitation projects where protection of urban infrastructure that potentially compromises ecosystem function and sustainability is required in an area with high conservation value. It provides critical assessment of the outcomes of major structural interventions and early-stage evaluations of rehabilitation outcomes. The Dawidskraal wetlands are extensive valley-bottom wetlands,…

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Both Initiative 20×20 in Latin America and the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100) support the Bonn Challenge and the New York Declaration. Together the initiatives are aiming to achieve 163 million hectares by 2030. To achieve these ambitious goals it is crucial to consider the specific opportunities and challenges faced in each region and…

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Rewilding as an approach to large landscape restoration has been gaining substantial traction. We describe it as the process of restoring native ecosystems, following major human disturbance, to create a complete food web at all trophic levels as a sustainable and resilient ecosystem using biota that would have been present had the disturbance not occurred….

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