Journal ArticleDOI
Ecological Theory and Community Restoration Ecology
TLDR
Practical restoration efforts should rely heavily on what is known from theoretical and empirical research on how communities develop and are structured over time, and are identified specific areas that are in critical need of further research to advance the science of restoration ecology.Abstract:
Community ecological theory may play an important role in the development of a science of restoration ecology. Not only will the practice of restoration benefit from an increased focus on theory, but basic research in community ecology will also benefit. We pose several major thematic questions that are relevant to restoration from the perspective of community ecological theory and, for each, identify specific areas that are in critical need of further research to advance the science of restoration ecology. We ask, what are appropriate restoration endpoints from a community ecology perspective? The problem of measuring restoration at the community level, particularly given the high amount of variability inherent in most natural communities, is not easy, and may require a focus on restoration of community function (e.g., trophic structure) rather than a focus on the restoration of particular species. We ask, what are the benefits and limitations of using species composition or biodiversity measures as endpoints in restoration ecology? Since reestablishing all native species may rarely be possible, research is needed on the relationship between species richness and community stability of restored sites and on functional redundancy among species in regional colonist “pools.” Efforts targeted at restoring system function must take into account the role of individual species, particularly if some species play a disproportionate role in processing material or are strong interactors. We ask, is restoration of habitat a sufficient approach to reestablish species and function? Many untested assumptions concerning the relationship between physical habitat structure and restoration ecology are being made in practical restoration efforts. We need rigorous testing of these assumptions, particularly to determine how generally they apply to different taxa and habitats. We ask, to what extent can empirical and theoretical work on community succession and dispersal contribute to restoration ecology? We distinguish systems in which succession theory may be broadly applicable from those in which it is probably not. If community development is highly predictable, it may be feasible to manipulate natural succession processes to accelerate restoration. We close by stressing that the science of restoration ecology is so intertwined with basic ecological theory that practical restoration efforts should rely heavily on what is known from theoretical and empirical research on how communities develop and are structured over time.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Standards for ecologically successful river restoration
Margaret A. Palmer,Emily S. Bernhardt,J. D. Allan,Phillip Spencer Lake,G. Alexander,Shane Brooks,J. Carr,Stephen R. Clayton,Cliff Dahm,J. Follstad Shah,David L. Galat,S. G. Loss,Peter Goodwin,David D. Hart,Brooke A. Hassett,Robin Jenkinson,G.M. Kondolf,Rebecca Lave,Judy L. Meyer,T.K. O'donnell,L. Pagano,Elizabeth B. Sudduth +21 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose five criteria for measuring success of river restoration, with emphasis on an ecological perspective, and suggest standards of evaluation for each of the five criteria and provide examples of suitable indicators.
Journal ArticleDOI
Riparian vegetation: Degradation, alien plant invasions, and restoration prospects
David M. Richardson,Patricia M. Holmes,Karen J. Esler,Susan M. Galatowitsch,Juliet C. Stromberg,Steven P. Kirkman,Petr Pyšek,Petr Pyšek,Richard J. Hobbs +8 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the biogeography and the determinants of composition and structure of riparian vegetation in temperate and subtropical regions and conceptualize the components of resilience in these systems.
Journal ArticleDOI
Restoration Ecology: Repairing the Earth's Ecosystems in the New Millennium
Richard J. Hobbs,James A. Harris +1 more
TL;DR: It is argued that restoration ecology has to be an integral component of land management in today's world, and to be broadly applicable, has to have a clearly articulated conceptual basis.
Book
Primary Succession and Ecosystem Rehabilitation
TL;DR: This paper provided the first comprehensive summary of how plant, animal and microbial communities develop under the harsh conditions following such dramatic disturbances, and examined the basic principles that determine ecosystem development and applied the general rules to the urgent practical need for promoting the reclamation of damaged lands.
Journal ArticleDOI
Evaluating Ecological Restoration Success: A Review of the Literature
TL;DR: This article conducted a literature review to determine trends in evaluations of restoration projects and identify key knowledge gaps that need to be addressed, and quantified the extent that key attributes of success, including ecological (vegetation structure, species diversity and abundance, and ecosystem functioning) and socioeconomic, were addressed by these papers along with trends in publication and restoration characteristics.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
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TL;DR: The commonly observed high diversity of trees in tropical rain forests and corals on tropical reefs is a nonequilibrium state which, if not disturbed further, will progress toward a low-diversity equilibrium community as mentioned in this paper.
Book ChapterDOI
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TL;DR: The role that many organisms play in the creation, modification and maintenance of habitats does not involve direct trophic interactions between species, but they are nevertheless important and common.
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Stability and Complexity in Model Ecosystems
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Food Web Complexity and Species Diversity
TL;DR: It is suggested that local animal species diversity is related to the number of predators in the system and their efficiency in preventing single species from monopolizing some important, limiting, requisite in the marine rocky intertidal.
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