Journal ArticleDOI
Restoration Ecology: Repairing the Earth's Ecosystems in the New Millennium
Richard J. Hobbs,James A. Harris +1 more
TLDR
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.Abstract:
The extent of human-induced change and damage to Earth's ecosystems renders ecosystem repair an essential part of our future survival strategy, and this demands that restoration ecology provide effective conceptual and practical tools for this task We argue 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 This needs to recognize that most ecosystems are dynamic and hence restoration goals cannot be based on static attributes Setting clear and achievable goals is essential, and these should focus on the desired characteristics for the system in the future, rather than in relation to what these were in the past Goal setting requires that there is a clear understanding of the restoration options available (and the relative costs of different options) The concept of restoration thresholds suggests that options are determined by the current state of the system in relation to biotic and abiotic thresholds A further important task is the development of effective and easily measured success criteria Many parameters could be considered for inclusion in restoration success criteria, but these are often ambiguous or hard to measure Success criteria need to relate clearly back to specific restoration goals If restoration ecology is to be successfully practiced as part of humanity's response to continued ecosystem change and degradation, restoration ecologists need to rise to the challenges of meshing science, practice and policy Restoration ecology is likely to be one of the most important fields of the coming centuryread more
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Novel ecosystems: theoretical and management aspects of the new ecological world order
Richard J. Hobbs,Salvatore Arico,James Aronson,Jill S. Baron,Peter Bridgewater,Viki A. Cramer,Paul R. Epstein,John J. Ewel,Carlos A. Klink,Ariel E. Lugo,David A. Norton,Dennis S. Ojima,David M. Richardson,Eric W. Sanderson,Fernando Valladares,Montserrat Vilà,Regino Zamora,Martin Zobel +17 more
TL;DR: The issues relevant to those types of ecosystems containing new combinations of species that arise through human action, environmental change, and the impacts of the deliberate and inadvertent introduction of species from other regions are explored.
Journal ArticleDOI
Alternative states and positive feedbacks in restoration ecology
TL;DR: Models of alternative ecosystem states that incorporate system thresholds and feedbacks are now being applied to the dynamics of recovery in degraded systems and are suggesting ways in which restoration can identify, prioritize and address these constraints.
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
Restoration Success: How Is It Being Measured?
TL;DR: Most of the reviewed studies are using multiple measures to evaluate restoration success, but it would encourage future projects to include at least two variables within each of the three ecosystem attributes that clearly related to ecosystem functioning and at leastTwo reference sites to capture the variation that exist in ecosystems.
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.
References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Human Domination of Earth's Ecosystems
TL;DR: Human alteration of Earth is substantial and growing as discussed by the authors, between one-third and one-half of the land surface has been transformed by human action; the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has increased by nearly 30 percent since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution; more atmospheric nitrogen is fixed by humanity than by all natural terrestrial sources combined; more than half of all accessible surface fresh water is put to use by humanity; and about one-quarter of the bird species on Earth have been driven to extinction.
Book
How Nature Works: The Science of Self-Organized Criticality
TL;DR: This chapter discusses the Sandpile Paradigm, Earthquakes, Starquakes, and Solar Flares, and the "Game of Life": Complexity Is Criticality, and Is Life a Self-Organized Critical Phenomenon?
Journal ArticleDOI
How Nature Works: The Science of Self‐Organized Criticality
Per Bak,Shobo Bhattacharya +1 more
Journal ArticleDOI
Towards a Conceptual Framework for Restoration Ecology
Richard J. Hobbs,David A. Norton +1 more
TL;DR: This work stresses the importance of developing restoration methodologies that are applicable at the landscape scale, beyond nonquantitative generalities about size and connectivity, so that urgent large-scale restoration can be planned and implemented effectively.
Journal ArticleDOI
Ecological Theory and Community Restoration Ecology
TL;DR: 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.