Journal ArticleDOI
Towards a Conceptual Framework for Restoration Ecology
Richard J. Hobbs,David A. Norton +1 more
TLDR
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.Abstract:
Heightening human impacts on the Earth result in widespread losses of production and conservation values and make large-scale ecosystem restoration increasingly urgent. Tackling this problem requires the development of general guiding principles for restoration so that we can move away from the ad hoc, site- and situation-specific approach that now prevails. A continuum of restoration efforts can be recognized, ranging from restoration of localized highly degraded sites to restoration of entire landscapes for production and/or conservation reasons. We emphasize the importance of developing restoration methodologies that are applicable at the landscape scale. Key processes in restoration include identifying and dealing with the processes leading to degradation in the first place, determining realistic goals and measures of success, developing methods for implementing the goals and incorporating them into land-management and planning strategies, and monitoring the restoration and assessing its success. Few of these procedures are currently incorporated in many restoration projects. The concept that many ecosystems are likely to exist in alternative stable states, depending on their history, is relevant to the setting of restoration goals. A range of measures, such as those being developed to measure ecosystem health, could be used to develop “scorecards” for restoration efforts. Generalizable guidelines for restoration on individual sites could be based on the concepts of designed disturbance, controlled colonization, and controlled species performance. Fewer explicit guidelines are available at the landscape scale, beyond nonquantitative generalities about size and connectivity. Development of these guidelines is an important priority so that urgent large-scale restoration can be planned and implemented effectively.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
The urban stream syndrome: current knowledge and the search for a cure
Christopher J. Walsh,Allison H. Roy,Jack W. Feminella,Peter Cottingham,Peter M. Groffman,Raymond P. Morgan +5 more
TL;DR: The term "urban stream syndrome" describes the consistently observed ecological degra- dation of streams draining urban land as mentioned in this paper, which can be attributed to a few major large-scale sources, primarily urban stormwater runoff delivered to streams by hydraulically efficient drainage systems.
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.
References
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Restoration Ecology: Repairing the Earth's Ecosystems in the New Millennium
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