Restoration Ecology

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Restoration Ecology
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Key terms

• Intervention
• Mitigation
• Reallocation
• Reclamation
• Re-creation
• Rehabilitation
• Remediation
• Restoration

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Helping Nature Heal

• Humans have disturbed and degraded nature for as
  long as we have existed
• We are able to repair some of the damage
  (ecological restoration)
• Recovery linked to the idea natural climax
  community will return if we leave it alone
• Modern Ecology this may not be the case (random
  process)

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Helping Nature Heal

• Aims of restoration driven by human values
  (beauty, recreation, utility) rather than science
• General principles of restoration are drawn from
  ecology, hydrology, soil science, etc.
• Most influential American forester Gifford
  Pinchot
• Another pioneer Aldo Leopold

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Gifford Pinchot

• Introduced selective harvest and replanting
  choice tree species
• This increased the value of the forest
• Also produced a sustainable harvest
• First head of U.S. Forest Service

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Nature Can Be Resilient

• First step in restoration stop whatever is
  causing the damage
• Ex. prohibiting logging, mining, etc., may be
  enough to allow nature to heal by itself
• Sometimes rebuilding populations of native plants
  and animals is a simple process of restocking
  breeding individuals to an area

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Forest Restoration

• Lumber companies routinely replant forests that
  they have harvested
• Mechanical restoration results in a monoculture
  of uniformly placed trees
• Japan was almost completely deforested at the end
  of WWII, now more than 60 is forested
• Today Largest reforestation in China 50 billion
  trees have been planted over the past 50 years

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Forest Restoration

• Urban planting important
• 2007 UN announced billion tree campaign
• Historically, fire has been important in
  controlling vegetation in savannas
• Settlers eliminated fire and grazing by native
  animals ? shrub and tree growth
• Accumulated veg. is cleared before fires are
  started herbicides prevent regrowth

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Forest Restoration

• Sequoia National Park 70 years of fire
  suppression ? dense undergrowth ? more fuel for
  destructive fires

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Prairie Restoration

• Before European settlement, prairies covered most
  of the middle U.S.
• Tallgrass eastern edge of the Great Plains. Less
  than 2 remains
• Fire is also crucial for prairie restoration
  kills many weedy species and removes nutrients
  (esp. N)
• The Nature Conservancy has established many
  preserves to protect tallgrass prairies

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Prairie Restoration

• Huge areas of shortgrass prairie are being
  preserved
• Bison help maintain prairies with fire, an
  important tool in restoration

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Wetland and Stream Restoration

• Wetlands occupy lt 5 of US land 1/3 of all
  endangered species spend at least part of their
  lives in wetlands
• Until recently governments encouraged drainage
  for development
• 1972 Clean Water Act began protecting streams and
  wetlands by requiring discharge permits for
  dumping waste into sfc waters

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Wetland and Stream Restoration

• For wetlands, sometimes all thats needed is to
  stop destructive forces
• The Everglades is a fresh water river that comes
  from springs that has been diverted, causing 90
  of wading birds to be lost
• It is hoped that by restoring the former flow
  will allow the biological community to recover

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Wetland and Stream Restoration

• The Chesapeake Bay is a drowned river valley with
  fresh and salty water mixing
• Overfishing, sewerage discharge, silt, heavy
  metals, toxic chemicals from industry and
  agriculture, oil spills and habitat destruction
  are causing a loss of productive fisheries
• Restoration minimal success

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Wetland and Stream Restoration

• Cities artificial wetlands provide a low-cost
  way to filter sewerage
• Stabilizing stream banks, stopping pollution,
  controlling invasive species, preventing erosion
  are restoring streams
• Remediation means finding remedies from problems
  involving noninvasive techniques
• Reclamation implies using intense physical or
  chemical methods to repair ecosystems