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A decadal study reveals that restoration guided by an umbrella species does not reach target levels

Maintaining structural and functional elements of ecosystems are essential in order to preserve biodiversity and ecosystem function. As a means of guiding conservation work, the umbrella species concept was developed. In Sweden, one putative umbrella species, the white-backed woodpecker, has guided conservation and restoration of deciduous forests for two decades. Here, we evaluate the decadal effects of restoration aimed at the white-backed woodpecker on biodiversity of saproxylic beetles. We compare stands that were restored twelve to twenty-one years ago to non-restored stands and historical white-backed woodpecker habitats acting as restoration target stands. Restored stands contained higher deciduous deadwood volumes than non-restored stands but lower volumes than restoration target stands. The deadwood in restored stands was concentrated in later decay stages whereas target stand deadwood was more evenly distributed across decay stages. Restored stands had similar species richness and abundance of most groups of saproxylic beetles compared with non-restored stands while not reaching the levels of restoration target stands. Species assemblages differed among all stand types with restored stands supporting late decay stage and generalist species while target stands supported more deciduous associated and threatened species. 5. Synthesis and applications: We conclude that after one to two decades, restoration improve stand structure and benefit beetle diversity but that target levels are not yet reached. Thus, only partial restoration is achieved. Our results stress that for restoration to be successful both continuous and repeated restoration efforts are needed and that it is important to identify target levels of important habitat characteristics when assessing restoration outcome.

Data from: Heterogeneity promotes resilience in restored prairie: implications for the 'environmental heterogeneity hypothesis'

Enhancing resilience in formerly degraded ecosystems is an important goal of restoration ecology. However, evidence for the recovery of resilience and its underlying mechanisms requires long-term experiments and comparison to reference ecosystems. We used data from an experimental prairie restoration that featured long-term soil heterogeneity manipulations and data from comparable remnant (reference) prairie to (1) quantify the recovery of ecosystem functioning (i.e., productivity) relative to remnant prairie, (2) compare resilience of restored and remnant prairies to a natural drought, and (3) test whether soil heterogeneity enhances resilience of restored prairie. We compared sensitivity and legacy effects between prairie types (remnant and restored) and among four prairie sites that included two remnant prairie sites and prairie restored under homogeneous and heterogeneous soil conditions. We measured sensitivity and resilience as the proportional change in aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) during and following drought (sensitivity and legacy effects, respectively) relative to average ANPP based on four pre-drought years (2014-2017). In non-drought years, total ANPP was similar between remnant and restored prairie, but remnant prairie had higher grass productivity and lower forb productivity compared to restored prairie. These ANPP patterns generally persisted during drought. Sensitivity of total ANPP to drought was similar between restored and remnant prairie, but grasses in restored prairie were more sensitive to drought. Post-drought legacy effects were more positive in restored prairie, and we attributed this to the more positive and less variable legacy response of forb ANPP in restored prairie, especially in the heterogeneous soil treatment. Our results suggest that productivity recovers in restored prairie and exhibits similar sensitivity to drought as remnant prairie. Furthermore, imparting heterogeneity promotes forb productivity and enhances prairie resilience to drought.

Effect of green infrastructure on restoration of pollination networks and plant performance in semi-natural dry grasslands across Europe

Agricultural intensification, afforestation and land abandonment are major drivers of biodiversity loss in semi-natural grasslands across Europe. Reversing these losses requires the reinstatement of plant-animal interactions such as pollination. Here we assessed the differences in species composition and patterns of plant-pollinator interactions in ancient and restored grasslands and how these patterns are influenced by landscape connectivity, across three European regions (Belgium, Germany and Sweden). We evaluated the differences in pollinator community assemblage, abundance, and interaction network structure between 24 ancient and restored grasslands. We then assessed the effect of surrounding landscape functional connectivity (i.e. green infrastructure, GI) on these variables and tested possible consequences on the reproduction of two model plants, Lotus corniculatus and Salvia pratensis. Neither pollinator richness nor species composition differed between ancient and restored grasslands. A high turnover of interactions across grasslands was detected but was mainly due to replacement of pollinator and plant species. The impact of grassland restoration was consistent across various pollinator functional groups, whereas the surrounding GI had differential effects. Notably, bees, butterflies, beetles, and dipterans (excluding hoverflies) exhibited the most significant responses to GI variations. Interestingly, networks in restored grasslands were more specialised (i.e. less functionally redundant) than in ancient ones and also showed a higher number of insect visits to habitat-generalist plant species. Landscape connectivity had a similar effect, with habitat-specialist plant species receiving fewer visits at higher GI values. Fruit set in S. pratensis and L. corniculatus was unaffected by grassland type or GI. However, the fruit set in the specialist S. pratensis increased with the number of pollinator visits, indicating a positive correlation between pollinator activity and reproductive success in this particular species. Synthesis and applications. Our findings provide evidence of the necessity to enhance ecosystem functions while avoiding biotic homogenization. Restoration programs should aim at increasing landscape connectivity which influences plant communities, pollinator assemblages, and their interaction patterns. To avoid generalist species taking over from specialists in restored grasslands, we suggest reinforcing the presence of specialist species in the latter, for instance by means of introductions, as well as increasing the connectivity to source populations.

Data from: Rapid evolution of flower phenology and clonality in restored populations of multiple grassland species

<ol> <li>Restoration of terrestrial ecosystems often requires re-introduction of plants. In restored sites, the plants often face environments that differ from those of natural populations. This can affect plant traits, reduce performance and impose novel selection pressures. As a response, restored populations might rapidly evolve and adapt to the novel conditions. This may enhance population survival and contribute to restoration success but has been rarely tested so far.</li> <li>Here, we focused on populations of three grassland species restored 20 years ago (Galium wirtgenii, Inula salicina and Centaurea jacea) by the transfer of green hay, and compared them with donor populations that were the source of the hay. We measured plants both in situ and in a common garden under control and three stress conditions.</li> <li>In-situ, plants in restored sites flowered earlier than plants in donor sites in two out of the three species. In the common garden, plants from the restored populations flowered earlier (in Galium) or showed increased plasticity of clonal propagation in response to clipping (in Inula). Both these traits suggest rapid adaptation to the contrasting mowing regimes in restored in comparison to the donor sites. In Centaurea, we detected no differentiation, neither in situ nor in the common garden.</li> <li> Synthesis and applications: Grassland plants introduced into degraded habitats within the framework of ecological restoration may quite commonly evolve in response to novel selection pressures at restored sites. This rapid evolution likely increases the plant's adaptation to the new conditions of the restored grassland and thus enhances the likelihood of survival of the population and ultimately restoration success. While most practitioners do not consider evolution to be part of restoration, our finding highlights that restored populations of grassland species can be systems with considerable eco-evolutionary dynamics.</li> </ol>

Seed mix design and floral resources drive multi-trophic interactions in prairie restoration

<ol> <li>Ecological restoration often targets plant community recovery, but restoration success may depend on the recovery of a complex web of biotic interactions to maintain biodiversity and promote ecosystem services. Specifically, management that drives resource availability, such as seeding richness and provenance, may alter species interactions across multiple trophic levels. Using experimentally seeded prairies, we examine three key groups – plants, pollinators, and goldenrod crab spiders (Misumena vatia, predators of pollinators) – to understand the effects of species richness and admixture seed sourcing of restoration seed mixtures on multi-trophic interactions.</li> <li>Working with prairie plants, we experimentally manipulated seed mix richness and the number of seed source regions (single-source region or admixture seed sourcing). In each experimental prairie, we surveyed floral abundance and richness, pollinator visitation, and plant-M. vatia interactions.</li> <li>A high-richness seed mix increased floral abundance when seeds were sourced from a single geographic region, and floral abundance strongly increased pollinator visitation, M. vatia abundance, and prey capture. Seeding richness and admixture seed sourcing of the seed mixture did not affect floral species richness, but floral species richness increased pollinator visitation.</li> <li>Pollinators interacted with different floral communities across seeding treatments, indicating a shift in visited floral species with restoration practices.</li> <li> Synthesis and applications. Long-term success in prairie restoration requires the restoration of plant-arthropod interactions. We provide evidence that seed mix richness and admixture seed sourcing affect arthropod floral associations, but effective restoration of plant-arthropod interactions should consider total floral resource availability. Incorporating a food web perspective in restoration will strengthen approaches to whole ecosystem restoration.</li> </ol>

opencc-zeroFeb 2024View details →

Data from: bringing the forest back: restoration priorities in Colombia

Aim: Colombia has committed to ambitious forest restoration targets which include a one million ha Bonn Challenge commitment and 6.47 - 8.31 million ha <a>(</a>rehabilitation and restoration, respectively) under the National Restoration Plan. Determining where and how to implement programs to achieve these targets remains a significant challenge. Location: Colombia Methods: We adopt a multi-objective optimisation framework for restoration planning and apply it to Colombia. We explore cost-effective solutions that leverage the potential for assisted natural regeneration benefits while accounting for opportunity and establishment costs of restoration and maximising biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation benefits. We explore four politically relevant restoration areal targets (one, six, 6.47 and 8.31 million ha) and identify minimum cost, and suites of maximum benefit and cost-effective solutions. Results: We identify solutions that simultaneously perform well across biodiversity and carbon objectives, despite trade-offs between these objectives. We find that cost-effective solutions can achieve on average 91.1%, 90.8%, 90.5%, and 90.1% of maximum carbon benefit and 100% of the maximum biodiversity benefit while significantly reducing costs. On average, the maximum benefit solutions reduce the cost by 16.9%, 30.2%, 31.1%, and 34.4% when considering the one, six, 6.47 and 8.31 million ha restoration targets respectively. Main conclusions: Colombia has committed to bold restoration and conservation targets, such as those under the new 2030 Convention on Biological Diversity Global Biodiversity Framework. Strategic forest restoration planning will play an important role in achieving Colombia's climate mitigation goals. We provide quantitative evidence to inform planning for environmentally and economically sensible restoration policy and practice in the country. Our framework and results can help guide Colombia towards meeting its ambitious forest restoration targets cost-effectively.

opencc-zeroFeb 2024View details →

Data on arthropod abundance in tropical forest restoration plots with high or low plant phylogenetic diversity

Consideration of plant phylogenetic diversity in ecological restoration carries substantial potential, as communities with a greater diversity of lineages with older evolutionary histories can increase the diversity of niches and thus are likely to recover larger species networks than communities clustered in specific clades with reduced variation in functional traits. In this study, we experimentally assessed how arthropod communities were affected by the phylogenetic diversity of a set of tropical tree species. We established 12 experimental restoration plots with either high or low plant phylogenetic diversity, while maintaining constant the number of plant species. After one and three years, arthropods with different feeding habits (herbivores, predators, pollinators, and detritivores) were collected and identified as morphospecies or operational taxonomic units using metabarcoding techniques. We provide insights on the influence of plant phylogenetic diversity on arthropod abundance and species diversity, particularly among predator, pollinator, and detritivore common and dominant species, which increased with plant phylogenetic diversity. The trend, however, was the opposite for the diversity of herbivore common and dominant species, which decreased as plant phylogenetic diversity increased. These findings highlight the importance of considering plant species richness when designing restoration strategies, but also their evolutionary histories, as the same number of plant species can produce different outcomes for higher trophic levels, as a function of their phylogenetic relationships.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2023View details →

Dataset for 'Can restoring water and sediment fluxes across a mega-dam cascade alleviate a sinking river delta?'

Please cite this dataset and corresponding manuscript at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adn9731">10.1126/sciadv.adn9731</a> if data were used in any way. Correspondence to Prof Lu Xi Xi at geoluxx@nus.edu.sg

opencc-zeroMar 2024View details →

Systematic review of field research reveals critical shortfalls for restoration of tropical grassy biomes

Scientists and policymakers are becoming aware of the pressing need to restore tropical grassy biomes (TGB), which are home to unique biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services to hundreds of millions of people. However, TGB face increasing threats, including the forest- and tree-centric approaches that promote their degradation though we still lack a systematic assessment of where and how TGB restoration research has been done to guide policy and practice. We synthesised knowledge on field restoration experiments by conducting a systematic literature review to map TGB restoration field studies, examine the association of restoration techniques and degradations sources, and investigate the diversity of indicators used to monitor restoration outcomes. TGB restoration was concentrated in Brazilian and Australian savannas, with large blindspots in Asia, Africa, and northern and western South America. Studies were largely context-dependent, with an inconsistent usage of restoration techniques to different sources of degradation. Less than half of the indicators evaluated were monitored consistently through time, often using a low-dimensional approach related to ecosystem functioning. Few studies manipulated fire, herbivores, and soils, the key drivers for the re-establishment of TGB dynamics. Unfortunately, many studies lacked negative (degraded ecosystems), positive (reference ecosystems) controls, or both, impairing attempts to robustly determine restoration outcomes. Our overview of field research on TGB restoration highlights that research needs improvement to refine our ability to assess, plan, implement, and monitor restoration. Severe issues with experimental designs and data reporting are identified as barriers to finding generality and upscale TGB restoration to meet the goals of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Synthesis and implications: Our synthesis calls for enhanced field experiments, transparent data reporting, and quantitative syntheses to guide large-scale TGB restoration. The overall lack of knowledge on improving resilience and measuring outcomes hampers meaningful comparisons between studies and hinders synthetic views essential for determining appropriate restoration techniques for different degradation sources and suitable monitoring indicators. To overcome the scarcity of reliable and transparent data supporting TGB restoration, we propose a simple checklist for minimum research reporting information and a more complete multilingual standardized guideline.

opencc-zeroMar 2024View details →

Incorporating generalist seagrasses enhances habitat restoration in a changing environment

Coastal habitat-forming species provide protection and essential habitat for fisheries but their ability to maintain these services are under threat from novel stressors including rising temperatures. Coastal habitat restoration is a powerful tool to help mitigate the loss of habitat-forming species, however, many efforts focus on reintroducing a single, imperiled species instead of incorporating alternatives that are more conducive to current and future conditions. Seagrass restoration has seen mixed success in halting local meadow declines but could begin to specifically utilize generalist seagrasses with climate change-tolerant and opportunistic life history traits including high reproduction rates and rapid growth. Here, we built on decades of successful eelgrass (Zostera marina) restoration in the Chesapeake Bay by experimentally testing seed-based restoration potential of widgeongrass (Ruppia maritima) – a globally distributed seagrass that can withstand wide ranges of salinities and temperatures. Using field experiments, we evaluated which seeding methods yielded highest widgeongrass survival and growth, tested if seeding widgeongrass adjacent to eelgrass can increase restoration success, and quantified how either seagrass species changes restored bed structure, invertebrate communities, and nitrogen cycling. We found widgeongrass can be restored via direct seeding in the fall, and that seeding both species maximized total viable restored area. Our pilot restoration area increased by 98% because we seeded widgeongrass in shallow, high temperature waters that are currently unsuitable for eelgrass survival and thus, would remain unseeded via only eelgrass restoration efforts. Restored widgeongrass had higher faunal diversity and double animal abundance per plant biomass than restored eelgrass, whereas restored eelgrass produced three times greater plant biomass per unit area and higher nitrogen recycling in the sediment. Synthesis and applications: Overall, we provide evidence that supplementing opportunistic, generalist species into habitat restoration is a proactive approach to combat climate change impacts. Specifically, these species can increase trait diversity which, for our study, increased total habitat area restored - a key factor to promote seagrass beds' facilitation cascades, stability, and grass persistence through changing environments. Now, we call for tests to determine if the benefits of restoration with generalist species alone or in conjunction with historically dominant taxa are broadly transferrable to restoration in other marine and terrestrial habitats.

opencc-by-4.0Mar 2024View details →

Dissolved organic carbon concentrations, pH and conductivity of water flowing from eroding and restored peatland catchments

Water was collected  from gullies within an eroding blanket bog. The bog is on a large high-altitude plateau blanket bog in the eastern part of the Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, UK (56.93° N, − 3.16° E, 642 m asl).  At Balmoral DOC concentrations were measured from water flowing through six v-notch weirs. Three weirs measured drainage from mini catchments that had undergone restoration and three measured drainage from  degraded mini-catchments with multiple upstream erosion gullies and bare peat. Restoration at this site included reprofiling and vegetating (turving) of peat haggs, bunding using coir logs to ‘slow the  flow’ and encourage Sphagnum growth, and mulching of areas of bare peat with locally sourced vegetation. The six V-notch weirs conforming to British Standard 3680:Part 4A:1981 (British Standards Institute, 1981) were constructed from 18 mm marine plywood. Initially 90°, 65 l s-1, V-notch plates cut from 1 mm aluminium plate were fitted. Weirs were installed at sites identified in the experimental design phase. Each weir was embedded into the peat by 20cm vertically and 20-40cm horizontally and supported by two posts embedded 60-80cm into the peat. Where required the weirs were extended to ensure that there were no leaks between the bank and the weir. A stilling well equipped with a capacitive water logger was installed at each weir. The stilling wells were manufactured from 800 mm long, 43 mm diameter, ABS waste pipe tubing. After a period of evaluation (November 2020 – May 2021) the 90°, 65 l/s, V-notch plates were replaced with 28.4°, 15 l s-1 plates in order to improve low-flow (<6cm head) accuracy. The water loggers were set to record water levels every 10 minutes. Raw data was downloaded every 6 months and processed in a Python script using the BS 3680 formula. Water samples were taken from each weir (if water was present behind the weir on the sampling day)  over a two year period from September 2021 to September 2023  After samples are delivered to the laboratory the protocol for wet chemistry analysis follows the protocol of the National Water Inventory of Scotland (NWIS) project. pH, conductivity and turbidity were then measured on all samples before a 100ml subsample was filtered through a 0.45 µm membrane. The remaining unfiltered sample is stored in a cold room and the filter membrane was retained, air dried and stored in plastic bags, for potential further analysis. The filtered water was analysed for DOC on a Skalar TOC analyser (Norcross, USA).

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2024View details →

Restoration of vegetation and soil in the Horqin Sandy Land, Northern China

These data aimed to clarify the response of vegetation and soil properties to different restoration measures and dune topography, and to quantify dynamics over time. Vegetation and soil characteristics were evaluated at different topographic positions on dunes in the Horqin Sandy Land, with 5-, 25- and 35-year monitoring periods for grazing exclusion and tree planting, and 5- and 25-year monitoring periods for shrub planting.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2024View details →

China's natural forest restoration potential region until 2100

This dataset includes areas of natural forest restoration in China, defined as natural forests that have recovered through natural growth since 1990 and remained undisturbed until 2020. Additionally, the dataset contains predictions of potential natural forest restoration areas in China under various future climate scenarios.

opencc-by-4.0Jun 2024View details →

Exotic Laguncularia racemosa drives rapid shifts in pond-to-mangrove restoration communities

The global degradation of mangrove ecosystems necessitates urgent restoration efforts. In China and many Southeast Asian regions, pond-to-mangrove restoration (PTMR) has become a key method for mangrove recovery. PTMR involves creating suitable habitats for mangroves through artificial terrain modification and planting. However, an overlooked issue is whether invasive exotic species benefit from PTMR. This study examines plant communities in a typical PTMR area, comparing community composition at four (PTMR4) and eight (PTMR8) years post-restoration. Results show that the exotic species Laguncularia racemosa rapidly increases in PTMR areas, significantly inhibiting native species growth and altering community composition. The relative abundance of L. racemosa rose from 8% at PTMR4 to 57% at PTMR8. By PTMR8, L. racemosa was taller than native species, with many seedlings present. Given the rapid growth and reproductive capacity of L. racemosa, and the high hydrological connectivity of mangrove wetlands, we recommend incorporating exotic species monitoring during PTMR. This study highlights the threat of biological invasions to ecological restoration projects, not just mangrove restoration. It emphasizes the need to prevent invasive species introduction during early restoration stages.

opencc-by-4.0Oct 2024View details →

Assessing Restoration Strategies for the Recovery of Colombian Moist Forests: A Meta-Analysis

Dataset from a systematic review conducted on October 3, 2023, in which we searched for indexed articles that studied successions in humid forests in Colombia following various management activities, such as soil remediation, planting of native or exotic species, nucleation, silvopastoral or agroforestry systems, or natural regeneration. The studies selected reported the mean and standard deviation of vegetation structure metrics (basal area, tree density, canopy cover, and height), species richness (plants, birds, and insects), soil nutrients, and leaf litter in successional stages and conserved native forests. We used this dataset to develop the under-review manuscript submitted in the Restoration Ecology Journal.

opencc-zeroNov 2021View details →

Populations restored using regional seed are genetically diverse and similar to natural populations in the region

Ecological restoration and plant re-introductions aim to create plant populations that are genetically similar to natural populations to preserve the regional gene pool, yet genetically diverse to allow adaptation to a changing environment. For this purpose, seeds for restoration are increasingly sourced from multiple populations in the target region. However, it has only rarely been tested whether using regional seed indeed leads to genetically diverse restored populations which are genetically similar to natural populations. We used single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers to investigate genetic diversity within and differentiation among populations of Centaurea jacea and Betonica officinalis on restored and natural meadows in the White Carpathians, Czech Republic. The restoration took place 20 years ago using regional seeds propagated from a mix of multiple regional source populations. We included original regional seeds in our analysis to compare the restored populations with their origin (only in C. jacea). Additionally, we analysed conventional seeds without certified origin because these would have constituted a common alternative for restoration seeding in the absence of regional seeds. The differentiation between restored and natural populations (mean pairwise FST = 0.018 in Centaurea and 0.021 in Betonica) was similar to the differentiation among natural populations (FST = 0.023 and 0.021), and the restored populations were slightly more genetically diverse than the natural populations. In addition, restored populations were relatively similar to their origin, the regional seeds (FST = 0.015). In contrast, conventional seeds were strongly differentiated from all regional populations (FST = 0.100 and 0.059, in Centaurea and Betonica, respectively) and harboured substantially lower genetic diversity. We also found signs of gene flow via pollen or seed dispersal from natural to restored populations but not vice versa. Policy implications. Regionally sourced seeds can produce genetically diverse populations at natural levels of genetic differentiation.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2021View details →

The quest for successful Atlantic salmon restoration: perspectives, priorities, and maxims

Data supporting publication https://academic.oup.com/icesjms/advance-article/doi/10.1093/icesjms/fsab201/6425092?casa_token=nTwNIhkC314AAAAA:FBK2iqeXsVgELsFGUxQAMjyWoOU6p2uJMe9UZ5ynGrdWIH6JxDSqN16EanyKWvZdtf1F3KdN4RW9Vg

opencc-zeroNov 2021View details →

Directional selection shifts trait distributions of planted species in dryland restoration

1. The match between species trait values and local abiotic filters can restrict community membership. An often-implicit assumption of this relationship is that abiotic filters select for a single locally optimal strategy, though difficulty in isolating effects of the abiotic environment from those of dispersal limitation and biotic interactions has resulted in few empirical tests of this assumption. Similar constraints have made it difficult to assess whether the type and intensity of abiotic filters shift along gradients of environmental harshness, as predicted by the stress dominance hypothesis. 2. We planted 9,216 plants of perennial grass and forb species that had a range of functional trait values and were assigned to a warm, intermediate, or cool temperature tolerance pools across eight sites on the Colorado Plateau. We compared the distributions of traits of surviving individuals to null distributions to evaluate whether there were shifts in trait means and variation. Borrowing from phenotypic selection concepts in evolutionary biology, we assessed support for stabilizing, directional, and disruptive abiotic filtering of trait distributions and whether these types of filtering varied with initial species pool. 3. Functional composition was significantly different from null distributions for nearly all traits at all sites, with trait variation more restricted in harsher abiotic conditions, supporting the stress-dominance hypothesis. Contrary to expectations, we primarily found evidence for directional selection, which increased in frequency in warm species pools while disruptive selection was found more often in cool and intermediate species pools. 4. Synthesis: This study provides a controlled experimental approach to test the effect of the abiotic environment on plant trait filtering. We found that opportunistic strategies allowing for rapid water acquisition during favorable periods improved survival at warmer sites. Species with these strategies may be expected to benefit from increasing aridity and may be selected for active management efforts. More generally, the prevalence of directional selection may have important implications for dynamic vegetation models that rely on trait distributions for translating environmental variation into ecosystem processes.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2014View details →

Fig. 1 in Impact Of Coastal Wetland Restoration Strategies In The Chongming Dongtan Wetlands, China: Waterbird Community Composition As An Indicator

Fig. 1. Locationofthestudysites (A–D).