Transcript Landscape Restoration

Landscape Restoration
Lecture 20
April 28, 2005
Introduction
Landscape Restoration
What Is Ecological Restoration?
Definition by the Society of Ecological
Restoration
“Ecological restoration is the process of
assisting the recovery and
management of ecological integrity.
“Ecological integrity includes a critical
range of variability in biodiversity,
ecological processes and structures,
regional and historical context, and
sustainable cultural practices.”
What Is Ecological Restoration?
“Restoration of an ecosystem is an acid
test of ecological understanding, a
technique for basic ecological
research” (Bradshaw)
“Restoration is the central challenge of
ecology, gives ecology a mission (to
heal the system) and links it
decisively to the land ethic” (Jordan)
History of Restoration Ecology
1930’s UW Arboretum / Aldo Leopold
1940’s prescribed burning experiments in
Wisconsin
1981 Journal: Restoration and Management
Notes
1988 Society for Restoration Ecology founded
1993 Journal: Restoration Ecology
1997 Aldo Leopold Chair in Restoration Ecology
established at UW-Madison / Joy Zedler
What Is Landscape Restoration?
Society of Ecological Restoration’s environmental
policy on Landscape Integration
“The Society for Ecological Restoration advocates
the integration of restoration projects into
regional landscapes, so as to maximize the
effectiveness of restoration efforts.
“To that end, ecological restoration projects should
contribute as much as possible to the
establishment of greenbelts, buffers, wildlife
corridors, biosphere reserves, and similar
conservation lands.”
When Is Landscape Restoration
Relevant to Landscape Ecology?
My answer:
When we seek to reconnect landscapes and restore the
flow of information, energy, matter across landscapes.
When an awareness of spatial configuration and spatial
and temporal scales is critical to the restoration of
landscapes.
When the tools we have developed - particularly
landscape models - can provide valuable information
about the potential or consequences of landscape
restoration.
When Is Landscape Restoration
Relevant to Landscape Ecology?
My answer:
Restoration is one of the best opportunities to test
landscape ecological theories!
Landscape Restoration:
Restoration of What?
Restoration of landscape processes and patterns:
Restoration of disturbance regimes
Restoration of cultural landscapes
recognizing humans as an important landscape
process
Restoration of connections between landscape
fragments
Other?
Examples of
Landscape Restoration
Landscape Restoration
Example: Everglades
2.8 Mha
wetland
complex
w/ 1.2
Mha in
Everglades
Original (ca. 1900) Everglades:
Water flowed from Lake
Okeechobee
Through the River of Grass - a slow
moving sheet flow of water.
Fed into the Everglades
Landscape Restoration
Example: Everglades
Current Everglades:
Over 50% of original ecosystem
has been developed or drained for
agriculture or flood control.
The remainder carved into less
connected compartments
Sheet flow blocked and redirected
by 1,700 miles of levees and
canals.
Remaining flow into Everglades
highly polluted by nutrients.
Landscape Restoration
Example: Everglades
“We propose that large-scale ecosystem
restoration requires an approach different
from those … frequently applied on a
smaller scale, and thus the emphasis on
restoring ecosystem driving forces rather
than on wetland creation, supplemental
planting, or revegetation.”
Davis, S. M. and J. C. Ogden. 1994. Everglades
- The ecosystem and its restoration
Landscape Restoration
Example: Everglades
Goal: Restore or mimic
the natural flow
patterns, both within
and among years
Goal: Increase water
supplies and maintain
flood control.
Plan: Build new
reservoirs,
underground wells,
and artificial wetlands.
Estimated cost of $8
Billion over 20 years
Everglades Restoration
Tools: Everglades Landscape Model (ELM)
Spatially explicit
implementation of GEM in
the Everglades/Big Cypress
region
Horizontal fluxes of water and
nutrients in raster landscape,
canal vectors
Habitat switching in response to
hydroperiod, nutrient levels,
and fire
Scenario analyses of landscape
response to changes to water
quality/quantity
management
More info:
http://www.sfwmd.gov/org/wrp
/elm/
Landscape Restoration Example:
Yellowstone-to-Yukon
Both restoration and a
conservation initiative.
Preserve and create corridors
for the movement migration of
large mammals - elk, cougars,
and grizzly bears.
Landscape Restoration
Yellowstone-to-Yukon
Priority:
Identify potential corridors
connecting large, intact
ecosystems.
Use GIS analysis to find best
corridor locations given
ownership, development, etc.
Landscape Restoration
Example: Cultural Restoration
Lowland Heathland Restoration
One of the oldest habitats in the UK, established
4-6000 years ago when people cleared the
wildwood.
Its continuation as an open habitat is the result
of grazing, firewood and turf cutting.
Lowland heathland supports a large number of
specialized species that are of high biodiversity
importance, and in many cases are unique to
the habitat.
Changes in the rural economy caused mid 20th
C heathland decline, leading to encroachment by
tree scrub, bracken and grasses, which are given
a competitive edge by a build up of available
nutrients.
Landscape Restoration
Example: Cultural Restoration
Restoration management is focused
on the control of invasive species,
and the re-introduction of regular
management of heathers and gorse,
and returning the heath to a low
nutrient state.
Methods of heathland restoration
Tree and scrub removal
Bracken control
Restoration of grazing, mowing, fire
Similar encroachment of trees is an
issue everywhere that open habitats
were created by humans, including
much of the US prairie.
Restored heathland in UK
from conifer plantation.
Critical Issues of
Landscape Restoration
Critical Issues of
Landscape Restoration
What are the goals of landscape restoration?
What are indicators of success?
focal species?
landscape patterns?
Risk of failure
use a mix of different strategies to spread the
risk of failure of any one approach.
Adaptive management is critical
Simulation models have been very valuable for
testing options.
Critical Issues of
Landscape Restoration
Landscape ecology can provide information about
the larger context of small restoration sites.
Restoration intensity versus extent.
Critical Issues of
Landscape Restoration
Managing for dynamic landscapes versus
management for equilibrium?
dynamic
future state?
?
current state
Landscape Restoration
Conclusions
“Ecology is not only the science of ecological
problems and calamities, it is also the science
of their solutions.
“The history of humanity is a race between
learning and disaster.
“We as a group have the opportunity to
contribute to that race and to do something
positive, the challenge is here.”
Hobbs and Saunders, 1993