Local provenancing in subtropical rainforest restoration: For better or worse? A review of practitioners’ perspectives

The adaptive potential of restored communities is important to their long‐term sustainability, particularly in the face of changing environmental conditions such as climate change. The genetic diversity of rainforest plants in restoration projects and their suitability to current and future environmental site conditions are important considerations for restoration practitioners and seed suppliers. Presented here are the results from a survey of rainforest restoration practitioners in North East New South Wales and South East Queensland, Australia. The survey canvassed practitioners’ perspectives on local provenancing, genetic diversity and other aspects of restoration that have the potential to influence the long‐term success of restored rainforest communities. All respondents to this survey typically included a planting component in their restoration projects (whether for reconstruction or to supplement assisted regeneration). Planting represents an anthropogenic selection and translocation of genotypes to a restoration site. As a result, considerations of genetic origin and the potential implications to the restored rainforest community are relevant to most restoration projects. This industry survey's results showed that genetic diversity and local provenancing are concepts of importance to practitioners. However, there seems to be a lack of clarity within the industry about how to define local provenance and how the concepts of local provenancing and genetic diversity influence each other. The results indicated that local provenancing remains the preferred provenancing strategy amongst practitioners, with inclusion of non‐local provenance seed not regarded as an effective means of improving genetic diversity. This is despite researchers highlighting the limitations of local provenancing, particularly in highly fragmented landscapes, and despite the publication of numerous alternative provenancing strategies. Rainforest restoration may benefit from practitioners questioning the appropriateness of local provenancing to their restoration projects and considering that in some circumstances exclusive reliance on local provenance stock may in fact be worse, not better, for the long‐term sustainability of restored communities.     

Long‐term effects of prairie restoration on plant community structure and native population dynamics

The key to restoring degraded grassland habitats is identifying feasible and effective techniques to reduce the negative impacts of exotic species and promote self‐sustaining native populations. It is often difficult to extend monitoring of restoration efforts to evaluate long‐term success, but doing so is essential to understanding how initial outcomes change over time. To assess how initial treatment effects persist, we revisited degraded patches of Pacific Northwest prairie habitat 6 years after experimental restoration efforts ceased. We evaluated plant community composition to determine the lasting effects of supplemental native seeding and disturbance treatments (burning, mowing, and herbicide to reduce exotic species). We tracked the persistence of seeded species and measured spread of their populations to evaluate suitability of species for restoration and the ability of the habitat to support native plant populations. We found that plots that received supplemental seeding continued to exhibit higher richness of native species than those left unseeded, and that both seeding and disturbance treatments could positively influence native species abundance over the long term. The initially observed effects of disturbance treatments on reducing exotic grass abundance had diminished, highlighting the importance of long‐term monitoring and ongoing control of exotic species. Nevertheless, these treatments significantly influenced the population trajectories of 4 out of 8 seeded native species. There was evidence of spatial advance of most seeded species. Results from extended monitoring confirm that dispersal limitation of native species and difficulties maintaining the reduction of exotic grasses continue to be major barriers to success in restoration of invaded grasslands.     

Linking changes in knowledge and attitudes with successful land restoration in indigenous communities

Successful land restoration in impoverished rural environments may require adoption of new resource management strategies; however, feedbacks between local knowledge and introduced restoration technologies have rarely been articulated. We used interview scenarios to analyze the role of local knowledge in land restoration at a large‐scale, long‐term watershed rehabilitation and wet meadow restoration program in the highland Andes. Indigenous communities built over 30,000 check dams, terraces and infiltration ditches, and the density of erosion control structures and visible restoration varied greatly across participant communities. We developed a survey reaching across the highest restoration management intensity, lowest restoration management intensity, and non‐project (control) communities. We interviewed 49 respondents using 14 scenarios based on photos depicting biophysical phenomena related to land degradation and restoration. The scenarios generated 5,828 statements that were coded into 964 distinct concepts. As expected, respondents that built more erosion control structures had more detailed knowledge of check dam construction and ecosystem development following physical interventions. More significantly, there was a shift in the conceptualization of and attitudes toward land degradation and restoration. Respondents who built more erosion control structures were more likely to: attribute wetland hydrology to groundwater recharge rather than myth constructs about seeps and springs; attribute land degradation to human rather than mythological causes; and have more proactive attitudes regarding land restoration. Evidence suggests that when addressing severe land degradation or restoring ecosystem processes not readily observable by indigenous people, such as groundwater flow and wetland recharge, restoration success will depend on combining local and scientific knowledge.     

Local habitat restoration in streams: Constraints on the effectiveness of restoration for stream biota

Summary   The restoration of physical habitat has emerged as a key activity for managers charged with reversing the damage done by humans to streams and rivers, and there has been a great expenditure of time, money and other resources on habitat restoration projects. Most restoration projects appear to assume that the creation of habitat is the key to restoring the biota ('the field of dreams hypothesis'). However, in many streams where new habitat is clearly required if populations and communities are to be restored, there may be numerous other factors that cause the expected link between habitat and biotic restoration to break down. We discuss five issues that are likely to have a direct bearing on the success, or perceived success of local habitat restoration projects in streams: (i) barriers to colonization, (ii) temporal shifts in habitat use, (iii) introduced species, (iv) long-term and large-scale processes, and (v) inappropriate scales of restoration. The purpose of the study was primarily to alert ecologists and managers involved in stream habitat restoration to the potential impacts of these issues on restoration success. Furthermore, the study highlights the opportunities provided by habitat restoration for learning how the factors we discuss affect populations, communities and ecosystems.     

An Ecosystem Model for Exploring Lake Restoration Effects on Fish Communities and Fisheries in Florida

Developing quantitative ecosystem–scale expectations of habitat restoration projects and examining trade‐offs associated with alternative approaches has been a challenge for restoration ecology. Many of the largest freshwater lake restoration projects have occurred in Florida to remediate degradation to vegetated littoral habitats resulting from stabilized water levels, but effects across lake food‐webs have not been assessed. We developed an ecosystem model using Ecopath with Ecosim and Ecospace for a generalized large, eutrophic Florida Lake to explore how simulated restoration activities could influence fish communities with emphasis on sport fish abundance. We modeled three habitat restoration scenarios: (1) “no control,” (2) a “10‐year control” that restored littoral habitat every 10 years, and (3) a “combined control” scenario that restored littoral habitat every 10 years with maintenance controls between 10‐year periods. Our “combined control” scenario provided the largest long‐term habitat restoration benefits for sport fish abundance and the fisheries they support. In Ecospace, we simulated a littoral habitat restoration project that reduced lake‐wide tussock coverage from 30 to 15%. Ecospace predicted positive benefits to sport fish and fisheries following the restoration simulation and highlighted the importance of habitat edge effects, spatial design of habitat restoration projects, and sampling designs for evaluating restoration projects.     

Conservation planning and Indigenous governance in Australia's Indigenous Protected Areas

Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) recognize that “country” constitutes land and waters that have enduring cultural, social, and economic linkages for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that extend over millennia, and which are critical to sustainable Indigenous futures. Within Australia's conservation system, IPAs become part of the National Reserve System (NRS) when Indigenous peoples voluntarily announce their intention to manage “country,” in accordance with their law, custom, and culture, and consistently with national and international conservation guidelines. The NRS requirement is that land is managed “in perpetuity” which highlights a potential tension between with the conservation goals and the voluntary character of IPAs. Ecological restoration in IPAs also raises contested ideas about what is “natural,” the relevant “baseline” for restoration, and what are the objectives to be achieved—ecological or cultural sustainability? Experience from Healthy Country Planning in IPAs indicates that restoration of traditional owner decision‐making, as well as respectful use and valuing community knowledge, is central to the sustainability of outcomes. Ecological restoration is most effectively achieved by restoring governance processes that support Indigenous peoples given the inseparability of cultural, social, economic, and ecological objectives.     

Differences in stakeholder perceptions about native forest: implications for developing a restoration program

Ecological restoration is a global priority. Incorporating stakeholders' perceptions has been established as a critical factor to improve the success of restoration and conservation initiatives and decrease future social conflicts; however, it has barely been incorporated. Our objective was to analyze and compare the differences in the perceptions of Chilean dryland forest restoration of three groups: local community, experts, and government managers. We asked about: (1) what is the knowledge, importance, and uses that they have and give to the native forest and its restoration? (2) What is the willingness to restore the native forest? (3) What are the most valuable goods and services provided by the forest? (4) Where to begin to restore? (5) What criteria must be considered to prioritize areas to restore? To determine if the criteria selected were related to the stakeholder group, a semi‐parametric multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed. Semi‐structured interviews were carried out with 61 stakeholders. The community gave greater importance to restoring the ravines and creeks, the experts to restoring areas that increase landscape connectivity, and both experts and government managers to restoring areas of greater biodiversity and ecological value. The experts gave a lower value to both social and economic criteria compared to the local community and government managers. The differences among stakeholder perceptions must necessarily be considered in the restoration programs. Research on perceptions can contribute to decision‐making and will favor the social approval and long‐term success of restoration programs.     

Evaluating Stream Restoration in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed through Practitioner Interviews

River restoration is an integral part of restoring the Chesapeake Bay. As part of the National River Restoration Science Synthesis (NRRSS), we conducted 47 independent interviews with stream restoration project managers randomly selected from a database of 4,700 projects in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Here we present results from those interviews and characterize patterns in project goals, design, and expenditures, trends in project evaluation, and characterize project success as reported by interviewees. Interviewed practitioners reported that the majority of their projects were designed by private consultants. One‐third of projects were part of a watershed management plan and 70% were linked to other projects within the same watershed. Most interviewees considered their projects to be successful, and 76% of projects had conducted some form of project‐associated monitoring. Although most interviewees based their evaluation of success on observations or monitoring data, respondents indicated that very few projects had explicitly stated quantifiable project objectives within their design plans. Many interviewed practitioners specifically commented at the end of the surveys on the important role of stakeholder involvement and the need for initiatives to fund project monitoring.     

Restoring Ecosystems Around the Mediterranean Basin: Beyond the Frontiers of Ecological Science

Based on concrete examples gathered from the Mediterranean region, this article shows why restoration ecology around the Mediterranean Basin must go beyond ecological science to embrace a contrasting local vision which integrates social and political realities. By taking into account the growing gap between the northern and southern/eastern shores of the Mediterranean, we propose the adoption of a double agenda for restoration around the Mediterranean to overcome the fact that restoration objectives are often jeopardized by political decisions initially aimed to promote conservation and lack of available technical means (even when appropriate scientific and political means are secured), and to enhance local actions with lasting impacts on the ecosystems. Our discussion illustrates how current ecological problems have become extremely complex and how the success of restoration projects depends on effective social interactions. Here, the simple juxtaposition of disciplines is no longer sufficient. We suggest going beyond existing ecological and socioeconomic frontiers to fill three main gaps. To fill the “design gap” it is important from the outset to promote a full debate for correct definition of the project's objectives and success indicators. Second, to fill the “implementation gap” ecological restoration science should be linked to information technology and cognition science to develop tools adapted for ecological debate. Third, to fill the “evaluation gap” aesthetic, social, cultural, and economic indicators should be defined during the debate process.     

Do We Practice What We Preach? Goal Setting for Ecological Restoration

Over the last decade, several research and opinion pieces have challenged the tenets of restoration ecology but a lack of centralized data has impeded assessment of how scientific developments relate to on‐the‐ground restoration. In response, the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) launched the Global Restoration Network (GRN) to catalog worldwide restoration efforts. We reviewed over 200 GRN projects to identify the goals governing restoration and the frequency with which they are measured. We used the SER Primer on Ecological Restoration to frame our analysis, categorizing goals by SER's attributes of restored ecosystems. We developed additional attributes to characterize goals not encompassed by the SER‐defined attributes. Nearly all projects included goals related to ecosystem form, namely similarity to reference conditions and the presence of indigenous species, and these goals were frequently measured. Most projects included goals related to ecosystem function, and many highlighted interactions between abiotic and biotic factors by either modifying abiotic conditions to support focal species or manipulating species to achieve desired ecosystem functions. Few projects had goals related to ecosystem stability, whereas the majority of projects had goals related to social values. Although less frequently measured, social goals were described as important for long‐term project success. In conclusion, science and practice frequently aligned on goals related to ecosystem composition and function, but scientific guidelines on resilience and self‐sustainability appear insufficient to guide practice. In contrast, the common inclusion of goals for human well‐being indicates that, if intended to advise practice, restoration guidelines should give direction on social goals.     

Outcomes from engaging urban community groups in publicly funded vegetation restoration

Community‐based ecological restoration (CBR) has been encouraged by government funding schemes worldwide to help reverse ecosystem degradation, although many observers have questioned their longer‐term outcomes. We investigated the ecological and social outcomes of community‐based revegetation projects in an urban context, using the case study of all CBR groups located within 25 km of the Brisbane CBD which had been funded during 1997–2008 by the Australian Government's Natural Heritage Trust program to undertake revegetation works and which were also available for interview (N = 9 groups). First we reviewed the funding allocation within the region. Second, we conducted rapid on‐ground assessments of vegetation outcomes at 10 project sites several years after works were completed, which showed that the detectable area of established revegetation averaged 75% of the area planned, and the achieved revegetation areas varied greatly, both in total and in relation to cost. Third, we undertook thematic analysis of semi‐structured interviews with key group members, revealing that groups viewed the NHT scheme's short‐term funding and lack of administrative flexibility as being largely incompatible with both quantitative monitoring (which groups did not prioritise) and longer‐term maintenance of sites for successful vegetation establishment. Interactions with local governments were considered important to success, but internally‐conflicting policies of local and state governments, together with unforeseen site disturbances, acted to limit the achievement of projects' revegetation goals. Volunteer involvement and motivation were an important part of groups' activities. Overall, these CBR projects achieved modest short term environmental benefits together with a range of social benefits. There is a need for new CBR models aimed at maximising both environmental and social outcomes.     

Diversity and Distribution of Floral Resources Influence the Restoration of Plant–Pollinator Networks on a Reclaimed Strip Mine

Plant–pollinator mutualisms are one of the several functional relationships that must be reinstated to ensure the long‐term success of habitat restoration projects. These mutualisms are unlikely to reinstate themselves until all of the resource requirements of pollinators have been met. By meeting these requirements, projects can improve their long‐term success. We hypothesized that pollinator assemblage and structure and stability of plant–pollinator networks depend both on aspects of the surrounding landscape and of the restoration effort itself. We predicted that pollinator species diversity and network stability would be negatively associated with distance from remnant habitat, but that local floral diversity might rescue pollinator diversity and network stability in locations distant from the remnant. We created plots of native prairie on a reclaimed strip mine in central Ohio, U.S.A. that ranged in floral diversity and isolation from the remnant habitat. We found that the pollinator diversity declined with distance from the remnant habitat. Furthermore, reduced pollinator diversity in low floral diversity plots far from the remnant habitat was associated with loss of network stability. High floral diversity, however, compensated for losses in pollinator diversity in plots far from the remnant habitat through the attraction of generalist pollinators. Generalist pollinators increased network connectance and plant‐niche overlap. As a result, network robustness of high floral diversity plots was independent of isolation. We conclude that the aspects of the restoration effort itself, such as floral community composition, can be successfully tailored to incorporate the restoration of pollinators and improve success given a particular landscape context.     

Restoring habitat and cultural practice in Australia’s oldest and largest traditional aquaculture system

Lake Condah (Tae Rak) in south-western Victoria, Australia, is one of the world’s most ancient examples of traditional aquaculture, consisting of complex systems of traps and ponds used by Gunditjmara (Indigenous people) over millennia to collect short-finned eel (Anguilla australis) for consumption and trade. Artificial draining of the lake during the nineteenth century reduced surface water retention in the landscape and rendered most of the eel traps inoperable. In this paper, we describe the traditional eel fishery at Lake Condah and its historical and cultural significance to the Gunditjmara people. We document the impacts of European settlement on the traditional eel fishery, and describe the processes and events leading to eventual restoration of the lake and subsequent reactivation of major parts of the traditional aquaculture system. In addition to restoring an important ecological asset to the region, the restoration project provided significant benefits to the Gunditjmara people, including enhanced connection to country and culture, opportunities for economic development and employment, and increased capacity for traditional owners to progress and negotiate outcomes within regulatory and administrative frameworks. Aspects identified as critical to the ultimate success of the Lake Condah restoration project include: open and transparent lines of communication with stakeholders; building of trust and confidence with key individuals over sustained periods; use of strategic and business planning documents to guide activities; commissioning of high quality technical information to support and justify activities; representative leadership structures, and effective use of ‘two-way learning’ across western scientific and indigenous knowledge systems.     

Toward a social–ecological approach to ecological restoration: a look back at three decades of maritime clifftop restoration

The sharp increase in the touristic use of the maritime clifftops in western France after WWII resulted in a concentration of activities that generated ecosystem degradation in many sites (e.g. touristic infrastructure, human trampling). Consideration of the ecological value of these sites over the past three decades has led to a shift in maritime clifftop management and consequently to numerous planning and restoration projects. Using inventories of maritime clifftop restoration projects conducted in 2007 and 2016, we identified 76 restoration projects, which allowed us to study the active and passive restoration methods used. In addition, we collected and analyzed 465 vegetation monitoring plots with an average duration of 5.6 years to understand how they were used by both scientists and nonscientists. First, we describe the social–ecological systems of these restoration projects through an analysis of their social contexts, ecological stakes, and restoration goals based on 19 semistructured interviews with restoration stakeholders. Comparing our research with similar studies in the literature reveals that the main strength of maritime clifftop restorations is a strong network between scientist and nonscientist stakeholders combined with high‐level monitoring. Finally, we underline the main challenges for the future of maritime clifftop ecological restoration: (1) the need for further study of this ecological database (e.g. to study the medium‐term effect of active restoration, continue current monitoring); and (2) the need to develop sociological studies of human uses and perceptions to improve the long‐term management of restored ecosystems.     

Using structured decision‐making to set restoration objectives when multiple values and preferences exist

Achieving global targets for restoring native vegetation cover requires restoration projects to identify and work toward common management objectives. This is made challenging by the different values held by concerned stakeholders, which are not often accounted for. Additionally, restoration is time‐dependent and yet there is often little explicit acknowledgment of the time frames required to achieve outcomes. Here, we argue that explicitly incorporating value and time considerations into stated objectives would help to achieve restoration goals. We reviewed the peer‐reviewed literature on restoration of terrestrial vegetation and found that while there is guidance on how to identify and account for stakeholder values and time considerations, there is little evidence these are being incorporated into decision‐making processes. In this article, we explore how a combination of stakeholder surveys and workshops can be used within a structured decision‐making framework to facilitate the integration of diverse stakeholder values and time frame considerations to set restoration objectives. We demonstrate this approach with a case of restoration decision‐making at a regional scale (southeast Queensland, Australia) with a view to this experience supporting similar restoration projects elsewhere.     

Near‐natural methods promote restoration of species‐rich grassland vegetation—revisiting a road verge trial after 9 years

The present loss of species‐rich grasslands makes it vital to restore these valuable habitat types, including novel habitat variants such as road verges. Due to the lack of knowledge on long‐term outcomes of restoration initiatives, well‐designed studies comparing different restoration methods are needed. In this study, we examined fine‐scale vegetation recovery patterns over 9 years in a field experiment with several near‐natural restoration methods (adding local seed mixtures, transferring hay from local grasslands using hard or light raking, and natural regeneration) in a road verge. We compared this to standard revegetation (hydroseeding species‐poor commercial seed mixtures). We found major temporal changes in vegetation restored by local seed or hay transfer, before it gradually became more similar to the donor grasslands and seed mixtures, which served as references for the experiment. Natural (spontaneous) regeneration with seed dispersal from surroundings gave similar results, whereas areas revegetated using standard methods became more dissimilar to the reference sites during the study period. The main variation in species composition reflected the contrast between local donor grasslands and seed mixtures and the species‐poor early successional grasslands. We conclude that near‐natural methods (hay transfer and seeding) successfully restored species‐rich grassland, including road verges. This study underlines the importance of comparing several treatments over a sufficiently long period to assess their success in restoring species‐rich grassland.     

The emergence of the social‐ecological restoration concept

Many ecosystems in the world are the result of a close interaction between local people and their environment, which are currently recognized as social‐ecological systems (SoES). Natural catastrophes or long‐standing social and political turmoil can degrade these SoES to a point where human societies are no longer autonomous and their supporting ecosystems are highly degraded. Here, we focus on the special case of the restoration of SoES that we call social‐ecological restoration (SoER), which is characterized as a restoration process that cannot avoid simultaneously dealing with ecological and social issues. In practice, SoER is analogous in many ways to the general principles of ecological restoration, but it differs in three key aspects: (1) the first actions may be initially intended for human groups that need to recover minimum living standards; (2) the SoER process would often be part of a healing process for local people where cultural values of ecosystems play an essential role; and (3) there is a strong dependency on external economic inputs, as the people belonging to the SoES may be incapable of reorganizing themselves on their own and supporting ecosystems can no longer self‐recover. Although it might not be desirable or necessary to call all restoration projects with a social component an SoER, the use of this concept may help in defining early restoration targets that may prevent conflicts among users in the long term. From the perspective of other disciplines, SoER would be more appropriately perceived as programs of “social‐ecological recovery” in the long term.     

General attributes and practice of ecological restoration in Arizona and California,U.S.A., revealed by restoration stakeholder surveys

Ecological restoration has become increasingly important in conservation. Yet, synthesized statistics are scarce with respect to essential characteristics of restoration activities. We surveyed restoration stakeholders in the U.S. states of Arizona and California to evaluate key attributes in restoration activities including ecosystems of focus, goals, size, cost, duration, and the prevalence of recommended restoration practices. We also examined how some of the attributes varied with size of restoration, ecosystem type, and state identity. While enhancing biodiversity and increasing plant cover were common goals in the two states, restoration in California also focused more on wildlife habitat re‐establishment and weed control. Restoration in Arizona was implemented more in arid/semiarid systems, larger in size, shorter in duration, used more passive restoration, spent more on equipment, and was less likely to source plants from native plant nurseries. Labor was the most expensive restoration component regardless of state identity and ecosystem type. Per unit area cost of restoration decreased with increasing size of restoration. Yet, the decline in this cost was more strongly explained by moving from mesic to arid/semiarid ecosystems. Duration of restoration projects increased with size of restoration and in more mesic ecosystems. Overall, restoration in mesic ecosystems, compared to arid/semiarid systems, was smaller in size, higher in cost, and longer in duration. These results confirmed that ecological and socio‐political conditions impact restoration goals and practice, with implications of how research can further support practitioners to achieve restoration success under practical constraints revealed by these results.     

Cultural Ecosystem Services and Popular Perceptions of the Benefits of an Ecological Restoration Project in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

It is essential to understand how ecological restoration (ER) improves human well‐being in order to justify more investments and upscaling in this emergent field of action. As part of a 22‐year‐old, 80 ha ER project being carried out around a water reservoir that supplies drinking water to the city of Iracemápolis (population 19,700), in the mega‐diversity Atlantic Forest biome of Brazil, we assessed local community perceptions of the tangible and intangible benefits expected to arise from this project. A detailed questionnaire was completed for 292 members of the local community to gauge perceptions of benefits arising from various cultural and provisioning ecosystem services (ESs; especially safe and clean drinking water) provided by the 80 ha forest restoration project. A striking 94% of those interviewed wanted more ER projects in their community. Participants reported an appreciation for cultural ESs such as esthetic landscape improvement, tourism, recreation, as well as various religious, spiritual, and educational services. In addition, 87% of interviewees believed that the restoration project improved the quality of their drinking water, and 63% said they would agree to an increase in water tariffs if the proceeds were to be invested in more forest restoration. Judging from this study, investigation and subsequent communication of popular perceptions of the various benefits of ER projects could promote consensus‐building and support for projects among stakeholders, and inform governmental and societal investments in restoration .