Measuring progress in status of land under forest landscape restoration using abiotic and biotic indicators |
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| Authors: | Nigel Dudley Shonil A. Bhagwat Jim Harris Stewart Maginnis Jaime Garcia Moreno Gregory M. Mueller Sara Oldfield Gretchen Walters |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Equilibrium Research, Bristol, U.K.;2. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia;3. Department of Geography and Open Space Research Centre, The Open University, Milton Keynes, U.K.;4. School of Water, Energy and the Environment, Cranfield University, Cranfield, U.K.;5. International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland;6. ESiLi, Arnhem, KW, The Netherlands;7. Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL, U.S.A;8. , Cambridge, U.K.;9. Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, U.K. |
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| Abstract: | The paper suggests a minimum set of abiotic and biotic threshold indicators and progress indicators for forest landscape restoration (FLR), then also briefly discusses progress indicators of pressures and project outputs. FLR aims to restore multiple functions of forests at a landscape scale. It is predicated on the hypothesis that restoration produces enabling conditions for ecosystem services, including regulating services such as carbon sequestration and pollination, and provisioning services such as food and energy. As FLR gains greater uptake, it is increasingly important to monitor progress. The types of indicators required are influenced by the degree of forest loss and degradation. To measure the status of land under restoration, one or more abiotic and biotic threshold indicators are required, measuring the return of enabling conditions for restoration (soil quality, water, etc.), along with progress indicators measuring the reemergence of the ecosystem services. Although all elements of the proposed monitoring framework are well known, compiling them into a coherent system, suitable for application in a wide range of conditions, will take much further development. |
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| Keywords: | ecosystem functions ecosystem services forest monitoring restoration thresholds |
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