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Knowing when (not) to attempt ecological restoration
Citation
Johnson, CR and Chabot, RH and Marzloff, MP and Wotherspoon, S, Knowing when (not) to attempt ecological restoration, Restoration Ecology, 25, (1) pp. 140-147. ISSN 1061-2971 (2016) [Letter or Note in Journal]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2016 Society for Ecological Restoration
Abstract
Here we argue that there are two important steps in the decision process to restore ecological system that are often ignored.
First, consideration of restoration is in response to observed change in a system, but ecological systems can fluctuate widely
in their normal dynamic. Thus, there is an imperative to interpret ecological change; shifts in community structure that
represent "typical" fluctuations in a properly functioning ecosystem do not warrant restoration, while change associated with
phase shift in the system may well demand restoration action. Second, where restoration effort is warranted, it needs to be
determined whether management responses are likely to be successful within resource constraints. Where ecological change
involves pronounced hysteresis, even massive effort may have little chance in effecting recovery to a preferred ecosystem state.
Theory and models indicate that consideration of the characteristic length scales (CLSs) of ecological systems provides an
unambiguous interpretation of ecological change, enabling differentiation of "typical" fluctuations from phase shift, and here
we show that CLSs can be calculated for real communities from their species’ dynamics, and that their behavior is as predicted
from theory. We also show that for ecological systems where local interactions and forcings are well understood, validated
simulation models can provide a ready means to identify hysteresis and estimate its magnitude. We conclude that there are
useful tools available for ecologists to address the key questions of (1) whether restoration attempts are warranted in the first
place and, if they are, (2) whether it is practical to pursue them.
Item Details
Item Type: | Letter or Note in Journal |
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Keywords: | characteristic length scale, fouling community, hysteresis, kelp bed, marine ecosystem, phase shift |
Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
Research Group: | Ecology |
Research Field: | Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) |
Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
Objective Group: | Terrestrial systems and management |
Objective Field: | Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems |
UTAS Author: | Johnson, CR (Professor Craig Johnson) |
UTAS Author: | Chabot, RH (Miss Rebecca Habeeb) |
UTAS Author: | Marzloff, MP (Dr Martin Marzloff) |
UTAS Author: | Wotherspoon, S (Dr Simon Wotherspoon) |
ID Code: | 112475 |
Year Published: | 2016 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 27 |
Deposited By: | Directorate |
Deposited On: | 2016-11-11 |
Last Modified: | 2017-01-17 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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