Using the past to manage the future: the role of palaeoecological and long-term data in ecological restoration
- Authors: Manzano, Saul , Julier, Adele. C. M. , Dirk, Cherie. J. , Razafimanantsoa, Andriantsilavo. , Samuels, Ighshaan , Petersen, Hana , Gell, Peter , Hoffman, M. Timm , Gillson, Lindsey
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article , Opinion article
- Relation: Restoration Ecology Vol. 28, no. 6 (2020), p. 1335-1342
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Global change in its various expressions has impacted the structure and function of ecosystems worldwide, compromising the provision of fundamental ecosystem services and creating a predicament for the societies that benefit from them. Restoration ecology plays a key role in securing ecological integrity and societal well-being, and hence represents a global priority. However, human perception seldom goes back to the beginning of significant ecosystem degradation, making ecosystem assessment and restoration practices difficult. Long-term data, historical records, and paleoecological information can increase our understanding of ecological responses to natural or anthropogenic impacts and can directly contribute to the understanding and design of effective restoration practices. Here, examples from different ecosystems (drylands, grasslands, shrublands, savannas, forests, coastal environments, and wetlands) brought together from around the world illustrate (1) how to develop appropriate restoration references under the current uncertain global change scenario; (2) how long-term perspectives on drivers of change can help to identify critical ecological elements, thus contributing to defining restoration goals; and (3) how to incorporate information from the past as guidance for present interventions and landscape management. The building of community and the specificity of paleoecological and historical records of ecological change over time will be key in facilitating the translation of long-term information into the living process of ecological restoration practice. © 2020 Society for Ecological Restoration
Using long-term data to inform a decision pathway for restoration of ecosystem resilience
- Authors: Gillson, Lindsey , Dirk, Cherié , Gell, Peter
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Anthropocene Vol. 36, no. (2021), p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Landscapes change over time in response to multiple interacting drivers, including climate, disturbance, and land-use, which all leave a lasting legacy on ecosystem structure and function. As the dynamic nature of ecosystems is increasingly recognised, long-term data is essential to contextualise recent changes and provide a frame of reference for planning appropriate restoration responses. Knowledge of ecological function and process can underpin management thresholds and decision pathways that consider the history and resilience of ecosystems. This paper reviews and synthesizes literature relevant to process-based approaches to restoration ecology that incorporates a long-term perspective. In doing so, we identify alternative descriptors to frame reference conditions, useful theoretical principles for restoration ecology, and a management decision-support framework based on these principles. Such tools enable exploration of possible future scenarios and adaptation pathways for social-ecological resilience in a no-analogue future. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd