what is restoration? restoration for native ecosystems people & restoration

"The time has come for science to busy itself with the earth itself. The first step is to reconstruct a sample of what we had to begin with."
- Aldo Leopold (Leopold 1934)

Restoration is an attempt to return a degraded ecosystem to a previous functioning condition by reestablishing the processes and/or species native to that ecosystem (Cairns 1988). Restoration differs from conservation. Through habitat protection, conservation either prevents a pristine area from being degraded in the first place or prevents an area from being further degraded and allows an area to heal on its own. Other than the initial protection, no intervention or improvements are made. Restoration, on the other hand, can take a more active approach and aid the process of natural recovery. Although they are different forms of land management, conservation can work in conjunction with restoration. For example, when less than pristine land is purchased by conservation groups or protected through conservation easements, restoration efforts can help speed up the process of recovery on these lands.

One of the first known habitat restoration efforts was conducted under the direction of Aldo Leopold in 1935 in Wisconsin. Leopold and a small group of Civilian Conservation Corps workers restored 24 hectares of farmland to native tallgrass prairie by reestablishing the plants and animals native to the area. He was a visionary of the process that we call restoration. Since that time restoration has encompassed many different types of projects including mine reclamation, water quality improvements, wetland restoration, native species reintroduction, stream restoration and fire reintroduction. Some restoration attempts focus on restoring an entire habitat to a functioning condition, such as the prairie restoration efforts, although most restoration attempts have involved replacing a few essential elements of an ecosystem and allowing nature to heal itself. The key to this approach is determining what the essential elements are for the particular ecosystem you are hoping to restore. For example, in order to restore a lodgepole pine forest, there needs to be fire; this is an essential component for this habitat type. The heat of fire is needed for lodgepole pine cones to open and release their seeds. Without fire, regeneration becomes less probable. This is where knowledge of the ecosystem you are working with becomes important.

We use existing knowledge of an ecosystem to try and repair it, and our success is often dependent on how well we understand that ecosystem. Restoration is an adaptive process and we learn as much from our failures as we do from our successes. Experience provides us with better restoration techniques and an enhanced understanding of the ecosystem we are trying to restore.

We should use this new understanding to take a holistic approach to restoration; to treat the cause of degradation and not the symptoms. For example, some lakes in the northeast United States no longer support fish populations. The probable cause of this has been identified as acid rain, which is caused by air pollution. The symptom of the problem is that there are no fish. Simply treating the symptom by reintroducing fish into these lakes is not going to reestablish fish populations because these fish will also die. We need to address the cause of the problem, which is air pollution. By taking this holistic approach and understanding the ecosystems we are trying to restore, we maximize the chances of restoration efforts being successful.

The success of restoration is gauged by monitoring site conditions before and after restoration actions. This monitoring can take many forms depending on the type of project that was done. For example, monitoring a site that was revegetated with native plants could involve measuring plant growth, changes in species diversity or percentage of weeds over time.

Another important aspect of restoration is outreach and education. Education is a wonderful tool to teach people about their natural environment and what constitutes healthy ecosystems. This knowledge can foster an increased appreciation of the natural world and a recognition of why restoration of degraded ecosystems is important.

Restoration for Native Ecosystems

Habitat loss and species extinctions are occurring at an alarming rate in the United States as illustrated by the following statistics:

• Half of all wetlands that existed in 1700 have been lost and an additional 287,000 acres of wetlands are lost annually. (Dahl 1990)

• Only 2% of the waterways are of high enough quality to be eligible for wild and scenic river status. (Behnke 1990)
• In 1974, the amount of severely degraded land resulting from surface mining was over 1,784,000 ha. (Bradshaw 1984)
• Less than 1% of native prairie habitat remains.


• In Washington State, over 1/2 of the shrub steppe habitat has been converted to agricultural lands.
  
• In the United States and Canada, the following percentages of species are rare or extinct:


• 72% of all freshwater mussels (Williams et al. 1993)
• 65% of all crayfishes (Master 1990)
  
• 28% of all fishes (Williams et al. 1989)
• 28% of all amphibians (Master 1990)
• 11% of all birds (Master 1990)
  
• 13% of all mammals (Master 1990)

Restoration has an important role to play in the recovery of these habitat types and species. As illustrated above, some areas are so degraded and some ecosystems and species so rare that we cannot wait for these areas to restore themselves. Waiting could result in additional habitat loss, native species extinctions, and/or exotic species invasions. It is in these cases that intervention is necessary. Restoration is a method of speeding up the process of recovery by providing an area with what it needs to heal itself.

Restoration can benefit native ecosystems in the following ways:

• Improved ecological health
• Increased habitat for rare plant and animal species
• Higher diversity of plant and animal species
• Resistance to exotic species
• More productive soil
• Cleaner air and water

People and Restoration

"Restoration is a starting point in the long and laborious job of building a permanent and mutually beneficial relationship between civilized men and a civilized landscape."
-Aldo Leopold (Leopold 1934)

The goal of restoration is to initiate the process of reestablishing species diversity and the interactions that occur between all ecosystem components (Cairns 1988a). These components include people as well as plants, animals, insects, air, nutrients, soil, water, and fire. When considering restoration, it is important to realize that people are also a part of the ecosystem. Attempting to restore a degraded area to a pristine, prehuman condition is often unrealistic and unattainable (Williams, Wood, Dombeck 1997). We must take the desires of communities and the presence and influence of people into consideration when evaluating restoration methods.

Restoration is beneficial to plant and animal species and their habitats (see "Restoration for Native Ecosystems" page above), but it is equally important for people and communities. Benefits include:

• Preservation of traditional ways of life
• Improved aesthetics
• Cleaner air and water
• More productive soil
• Fewer noxious weeds
• Drought moderation
• Groundwater recharge
• Flood control
• Decreased property taxes through conservation easements
• Increased bird and wildlife watching opportunities
• Better fishing and hunting opportunities
• Reduced risk of catastrophic fire
• Community involvement through land stewardship