A global meta-analysis on the ecological drivers of forest restoration success

Crouzeilles, Renato; Curran, Michael; Ferreira, Mariana Silva; Lindenmayer, David B.; Grelle, Carlos Eduardo Viveiros; Benayas, José M. Rey

doi:10.1038/ncomms11666

Cited by 444 publications

(403 citation statements)

References 51 publications

(111 reference statements)

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“…As is commonplace with ecological meta-analyses8103738, the data necessary to determine variance with any confidence were not available in the majority (79% in our case) of outcome measures. In addition, meta-analysis theory suggests that when among-study variation is much higher than within-study variation, parameter estimates from random-effects models are nearly the same as those obtained with unweighted models37383940.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In addition, meta-analysis theory suggests that when among-study variation is much higher than within-study variation, parameter estimates from random-effects models are nearly the same as those obtained with unweighted models37383940. Nevertheless, unweighted models may yield confidence intervals that are too narrow, as they do not account for the within- and among-study variation components that are accounted for in random-effects models.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anthropogenic ecosystem disturbance and the recovery debt

et al. 2017

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Ecosystem recovery from anthropogenic disturbances, either without human intervention or assisted by ecological restoration, is increasingly occurring worldwide. As ecosystems progress through recovery, it is important to estimate any resulting deficit in biodiversity and functions. Here we use data from 3,035 sampling plots worldwide, to quantify the interim reduction of biodiversity and functions occurring during the recovery process (that is, the ‘recovery debt'). Compared with reference levels, recovering ecosystems run annual deficits of 46–51% for organism abundance, 27–33% for species diversity, 32–42% for carbon cycling and 31–41% for nitrogen cycling. Our results are consistent across biomes but not across degrading factors. Our results suggest that recovering and restored ecosystems have less abundance, diversity and cycling of carbon and nitrogen than ‘undisturbed' ecosystems, and that even if complete recovery is reached, an interim recovery debt will accumulate. Under such circumstances, increasing the quantity of less-functional ecosystems through ecological restoration and offsetting are inadequate alternatives to ecosystem protection.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic ecosystem disturbance and the recovery debt

et al. 2017

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“…Many revegetation programs have been implemented worldwide. These include China's Grain‐for‐Green Program (J. Li, Peng, & Li, ), the worldwide Bonn Challenge (Verdone & Seidl, ), and the ‘Initiative 20 × 20’ Project in Latin America and the Caribbean (Crouzeilles et al, ). However, substantial land use changes may have adverse effects (Y. Chen et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incorporation of potential natural vegetation into revegetation programmes for sustainable land management

Peng

2018

Land Degrad Dev

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Knowledge of potential natural vegetation (PNV) is imperative when implementing revegetation to mitigate land degradation and promote sustainable land management. To date, however, PNV has received relatively little attention. One challenge is determining which type of PNV is the best‐fit ecosystem under investigation. The objective of this study was to develop a revegetation program and evaluate its potential efficacy at correcting existing land use patterns. The PNV pattern was generated using a physically based ecosystem model called Lund–Potsdam–Jena General Ecosystem Simulator. The Loess Plateau of China was selected as the study area because it has undergone substantial degradation and revegetation. The results showed that from 1981 to 2014, forest and steppe accounted for 29.8% and 68.2% of the entire area, respectively. Comparisons between observed and simulated land use patterns indicated that current forestland and grassland distributions must be changed. Only 55.2 ± 1.4% of the existing forestland aligned with the PNV model. A more appropriate vegetation type for the remaining forestland would be grass. It was found that 78.4 ± 1.3% of the existing grassland was consistent with the PNV whereas the remainder should be forested. Comparisons between simulated PNV and existing farmland indicated that the steeper zones could be converted to forestland or grassland. They account for 40.6% and 58.7% of the steeper farmland area, respectively. The framework developed herein and the results derived therefrom may assist other regions facing similar land degradation issues in the development of revegetation programs and the promotion of sustainable land management.

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“…Evaluating restoration success does not only depend on choosing an appropriate ecological indicator, but also on the taxonomic group considered (Crouzeilles et al ). For instance, compared to other taxonomic groups, birds may show earlier signs of recovery because they are able to make use of young new‐growth forests (Crouzeilles et al ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree and bird functional groups as indicators of recovery of regenerating subtropical coastal dune forests

Rolo

Olivier

Aarde

2017

Restoration Ecology

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Functional diversity indicators are increasingly used to monitor forest function recovery because they connect biodiversity to ecosystem functions. However, identifying which functions deviate from a reference forest has not received much attention, despite its potential to inform restoration interventions. In this study, we used functional groups to assess the recovery of ecosystem functions in regenerating coastal dune forests. We surveyed birds and trees in forest of different ages and a reference old‐growth forest in KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa. We classified species into functional groups for each taxa based on functional traits or a priori defined categories (i.e. guilds) and quantified the number of species within functional groups as a proxy of function stability. Bird species density followed an asymptotic trajectory, reaching old‐growth forest values after 25 years. Insectivores and granivores showed saturating trajectories, whereas small frugivores and generalists increased linearly. With the exception of large frugivores, relative abundances of bird functional groups progressed towards old‐growth forest values as the forest aged. Tree species density increased linearly with forest age. In contrast to old‐growth forests, large‐canopy trees and understory shrubs were under‐represented, while mid‐canopy trees dominated regenerating forests. Our result suggests that most bird, but not tree, functions may have been restored. The trend in large frugivore numbers may warrant further investigation, as their low numbers may have hampered the recovery of tree functions. We conclude that functional group trajectories can track functions that deviate from a benchmark, and may therefore direct adaptive actions to recover the stability of regenerating forest.

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A global meta-analysis on the ecological drivers of forest restoration success

Cited by 444 publications

References 51 publications

Anthropogenic ecosystem disturbance and the recovery debt

Anthropogenic ecosystem disturbance and the recovery debt

Incorporation of potential natural vegetation into revegetation programmes for sustainable land management

Tree and bird functional groups as indicators of recovery of regenerating subtropical coastal dune forests

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