Application of the diminishing returns concept in the hydroecologic restoration of riverscapes

Diefenderfer, Heida L.; Johnson, Gary E.; Skalski, John R.; Breithaupt, Stephen A.; Coleman, André M.

doi:10.1007/s10980-012-9713-8

Cited by 7 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Notably, the transport of material to adjacent elements of the riverscape, including other restoration sites in the model domain, suggests that the effect of multiple hydrological reconnections in a riverscape could be synergistic, as previously demonstrated (Diefenderfer et al 2012). This "lateral" connectivity (Amoros and Bornette 2002) demonstrates the spatial subsidy of organic matter (Summerhayes andElton 1923, Polis et al 1997), an important process contributing to a wide array of ecosystem functions (Naiman andD ecamps 1997, Nakano andMurakami 2001).…”

Section: Ecosystem Connectivity and Spatial Subsidies Of Restorationmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…Researchers measured the responses of tidal wetlands to tidal hydrological reconnection, and developed and implemented methods for predicting the effects of multiple restoration projects on the ecosystem (Diefenderfer et al. , , Ke et al. ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our study was part of a comprehensive research effort supporting the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program, which is aimed at restoring ecosystems in the Columbia River estuary (Ebberts et al 2017). Researchers measured the responses of tidal wetlands to tidal hydrological reconnection, and developed and implemented methods for predicting the effects of multiple restoration projects on the ecosystem (Diefenderfer et al 2012, Ke et al 2013. "Material flux" was recommended as an indicator of the ecosystem processes and realized functions among several response indicators that were assessed (Roegner et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Storm‐driven particulate organic matter flux connects a tidal tributary floodplain wetland, mainstem river, and estuary

Thom

Breithaupt

Diefenderfer

et al. 2018

Ecological Applications

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The transport of terrestrial plant matter into coastal waters is important to regional and global biogeochemical cycles, and methods for assessing and predicting fluxes in such dynamic environments are needed. We investigated the hypothesis that upon reconnection of a floodplain wetland to its mainstem river, organic matter produced in the wetland would reach other parts of the ecosystem. If so, we can infer that the organic matter would ultimately become a source for the food web in the mainstem river and estuary. To accomplish this, we adapted numerical hydrodynamic and transport modeling methods to estimate the mass of particulate organic matter (POM) derived from the annually senescent aboveground parts of herbaceous marsh plants (H-POM). The Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM), parameterized with flow, tide, and aboveground biomass data, simulated H-POM mobilization from fluid shear stress during tidal exchange, flooding, and variable river flow; entrainment into the water column; transport via channel and overland flow; and entrapment when wetted surfaces dry. We examined export from a recently reconnected, restoring tidal emergent marsh on the Grays River, a tributary to the Columbia River estuary. Modeling indicated that hydrologically reconnecting 65 ha at the site resulted in export of about 96 × 10 kg of H-POM, primarily during pulsed storm flooding events in autumn and early winter. This exported mass amounted to about 19% of the summer peak aboveground biomass measured at the site. Of that 19%, about 48% (47 × 10 kg) was deposited downstream in the Grays River and floodplain wetlands, and the remaining 52% (50 × 10 kg) passed the confluence of the Grays River and the mainstem estuary located about 7 km from the study site. The colonization of the restoring study site largely by nonnative Phalaris arundinacea (reed canarygrass) may have resulted in 18-28% lower H-POM mobilization than typical marsh plant communities on this floodplain, based on estimates from regional studies of marshes dominated by less recalcitrant species. We concluded that restored floodplain wetlands can contribute significant amounts of organic matter to the estuarine ecosystem and thereby contribute to the restoration of historical trophic structure.

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Section: Ecosystem Connectivity and Spatial Subsidies Of Restorationmentioning

confidence: 67%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Storm‐driven particulate organic matter flux connects a tidal tributary floodplain wetland, mainstem river, and estuary

Thom

Breithaupt

Diefenderfer

et al. 2018

Ecological Applications

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“…It also revealed three effects of multiple dike breaches: (1) the slope greater than 1 between the proportion of area wetted and the proportion of channels opened evidenced a synergistic increase in wetted floodplain area with low numbers of breaches; (2) the incremental return of wetted area per breach diminished with additional breaches once a peak at 28 ha wetted area per breach was reached when 26% (11 of 42) of the channels were breached; and (3) the spatial configuration of dike breaches affected the amount of wetted floodplain area produced—upstream breaches yielded 2% and midstream breaches 63% of the wetted area produced by downstream breaches (Diefenderfer et al. ).…”

Section: Results Of Seven Lines Of Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…We developed a statistical population of 42 channels, drew random sets of dike breaches, and ran the RMA2 model with correspondingly breached terrain models to examine the aggregation of hydrologic connections on the river floodplain in multiple configurations that could not feasibly have been tested on the ground (Diefenderfer et al. ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence‐based evaluation of the cumulative effects of ecosystem restoration

et al. 2016

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Abstract. This study adapts and applies the evidence-based approach for causal inference, a medical standard, to the restoration and sustainable management of large-scale aquatic ecosystems. Despite long-term investments in restoring aquatic ecosystems, it has proven difficult to adequately synthesize and evaluate program outcomes, and no standard method has been adopted. Complex linkages between restorative actions and ecosystem responses at a landscape scale make evaluations problematic and most programs focus on monitoring and analysis. Herein, we demonstrate a new transdisciplinary approach integrating techniques from evidence-based medicine, critical thinking, and cumulative effects assessment. Tiered hypotheses about the effects of landscape-scale restorative actions are identified using an ecosystem conceptual model. The systematic literature review, a health sciences standard since the 1960s, becomes just one of seven lines of evidence assessed collectively, using critical thinking strategies, causal criteria, and cumulative effects categories. As a demonstration, we analyzed data from 166 locations on the Columbia River and estuary representing 12 indicators of habitat and fish response to floodplain restoration actions intended to benefit culturally and economically important, threatened and endangered salmon. Synthesis of the lines of evidence demonstrated that hydrologic reconnection promoted macrodetritis export, prey availability, and juvenile fish access and feeding. Upon evaluation, the evidence was sufficient to infer cross-boundary, indirect, compounding, and delayed cumulative effects, and suggestive of nonlinear, landscape-scale, and spatial density effects. Therefore, on the basis of causal inferences regarding foodweb functions, we concluded that the restoration program is having a cumulative beneficial effect on juvenile salmon. The lines of evidence developed are transferable to other ecosystems: modeling of cumulative net ecosystem improvement, physical modeling of ecosystem controlling factors, meta-analysis of restoration action effectiveness, analysis of data on target species, research on critical ecological uncertainties, evidence-based review of the literature, and change analysis on the landscape setting. As with medicine, the science of ecological restoration needs scientific approaches to management decisions, particularly because the consequences affect species extinctions and the availability of ecosystem services. This evidencebased approach will enable restoration in complex coastal, riverine, and tidal-fluvial ecosystems like the lower Columbia River to be evaluated when data have accumulated without sufficient synthesis.

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Applying cumulative effects to strategically advance large‐scale ecosystem restoration

Diefenderfer

Steyer

Harwell

et al. 2020

Frontiers in Ecol & Environ

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A lthough the common foundations of site-scale ecosystem restoration are well understood, the spatial scale and duration of restoration are rapidly expanding, raising theoretical questions and practical concerns. For instance, the primary goal of the Bonn Challenge, issued jointly in 2011 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Government of Germany, is to restore 350 million ha of degraded land by 2030, while the UN General Assembly recently proclaimed 2021-2030 to be the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Such coordinated restoration across large spatial and temporal scales is a response to widespread environmental degradation, human welfare needs, and increased understanding of how species are sustained by distributed habitats and ecosystems (Lotze et al. 2006; Hall et al. 2018). In view of these trends, the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) recently formed a Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration section (Daoust et al. 2014). What does ecological restoration science offer to those working toward such ambitious goals? Restoration ecology provides information about the study of individual sites, ecosystems, and vulnerable species developed over the past half century (Roman and Burdick 2012; Clewell and Aronson 2013), yet for the most part it has not addressed large-scale restoration that includes multiple ecosystems and restoration projects across landscapes. Large-scale restoration is usually more cost-effective than local site-specific planning (Neeson et al. 2015); however, little formal research on achieving successful program-level outcomes has been reported. Useful principles to support the enormous projected expansion of restoration and ensure that large investments produce planned ecosystem functions are urgently needed. In practice, large-scale restoration is typically overseen by multidisciplinary teams and based on an ecosystem approach developed at the site scale, as can be seen in the programs we reviewed (Figure 1). Geomorphic conditions and hydrological

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Application of the diminishing returns concept in the hydroecologic restoration of riverscapes

Cited by 7 publications

References 45 publications

Storm‐driven particulate organic matter flux connects a tidal tributary floodplain wetland, mainstem river, and estuary

Storm‐driven particulate organic matter flux connects a tidal tributary floodplain wetland, mainstem river, and estuary

Evidence‐based evaluation of the cumulative effects of ecosystem restoration

Applying cumulative effects to strategically advance large‐scale ecosystem restoration

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