Design and Implementation of Monitoring Studies to Evaluate the Success of Ecological Restoration on Wildlife

Abstract

Restoration projects are often developed with little consideration for understanding their effects on wildlife. We contend, however, that monitoring treatment effects on wildlife should be an integral component of the design and execution of any management activity, including restoration. Thus, we provide a conceptual framework for the design and implementation of monitoring studies to understand the effects of restoration on wildlife. Our underlying premise is that effective monitoring hinges on an appropriate study design for unbiased and precise estimates of the response variables. We advocate using measures of population dynamics for response variables given that they provide the most direct measures of wildlife status and trends. The species to be monitored should be those constituting an assemblage of umbrella species that represent the range of spatial and functional requirements of wildlife in a restored ecological system. Selection of umbrella species should be based on strong empirical evidence that justifies their usage. We also advocate that monitoring be designed as true experiments or quasi‐experiments rather than as observational studies to allow for stronger inferences regarding the effects of restoration on wildlife. Our primary message is that if monitoring is to be done, it must be scientifically based.

More than just trees: Assessing reforestation success in tropical developing countries

“…Many authors report that the control of hydrology and nutrient cycling (Whisenant, 1999;Tongway, 2004), the capture of energy, the return of key fauna to the ecosystem (Reive et al, 1992;Block et al, 2001), and the restoration of links e flows of matter, energy and information e to the surrounding landscape (Bell et al, 1997;Huxel and Hastings, 1999) are all essential to ecosystems. Surface soil stability, the absence of erosion, soil organic matter and soil fertility levels are common measures used to assess the soil protection function of forests.…”

Advancing ecological restoration through experimental design on spatial and temporal scales relevant to wildlife

“…Further, the 182 design of any habitat restoration experiment will be complicated by the real-world logistical 183 constraints and complications of on-the-ground restoration and monitoring that will take place 184 over multiple years. However, imperfect 'quasi-experiments' are not doomed to failure and will 185 still provide valuable information (Block et al 2001), particularly if the alternative is not to 186 attempt any experiment at all. We recommend that researchers and practitioners acknowledge up 187 front that the experiment may not meet classical experimental design rules and work together to 188 maximize the value of the experiment despite breaking these rules.…”

“…Several papers have outlined general concepts and theory for developing a restoration 51 experiment to evaluate effects on wildlife, including an array of analytical approaches and a 52 multitude of pitfalls and barriers to successful experiments (Michener 1997, Chapman 1998, 53 Block et al 2001). Despite this guidance, experiments evaluating wildlife responses to habitat 54 restoration remain rare, and likely have been hampered by financial and logistical constraints 55 combined with fear of failure (Aslan et al 2013, Dickens and Suding 2013).…”

Rural land management impacts on catchment scale flood risk

“…Limitations of the approach are that experiments cannot be repeated and that results only apply to the specific case study (Block et al, 2001). The traditional method to study the impacts of land use changes on hydrological regimes is to use controlled observation and measurement of catchments.…”