Estimating the Size and Impact of the Ecological Restoration Economy

BenDor, Todd K.; Lester, T. William; Livengood, Avery; Davis, Adam I.; Yonavjak, Logan

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0128339

Cited by 133 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…In the US alone, the restoration industry, including grassland restoration, has an estimated $9·5 billion dollar economic output (BenDor et al . ). Despite huge labour and economic investment, restored grasslands are often markedly different than comparable undisturbed, remnant grasslands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The missing link in grassland restoration: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation increases plant diversity and accelerates succession

Koziol

Bever

2016

Journal of Applied Ecology

163

138

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Summary Because soil microbial communities are often altered by anthropogenic disturbance, successful plant community restoration may require the restoration of beneficial soil microbes, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. Recent evidence suggests that later successional grassland species are more strongly affected by AM fungi relative to early successional plants and that late successional plants consistently benefit from some AM fungi but not other AM fungal species. Many of these late successional species are also often missing in restorations despite being heavily seeded. To assess the effects of AM fungal composition within grassland restorations, we inoculated plots with six different AM fungal community treatments including one of four different AM fungal species isolated from a prairie, a mixture of all four fungal species, and a non‐inoculated control. AM fungi were introduced by planting 16 different inoculated nurse plants into replicated plots. We also seeded the restoration with a diverse, 54 species prairie seed mixture. We found that AM fungal inoculation drove plant community composition; plots inoculated with certain AM fungal treatments were dominated by desirable prairie plants, whereas plots inoculated with other AM fungal species and the non‐inoculated control were dominated by non‐desirable plants including weeds and exotic species. Specifically, we found that many early successional species established well regardless of AM fungal inoculation, whereas the establishment and growth of many late successional species was strongly dependent on the presence of specific AM fungal species. Many conservative late successional species did not occur without inoculation. Overall, total plant community richness, diversity, and Floristic Quality Index were all significantly improved with AM fungal inoculation, whereas we observed that non‐desirable plant abundance was significantly greater in the non‐inoculated plots. Synthesis and applications. Our results suggest that the lack of late successional establishment reported in many previous restorations may be due to ineffective arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities at these sites. We conclude that the reintroduction of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi from reference prairie environments could improve restoration outcomes by promoting plant diversity and richness, especially for desirable later successional plant species, while simultaneously inhibiting less desirable weedy plants.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The missing link in grassland restoration: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation increases plant diversity and accelerates succession

Koziol

Bever

2016

Journal of Applied Ecology

163

138

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“…More than 15 billion dollars has been accounted for annually in domestic ecological restoration through indirect and induced economic impacts of restoration activities in the United States, and at least 18% of ecological restoration is focused on aquatic and riparian restoration and management 1 . Stream restoration projects are expected to expand in the future, particularly in urban areas, and the need for effective monitoring practices is in demand 2 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Applications of GPR Methodology and Uses in Determining Floodplain Function of Restored Streams in the Gulf Coastal Plain, Alabama

Eckes¹,

Shepherd²

2017

Geological Society of America Abstracts With Programs

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., 2007, Detection of metallic and plastic landmines using the GPR and 2-D resistivity techniques: Natural Hazards and Earth System Science, v. 7, p. 755-763, doi: 10.5194/nhess-7-755-2007. ReferencesAccurately characterizing subsurface structure and function of remediated floodplains is indispensable in understanding the success of stream restoration projects. Although many of these projects are designed to address increased storm water runoff due to urbanization, long term monitoring and assessment are often limited in scope and methodology. Common monitoring practices include geomorphic surveys, stream discharge, and suspended sediment loads. These data are comprehensive for stream monitoring but they do not address floodplain function in terms of infiltration and through flow. Developing noninvasive methods for monitoring floodplain moisture transfer and distribution will aid in current and future stream restoration endeavors. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has been successfully used in other physiographic regions for noninvasive and continuous monitoring of (1) natural geomorphic environments including subsurface structure and landform change and (2) soil and turf management to monitor subsurface moisture content. We are testing the viability of these existing methods to expand upon the broad capabilities of GPR. Determining suitability will be done in three parts using GPR to (1) find known buried objects of typical materials used in remediation at measured depths, (2) understand GPR functionality in varying soil moisture content thresholds on turf plots, and (3) model reference, remediated, and impacted floodplains in a case study in the D'Olive Creek watershed located in Baldwin County, Alabama. We hypothesize that these methods will allow us to characterize moisture transfer from precipitation and runoff to the floodplain which is a direct function of floodplain health. The need for a methodology to monitor floodplains is widespread and with increased resolution and mobility, expanding GPR applications may help streamline remediation and monitoring practices. Abstract Introduction

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“…Economy, the domestic ecological restoration sector directly employs approximately 126,000 workers and generates about $9.5 billion in economic output (sales) annually (BenDor et al 2015). This activity supports an additional 95,000 jobs and $15 billion in economic output through indirect (business-to-business) linkages and increased household spending.…”

Section: According To Estimating the Size And Impact Of The Ecologicamentioning

confidence: 99%

The New Blue Economy: the Future of Sustainability

Spalding¹

2016

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

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Estimating the Size and Impact of the Ecological Restoration Economy

Cited by 133 publications

References 11 publications

The missing link in grassland restoration: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation increases plant diversity and accelerates succession

The missing link in grassland restoration: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation increases plant diversity and accelerates succession

Exploring Applications of GPR Methodology and Uses in Determining Floodplain Function of Restored Streams in the Gulf Coastal Plain, Alabama

The New Blue Economy: the Future of Sustainability

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