Future-proofing ecosystem restoration through enhancing adaptive capacity

Frietsch, Marina; Loos, Jacqueline; Löhr, Katharina; Sieber, Stefan; Fischer, Joern

doi:10.1038/s42003-023-04736-y

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 75 publications

(98 reference statements)

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“…The last feature highlighted by participants was the importance of pursuing a long-term vision for restoration projects. Although this might seem obvious, the long-term viability of restoration interventions is often neglected in practice (Frietsch et al 2023). This is, among others, caused by limited funding (Höhl et al 2020) and the project-bound design of many restoration interventions (Tedesco et al 2023).…”

Section: Collecting Baseline Data and Restoring Historicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the social side, inflexible or short-sighted governance structures can slow restoration activities or promote misplaced restoration goals (Jepson 2022), and restoration projects face complex questions surrounding equity and inclusive participation (Elias et al 2021;Osborne et al 2021). Finally, a lack of adaptive capacity and resilience to complex social-ecological threats can jeopardize the longterm sustainability of restoration efforts (Dudney et al 2022;Frietsch et al 2023). These and other challenges related to restoration raise an important question: what do the people who plan, manage, and implement restoration interventions perceive as most important for successful restoration?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The relevance of international restoration principles for ecosystem restoration practice in Rwanda

Frietsch,

Fischer,

Kaplin

et al. 2024

Restoration Ecology

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The restoration of degraded ecosystems is considered a key strategy to contribute to ecological integrity and human well‐being. To support restoration practice, 10 “Principles to guide the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030” were conceived through a consultative process and put forward by a group of leading international restoration actors. The extent to which these principles can inform successful restoration activities on the ground, however, remains largely unknown. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, we probed 32 stakeholders who plan, manage, and implement restoration in Rwanda to elicit which factors they perceive as most important for successful restoration based on the UN Decade principles. Using the Q‐methodology, we discovered that participants overall agreed that the UN Decade principles are relevant to inform successful ecosystem restoration in the study area. Further, the Q‐study revealed three distinct groups of stakeholders with different priorities in terms of opinions on restoration aims, stakeholder involvement, and relevant spatial scales. Based on semi‐structured interviews, we identified four considerations for successful restoration that require special attention in future restoration interventions in the study area: (1) restoring historical conditions, (2) collecting baseline data, (3) increasing local communities' sense of ownership, and (4) pursuing a long‐term vision for restoration activities. To address these considerations and thereby harvest the potential of ecosystem restoration to benefit both people and nature in the long run, diverse stakeholders with different priorities for restoration need to come together to discuss possible differences in their perceived priorities, perspectives, and approaches.

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Section: Collecting Baseline Data and Restoring Historicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relevance of international restoration principles for ecosystem restoration practice in Rwanda

Frietsch,

Fischer,

Kaplin

et al. 2024

Restoration Ecology

Self Cite

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“…The application of different conservation targets provides insightful clues for adaptive conservation in the future [64]. According to the ecological importance of the study area in the world and China, this study adopted the target of 30% and the aggressive target of 50% (slightly higher than the ECR).…”

Section: The Importance Of Distinguishing Priority Areas Separately F...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Delineating Priority Areas for Preservation and Restoration across Production–Living–Ecological Spaces in Ganzi, China

Chen,

Deng,

et al. 2024

Sustainability

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Delineating conservation priority areas for both preservation and restoration is essential for developing adaptive ecosystem management strategies across production–living–ecological spaces (PLES). This study developed a coherent framework with four steps: (1) mapping spatial distributions of biodiversity and ecosystem services, (2) ranking the relative importance of ecosystems across spaces, (3) delineating priority areas for preservation and restoration according to the human footprint and priority ranks, and (4) contrasting with current conservation networks and overlapping with PLES. This framework was applied in Ganzi, China, to delineate the preservation priority areas (PPAs) of 8714.2 km2 and 11,308.1 km2, and restoration priority areas (RPAs) of 36,817.7 km2 and 63,578.4 km2 under the target to conserve 30% and 50% of territories, respectively. The priority areas, including PPAs and RPAs, achieve higher conservation capacity than the current Ecological Conservation Redline (ECR) in terms of biodiversity conservation or ecosystem service delivery. Roughly 67% of PPAs, 40% of RPAs, and a total of 75% of large patches with high priority are covered by ECR, indicating the necessity to adjust boundary and conduct restoration for ECR. As for PLES, the conservation priority areas encompass proportionally more ecological space (67–76%) than ECR (63.5%) or Ganzi (61.4%), implying the lower potential conflict between local residents’ production and conservation, and meanwhile, new opportunities and challenges in sustainable development in human-dominated spaces. The coherent framework to delineate PPAs and RPAs is flexible in terms of threshold in human impact or ecological degradation and can be improved by considering the complex relationships between indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem services. This study highlights the importance of incorporating ecosystem features, land uses, and human activities in developing different strategies according to different conservation purposes in the context of sustainable development.

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“…The research showed that the elevation, slope and topographic position were important factors in the formation of an ecosystem distribution pattern. Ecosystem adaptation refers to the process by which ecosystems adjust their structure and function in response to natural environmental changes and biological components interact with environmental factors to continuously adapt to environmental changes [8]. Ecosystem stability is the basis of this adaptation, and the restoration or reconstruction of ecosystems should first maintain their stability [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-Scenario Simulation of Ecosystems Based on Adaptive Restoration to Promote Human–Nature Harmony: A Case Study of Loess Hills Micro-Watershed

Li,

Shi,

Zhao

et al. 2024

Land

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The ecological environment in loess hilly regions is fragile, and the contradiction between the development of human society and ecological environment protection is becoming more and more prominent with the intensification of human interference. In order to give full play to the role of ecosystem adaptation in ecological restoration, this study seeks natural conditions that are suitable for the stable existence of ecosystems in the Wanhuigou catchment using the reference ecosystem method and uses these conditions as constraints of the GeoSOS-FLUS model for multi-scenario simulation. Based on ecosystem service value and ecological compensation mechanisms, the comprehensive benefits of different scenarios are compared, and economic development is taken into account while ensuring that ecological protection remains a priority. The results show the following: (1) The unstable ecosystems concentrated on a gentle slope (5–15°) at altitudes of 1201–1379 m, 1201–1594 m, 1379–1715 m and 1715–1856 m are suitable for restoration to farmland, shrub, grassland and forest ecosystems, respectively, and the change characteristics of soil and vegetation communities also verify the above conclusions. (2) The scenario of agricultural development from 2020 to 2030 and the early stages from 2030 to 2050 is the best among the three scenarios, while the scenario of ecological protection is the best in the middle and late stages of 2030–2050. Formulating relevant policies and ecological protection measures according to the scenario of ecological protection is more conducive to promoting the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature. (3) Under the scenario of ecological protection, the unstable ecosystem distributed along the gentle slope (5–15°) of 1379–1483 m and 1483–1594 m achieves the most significant improvement in ecosystem service value by focusing on and giving priority to the restoration of natural conditions that are suitable for the stable existence of ecosystems. This study provides ideas and references for the formation of ecosystem restoration and development strategies for small watersheds in loess hilly regions, and it is of great significance for the promotion of a harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

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Future-proofing ecosystem restoration through enhancing adaptive capacity

Cited by 10 publications

References 75 publications

The relevance of international restoration principles for ecosystem restoration practice in Rwanda

The relevance of international restoration principles for ecosystem restoration practice in Rwanda

Delineating Priority Areas for Preservation and Restoration across Production–Living–Ecological Spaces in Ganzi, China

Multi-Scenario Simulation of Ecosystems Based on Adaptive Restoration to Promote Human–Nature Harmony: A Case Study of Loess Hills Micro-Watershed

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