Wetland ecological and compliance assessments in the San Francisco Bay Region, California, USA

Breaux, Andree; Cochrane, Steve; Evens, Jules; Martindale, Molly; Pavlik, Bruce M.; Suer, Lynn; Benner, Diana

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2004.08.017

Cited by 25 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Of the 12 program‐scale evaluations in the literature that included outcome variables from which NNL assessments could be made, seven reported achieving NNL (Figure ). All seven used change in habitat area as outcome variables, and reported results from offset programs focused predominantly on habitat creation and restoration (BenDor, Brozovic, & Pallathucheril, , ; Breaux et al., ; Harper & Quigley, ; Kettlewell et al., ; Kozich & Halvorsen, ; Robertson & Hayden, ). The other three studies also using area as their outcome variables that failed to achieve NNL were all reporting results from offset systems based predominantly on avoided loss offsets (Gibbons et al., ; Goldberg & Reiss, ; Morgan & Roberts, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ecological outcomes of biodiversity offsets under “no net loss” policies: A global review

Ermgassen

Baker

Griffiths

et al. 2019

CONSERVATION LETTERS

124

121

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No net loss (NNL) biodiversity policies mandating the application of a mitigation hierarchy (avoid, minimize, remediate, offset) to the ecological impacts of built infrastructure are proliferating globally. However, little is known about their effectiveness at achieving NNL outcomes. We reviewed the English‐language peer‐reviewed literature (capturing 15,715 articles), and identified 32 reports that observed ecological outcomes from NNL policies, including >300,000 ha of biodiversity offsets. Approximately one‐third of NNL policies and individual biodiversity offsets reported achieving NNL, primarily in wetlands, although most studies used widely criticized area‐based outcome measures. The most commonly cited reason for success was applying high offset multipliers (large offset area relative to the impacted area). We identified large gaps between the global implementation of offsets and the evidence for their effectiveness: despite two‐thirds of the world's biodiversity offsets being applied in forested ecosystems, we found none of four studies demonstrated successful NNL outcomes for forested habitats or species. We also found no evidence for NNL achievement using avoided loss offsets (impacts offset by protecting existing habitat elsewhere). Additionally, we summarized regional variability in compliance rates with NNL policies. As global infrastructural expansion accelerates, we must urgently improve the evidence‐base around efforts to mitigate development impacts on biodiversity.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ecological outcomes of biodiversity offsets under “no net loss” policies: A global review

Ermgassen

Baker

Griffiths

et al. 2019

CONSERVATION LETTERS

124

121

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“…Measurements of characteristics of vegetation, species diversity and wetland processes are used for wetland assessment (Breaux and others 2005; McCoy and Mushinsky 2002; Neckles and others 2002; Ruiz-Jaen and Aide 2005b; White and Walker 1997; Wilkins and others 2003). Vegetation is the basic component and the major producers of wetland ecosystem, and is the vital part of wetland structure and function.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetative Ecological Characteristics of Restored Reed (Phragmites australis) Wetlands in the Yellow River Delta, China

Wang

Zhou

et al. 2011

Environmental Management

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In this study, we compared ecological characteristics of wetland vegetation in a series of restoration projects that were carried out in the wetlands of Yellow River Delta. The investigated characteristics include plant composition structure, species diversity and community similarity in three kinds of Phragmites australis wetlands, i.e. restored P. australis wetlands (R1, R2, R3 and R4: restored in 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2009, respectively), natural P. australis wetland (N) and degraded P. australis wetland (D) to assess the process of wetlands restoration. The coverage of the R1 was 99%, which was similar to natural wetland. Among all studied wetlands, the highest and lowest stem density was observed in R1 and R2, respectively, Plant height and stem diameter show the same trend as N > R2 > R1 > R3 > D > R4. Species diversity of restored P. australis wetlands became closed to natural wetland. Both species richness and Shannon–Wiener index had similar tendency: increased first and then decreased with restored time. The highest species richness and species diversity were observed in R2, while the lowest values of those parameters were found in natural P. australis wetland. Similarity indexes between restored wetlands and natural wetland increased with the restoration time, but they were still less than 50%. The results indicate that the vegetation of P. australis wetlands has experienced a great improvement after several years’ restoration, and it is feasible to restored degraded P. australis wetlands by pouring fresh water into those wetlands in the Yellow River Delta. However, it is notable that costal degraded P. australis wetland in this region may take years to decades to reach the status of natural wetland.

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“…Of the geographic characteristics of concessions and compensation conditions (Table 1), compliance varied with both activity type (P = 0.062) and habitat type (P = 0.064), the latter echoing international findings (Race & Fonseca 1996;Breaux et al 2005;Quigley & Harper 2006). The lowest complying activity was grazing; and the lowest complying habitat was grasslands; given the prevalence of grazing on grasslands, there is quite likely some interaction between the two.…”

Section: Variations In Compliancementioning

confidence: 71%

“…We used mixed-methods to score compliance because the literature suggests agencies' poor compliance monitoring and record-keeping (Hornyak & Halvorsen 2003;Reiss et al 2009;Brown et al 2013) would have rendered a desktop analysis of records difficult and of limited utility. Methods were modelled on compliance studies for the New Zealand government (Tonkin and Taylor 2012) and academic studies of compensation (Breaux et al 2005;Brown et al 2013). They included: a review of concession contracts and monitoring files; a field assessment where possible; consultation with key DOC staff; spatial analysis; and investigation into financial data held by DOC.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compliance with biodiversity compensation on New Zealand’s public conservation lands

Brower¹,

Heijs²,

Kimani³

et al. 2018

NZ J Ecol

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This article assesses compliance with biodiversity compensation on New Zealand's conservation land. Of the 261 Department of Conservation (DOC) concessions for commercial activity searched, only about 15% included compensation provisions. A sample of 20 concessions of that 15% suggests 68% achieve full compliance. Our results suggest compliance is influenced by factors such as habitat and activity type, protected area category, and whether a concession holder has pending concessions and/or renewals. Inconsistencies in compliance monitoring, enforcement, and reporting merit attention. Although New Zealand's rate of full compliance with biodiversity compensation conditions is higher than that observed in other countries, compensation is rarely requested. This rarity and the lack of national guidelines on how and what to ask for in compensation, suggest that compliance with compensation once requested, and the quality and consistency of requests, limit biodiversity protection. Jurisdictions engaging in biodiversity compensation should attend not just to compliance, but also to the requests themselves. To do so, they should develop clear guidelines, enforcement strategies, and reporting processes.

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Wetland ecological and compliance assessments in the San Francisco Bay Region, California, USA

Cited by 25 publications

References 6 publications

The ecological outcomes of biodiversity offsets under “no net loss” policies: A global review

The ecological outcomes of biodiversity offsets under “no net loss” policies: A global review

Vegetative Ecological Characteristics of Restored Reed (Phragmites australis) Wetlands in the Yellow River Delta, China

Compliance with biodiversity compensation on New Zealand’s public conservation lands

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