1. Overview of Restoration Ecology ENV 220 28 Sept 2009 This ppt will be posted to my website as it is not in the book! Google me or use direct link from syllabus

2. Overview  Restoration defined Need, purpose Need, purpose Reference conditions and treatments Reference conditions and treatments  Examples Arid land restoration Arid land restoration Agroforestry Agroforestry

3. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment  60% of ecosystem services being used unsustainably  progress in decreasing poverty linked to healthy environment  warning signs clear – and suggest a need for restoration

4. Restoration Ecology defined  ecological restoration/restoration ecology  assist ecosystem recovery  brief history of restoration ecology  interdisciplinary, gray areas

5. What restoration does  intentional human management that initiates or accelerates trajectory  trajectory is key  partly based on reference conditions

6. Related activities  rehabilitation  reclamation  mitigation  creation  ecological engineering  may or may not qualify as restoration, in whole or in part

7. Wetlands Park area, Las Vegas Wash east

9. SER definition of ER: “The process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed.” It is an intentional activity that initiates or accelerates the recovery of an ecosystem. Broad, encompassing definition 9 basic criteria of restored ecosystems

10. From NPS, GC NP Colorado River – flooding Reestablish flooding regime = partly reestablishing trajectory

11. 9 attributes of restored ecosystems (1) Species composition resembles reference ecosystem (2) Indigenous species as much as possible (3) Key functional groups present (e.g., nitrogen fixers)

12. Restored Cultural Ecosystems Restoration and rehabilitation of species-rich grasslands – Restoration Ecology 6:94-101

13. Midwestern USA oak savannas – another cultural ecosystem Photo by TNC

14. Reference conditions/range of variability Concepts underpin ER Reference conditions – attributes of target ecosystem Only a guide – linked to historical range of variability

15. UPPER LIMIT LOWER LIMIT Modified from: Morgan, P., G.H. Aplet, J.B. Haufler, H.C. Humphries, M.M. Moore, and W.D. Wilson. 1994. Historical range of variability: a useful tool for evaluating ecosystem change. Journal of Sustainable Forestry 2:87-111. Range of Variability Concept

16. Case study of reference conditions/HRV concepts – ponderosa pine example Reference conditions = ~ 1875 forests – low- density forests + frequent fire Compare current conditions to reference conditions, and identify sources of degradation “Forest restoration” in this case does not = planting trees – rather, removing trees to return to within range of variability Major restoration tmts = thinning + reestablishment of frequent fire

17. U of A tree ring lab

18. Forest change at Walker Lake, Coconino National Forest, AZ www.eri.nau.edu 1875 2003

20. 1909 1949 1992

22. Before restoration 4 years after restoration www.eri.nau.edu

23. 18202005 Reference point Fire Goodsprings, 3 December 2006

24. Historical Photographs Examples: New Mexico State University University Collections – Jornada Experimental Range – http://archives.nmsu.edu/rghc/photo/photos.html U.S. Forest Service Southwestern Region – http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/about/history/photo.shtml

25. Historical Descriptions Early Euro-American settler journals U.S. Army expeditions U.S. Govt. geological reconnaissance Early botanists

26. U.S. Army Lieutenant A.W. Whipple – March 3, 1854 - …”We reached, at the point of the mountain, Pai-Ute Creek, a finely flowing stream of water. Finding good grass also, we encamped. March 5, 1854 – “Passing over the prairie, nearly seven miles west, we arrived at a spring of water oozing from a rocky ravine.” …”The hill-sides and ravines are covered with excellent grass..”

29. Paul Martin, University of Arizona, next to Pleistocene (<11,000 ybp ) midden. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/

30. Agropyron spicatum bluebunch wheatgrass Artemisia tridentata big sagebrush http://coss.stcloudstate.edu/mblinnikov/phd/phyt.html Plant Phytoliths

31. War Zones and Game Sinks in Lewis and Clark’s West – Conservation Biology 13:36-45.

44. Types of Disturbances in the Mojave Desert (and other deserts) Linear features (e.g., powerlines, roads) Fire Off-road vehicles Hydrological damage (e.g., Owen’s Lake) Abandoned agricultural lands Air pollution Grazing Cactus poaching/mesquite harvest, and so on

52. Photo courtesy of Jessica Spencer

53. Cave Creek Park  28 species seeding

54. 3 mo post- seeding 6 mo post- seeding 2 yr post- seeding unseeded

56. 2005 Fires in Clark County BLM photos

57. Donovan Craig, UNLV, Lake Mead nursery Identifying candidate species for reveg.

58.  Reveg. species must: (1) establish, (2) compete with exotic annual grasses  Four community types: early forb, early shrub, grass, late shrub  Each of 12 species also grown individually  Bromus/Schismus to be added

59. Comparing species performance, seeding vs. planting effectiveness