Restoration of a heavily degraded ecosystem

In this post Associate Editor David Moreno Mateos discusses a paper he recently handled by Andrea Borkenhagen and David Cooper ‘Creating fen initiation conditions: a new approach for peatland reclamation in the oil sands region of Alberta Go to Google Earth and adjust the screen so you can see the whole of North America from about 7,000 km from the ground. You will see Alberta, … Continue reading Restoration of a heavily degraded ecosystem

Lessons in how to restore a wetland ecosystem

In this post David Moreno Mateos discusses his paper ‘Ecosystem response to interventions: lessons from restored and created wetland ecosystems’ After over 30 years and billions of dollars (and euros, pounds, and yuans) of restoring wetlands globally, and especially in the USA, the time has come to evaluate the results, and particularly to find out how wetlands are responding to our efforts. The results found … Continue reading Lessons in how to restore a wetland ecosystem

Defining a successful river restoration project

In this post Associate Editor Tadeu Siqueira discusses a paper he recently handled by Daniel Hering and colleagues ‘Contrasting the roles of section length and instream habitat enhancement for river restoration success: a field study of 20 European restoration projects’ Streams and rivers are among the most degraded ecosystems in the world. In comparison to oceans, these ecosystems contain a tiny portion of the total … Continue reading Defining a successful river restoration project

What is the future of soil carbon stocks?

In this post Peter Manning discusses his recent paper ‘Simple measures of climate, soil properties and plant traits predict national-scale grassland soil carbon stocks‘ Soils contain more carbon than the atmosphere and vegetation combined, but the future of this reserve is uncertain – will it remain in the ground or be released into the atmosphere, potentially amplifying climate warming by several degrees in a worst … Continue reading What is the future of soil carbon stocks?

Ecological traps in urban aquatic ecosystems: theory and practice

In this post Angela Strecker discusses a Review paper she recently handled by Robin Hale and colleagues ‘Identifying, preventing and mitigating ecological traps to improve the management of urban aquatic ecosystems’. Urbanization greatly alters ecosystems, yet management attempts to mitigate these effects can be confounded by incomplete information on the potential outcomes of management activities. In particular, the responses of organisms to management efforts to … Continue reading Ecological traps in urban aquatic ecosystems: theory and practice

The costs and benefits of habitat selection

In this post, Jonathan Rhodes discusses a paper he recently handled by Chrystel Losier and colleagues “Adjustments in habitat selection to changing availability induce fitness costs for a threatened ungulate” Habitat selection is an important determinant of the distribution of individuals, but can also have important implications for the fitness of individuals (DeCesare et al. 2014). Although, methods for the empirical analysis of habitat selection … Continue reading The costs and benefits of habitat selection

Managing uncertainties associated with global declines of apex predators

Over three days we have posted a collection of blog posts on a topical Forum discussion published in Issue 2 about the methods used in wildlife conservation and in particular the role of dingoes in conservation. Following acceptance of a peer-reviewed Forum critique of another article in the Journal it is the Journal’s process to invite the original authors to write a peer-reviewed response to … Continue reading Managing uncertainties associated with global declines of apex predators

Interested in becoming an Associate Editor?

We are currently seeking new Associate Editors for Journal of Applied Ecology and invite anyone interested in joining the board to contact the editorial office (admin@journalofappliedecology.org) with your CV or link to your institutional/personal webpage and a brief outline of your reviewing or editorial experience. The closing date for applications is midnight BST Thursday 7 May. ***Applications are now closed*** We are looking for researchers … Continue reading Interested in becoming an Associate Editor?

A practical guide to prioritize efforts to prevent the spread of invasive species

In this post, Shelley Arnott discusses a paper she recently handled by Ben Stewart-Koster and colleagues “Integrating landscape connectivity and habitat suitability to guide offensive and defensive invasive species management” Also, see Ben Stewart-Koster’s post about his article “Lake Invaders! Can they get here and will they like it when they arrive?” Preventing the spread of invasive species to new habitats is critical for minimizing ecological … Continue reading A practical guide to prioritize efforts to prevent the spread of invasive species

Remote cameras help ecologists understand community-level responses

In this post, Paul Lukacs discusses a paper he recently handled by Mathias Tobler and colleagues “Spatiotemporal hierarchical modelling of species richness and occupancy using camera trap data” Flipping through the pages (or scrolling through the links) of almost any applied ecological journal, you might begin to think that there is a remote camera placed in almost every patch of forest or on every fencepost. … Continue reading Remote cameras help ecologists understand community-level responses