Tag: ecological restoration

Human-wildlife interactions, Plant and soil ecology, Research summaries, Restoration

Can ecological restoration enhance the genetic diversity of plant species on a global scale?

Xinzeng Wei talks us through their recent meta-analysis, conducted with several colleagues, which found that ecological restoration does not significantly improve the genetic diversity of plant species as compared to reference or degraded populations. Wei et al instead suggest that using passive restoration, seeding, and mixed sources could significantly increase the genetic diversity of restored populations. The problem Human disturbance has led to several negative consequences … Continue reading Can ecological restoration enhance the genetic diversity of plant species on a global scale?

Journal of Applied Ecology1 Comment
Coastal and marine, Research summaries, Restoration

Social distancing between plants may amplify coastal restoration at early stage

Climate change and anthropogenic activities are jeopardising coastal ecosystems world-wide. Once degraded, these valuable ecosystems are not easy to recover. In their latest research, Hao Huang and colleagues conducted transplanting experiments to search for the optimal spatial design of coastal restoration. Few ecosystems can equate to coastal wetlands in terms of connections with humans. They provide many ecosystem services that are vital to current societies, … Continue reading Social distancing between plants may amplify coastal restoration at early stage

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Careers, Journal news, Restoration, The Applied Ecologist community

Southwood Prize 2020: early career researcher winner announced

We’re excited to announce Pu Jia as the winner of this year’s Southwood Prize, celebrating the best paper by an early career researcher in the 2020 (57th) volume of Journal of Applied Ecology. Pu’s winning paper is Plant diversity enhances the reclamation of degraded lands by stimulating plant–soil feedbacks. About the research While the ecological literature on the linkages between biodiversity and ecosystem function is rich, … Continue reading Southwood Prize 2020: early career researcher winner announced

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Agriculture, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries, Translation

Control de plagas a cambio de ayuda para anidar

This post is also available in English here En su última investigación, García y colaboradores evidencian que instalar cajas nido para aves insectívoras es una estrategia efectiva para incrementar el control de plagas en los cultivos de manzano de sidra de Asturias (España). Demostramos experimentalmente que los agricultores se benefician del incremento de control de plagas realizado por las aves insectívoras que anidan en sus … Continue reading Control de plagas a cambio de ayuda para anidar

Journal of Applied Ecology5 Comments
Agriculture, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Enhancing ecosystem services in apple orchards

This post is also available in Spanish here Sustainable agriculture can be achieved through farming systems that preserve ecosystem services. In their latest research, García and colleagues test the effectiveness of nest boxes in increasing pest control in cider apple orchards. Cider is an iconic product in the Asturias region of northern Spain, and cider apple growing is a key component of the region’s agricultural … Continue reading Enhancing ecosystem services in apple orchards

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Research summaries

PODCAST: Forest restoration as a double-edged sword

In this podcast Simon Kärvemo discusses his paper ‘Forest restoration as a double-edged sword: the conflict between biodiversity conservation and pest control’ published today in Journal of Applied Ecology. Forest fires create open patches and dead wood – both factors that favour biodiversity, but using fire as a restoration tool is both risky and requires a lot of work and planning. What if we could … Continue reading PODCAST: Forest restoration as a double-edged sword

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Research summaries

Considering animal behaviour to improve ecological restoration

In this post Robin Hale discusses his Review paper with Stephen Swearer ‘When good animals love bad restored habitats: how maladaptive habitat selection can constrain restoration‘ Restoration is vital to offset the effects of habitat loss on biodiversity Recent biodiversity assessments paint a bleak picture. For example, vertebrates have suffered dramatic population declines (e.g. by 58% since 1970) and been lost at 100 times the … Continue reading Considering animal behaviour to improve ecological restoration

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Research summaries, Restoration, Themed collections

Finding missing branches: Phylogenetic patterns of plant community diversity in restored and remnant tallgrass prairies

To round off our series of posts from the Special Feature, Toward prediction in the restoration of biodiversity, we’re sharing Rebecca Barak’s post from earlier this year on her article Restored tallgrass prairies have reduced phylogenetic diversity compared with remnants.  Tallgrass prairie is one of the most endangered habitats on earth. In my home state of Illinois, USA, back in 1820, almost 60% of the state was … Continue reading Finding missing branches: Phylogenetic patterns of plant community diversity in restored and remnant tallgrass prairies

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Research summaries

Traditional forest management practices stop forest succession and bring back rare plant species

In this post Jan Douda discusses his recent paper ‘Traditional forest management practices stop forest succession and bring back rare plant species‘ The past management practices may continue to influence ecosystem functions and processes for decades, centuries or even longer after they have been abandoned. Until now, few authors have attempted experiments which test the effects of restoring some of these past management practices on long-term forest … Continue reading Traditional forest management practices stop forest succession and bring back rare plant species

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Research summaries

Evolution of plant materials for ecological restoration: insights from the applied and basic literature

In this post Erin Espeland discusses the recent paper ‘Evolution of plant materials for ecological restoration: insights from the applied and basic literature‘ by herself and co-authors Nancy Emery, Kristin Mercer, Scott Woolbright, Karin Kettenring, Paul Gepts and Julie Etterson. Native plant materials can evolve during seed collection, increase, and planting. We survey the evolutionary and agricultural literature and apply it to the problem of restoration, … Continue reading Evolution of plant materials for ecological restoration: insights from the applied and basic literature

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