Tag: ecological restoration

Research summaries, Restoration

Explore Before You Restore: Enhancing ecosystem restoration with complex systems science

Sybryn L. Maes explains how they, alongside colleagues, developed an Explore Before You Restore framework, and illustrates how these concepts may impact restoration outcomes by influencing degradation and recovery trajectories. To help restore ecosystems, we, a group of international experts in resilience & restoration, propose using a new framework called Explore Before You Restore (EBYR) throughout the restoration project cycle. Even though there are international, … Continue reading Explore Before You Restore: Enhancing ecosystem restoration with complex systems science

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Coastal and marine, Editor's Choice, Plant and soil ecology, Research summaries

Editor’s Choice 60:12 Mangrove ecological restoration vs climate variability

David Alejandro Sánchez-Núñez, J. Alexandra Rodríguez-Rodríguez and José Ernesto Mancera Pineda talk us through Journal of Applied Ecology’s December’s Editor’s Choice research article. This study demonstrates that climate-smart restoration in mangroves should implement the types of hydrological rehabilitation measures that offset or avoid reinforcing ENSO strong phases. History of cover fluctuations in a strategic mangrove ecosystem The Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta (CGSM), one of … Continue reading Editor’s Choice 60:12 Mangrove ecological restoration vs climate variability

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Grasslands, Monitoring and methods, Practitioners, Research summaries, Restoration

Resolving a heated debate: How useful is prescribed burning for lowland heaths?

Prescribed burning is a controversial management tool. Here, Barbara Smith discusses new research she and colleagues conducted into the impact of burning on lowland heaths at three trophic levels over a 20 year period. Its findings provide evidence for ecologists, land managers and policy makers to support decision making in protected area management. Background Lowland heathlands, with their unique assemblage of species, were created by … Continue reading Resolving a heated debate: How useful is prescribed burning for lowland heaths?

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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?

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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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