Holes: A Novel Method for Promoting
Vegetation Restoration (Macao) by
Shao-Lin Peng,
Yi-Na Yu,
Yu-Ping Hou,
Long-Sheng Yu,
Bao-Ming Chen,
and Guan-Feng Liang
Invasive and Non-native Species in a Small New England Watershed (New York) by
Mei-Yin Wu and Dennis Kalma
Seed Bank Colonization in Tidal Wetlands following Phragmites Control (New Jersey) by
K.D. Hallinger and Joseph K. Shisler
Developing an Interdisciplinary Restoration Plan for Napahai Wetland, Yunnan, China by
Beth A. Lawrence, Heqi Wu, and Qiang Liu
Black-necked cranes (Grus nigricollis, background), an IUCN red list species, and their habitat are threatened by several interacting forces at Napahai Wetland, China. Livestock, including pigs, have free reign of the wetland, and are critical to the livelihoods of Tibetan villagers living near Napahai. However, pigs create "pig patches" (foreground) that may be detrimental to black-necked crane habitat. Land-use change including rapid urban growth associated with increased tourism in the region, as well as the legacy of deforestation on the mountainous slopes surrounding the wetland, may contribute to high nutrient and sediment loads into the wetland. Chinese scientists and an American graduate student develop an interdisciplinary restoration plan for this internationally important wetland. Photo by Heqi Wu
Bay Scallop Restoration in New York by
Stephen T. Tettelbach and
Christopher F. Smith
Kevin Cahill tends the longline system in Orient Harbor, New York, in which 5-tier
lantern nets are stocked with bay scallops (Argopecten irradians irradians) and suspended midwater. Photo by Stephen Tettelbach
The New Mexico Forest Restoration Principles: Creating a Common Vision by
Anne Bradley
Modeling Long-Term Effects of Altered Fire Regimes following Southern Pine Beetle Outbreaks (North Carolina) by
Weimin Xi,
John D. Waldron, Charles W. Lafon, David M.Cairns, Andrew G. Birt, Maria D. Tchakerian, Robert N. Coulson, and Kier D. Klepzig
Seabird Habitat Restoration on Praia Islet,
Azores Archipelago by
Joël Bried
, Maria C. Magalhães, Mark Bolton, Verónica C. Neves, Elizabeth Bell, José C. Pereira,
Luís Aguiar, Luís R. Monteiro, and Ricardo S. Santos
As on many other islands, most of the seabird species breeding in Portugal's Azores archipelago are now restricted to
tiny remnants of their former nesting range, owing in large part to the introduction of mammals by humans. Praia Islet,
0.12 km2 in size, is home to five seabird species, four of which fall under the European listing of "conservation concern."
Introduced rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) on Praia had accelerated soil erosion through overgrazing, destroyed seabird
nests, and competed for burrows with petrels. Restoration of seabird habitat on the islet began in 1995 and involved rabbit
eradication, control of soil erosion, native plant reintroduction, and installation of artificial nests for common terns (Sterna
hirundo), roseate terns (Sterna dougallii), and Madeiran storm-petrels (Oceanodroma castro). Rabbits were eradicated in
1997 using broadcast pellets containing poison. Since then, soil erosion has decreased, many of the reintroduced native
plants have started to spread, and tern and Madeiran storm-petrel breeding numbers on the islet have increased by
1,548% and 43%, respectively. However, Praia Islet seabirds remain vulnerable owing to human recreational activities.
This case study highlights the need to consider local conditions carefully when assessing restoration options to effect
rapid mammal eradication. It also confirms the value of combining measures aimed at restoring native vegetation and
improving seabird habitat quality with alien herbivore eradication.
Cheatgrass Encroachment on a Ponderosa
Pine Forest Ecological Restoration Project
in Northern Arizona by
Christopher M. McGlone
, Judith D. Springer and W. Wallace Covington
Land managers frequently thin small-diameter trees and apply prescribed fire to reduce fuel loads and restore ecosystem
structure, function, and process in forested areas. There is increasing concern that disturbances associated with these
management practices can facilitate non-native plant invasions. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), an annual grass from the
Mediterranean, has invaded large areas of the interior West and has become the dominant species in many of these areas.
In 2003, a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) ecological restoration site on Mount Trumbull in the Uinkaret Mountains of
northern Arizona experienced a large increase in cheatgrass. Thinning and burning projects had been conducted on this
site since 1996. Cheatgrass cover increased 90-fold on the thinned and burned plots between 1996 and 2003. While
cheatgrass also increased on thinned plots that were not burned and the untreated control plots, the cover of cheatgrass
remained low. There were two additional factors that may have influenced the cheatgrass invasion. In 2002, the region
experienced the most extreme drought recorded in the past 100 years. Substantial rainfall returned to the area in September
2002, coincident with the timing of cheatgrass germination. Additionally, cattle were reintroduced to the study
area in August 2002 after a four-year hiatus in grazing. We present data suggesting that the interaction of prescribed fire
and small-diameter tree thinning, potentially exacerbated by cattle grazing and drought, was the primary cause of the
spread of cheatgrass. Furthermore, we offer management recommendations for reducing the risk of non-native plant
invasion on ecological restoration projects.
The Importance of Genetic Considerations for
Planning Translocations of the Rare Coastal
Heath Species Boronia rivularis (Rutaceae) in
Queensland by
Alison Shapcott, Mike Olsen, and Robert W. Lamont
The Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia, is facing increasing pressure from rapid urban expansion. Because of the
area's high biodiversity, developers are facing pressure to translocate rare, endangered, and vulnerable plants to more
protected areas. Translocation of turves, comprising sections of soil and intact aboveground vegetation, has been used as
a strategy for reintroducing understory species where establishment from seed is difficult. Moving populations spatially
can change levels and direction of gene flow. In what appears to be one of the largest reported translocations of a rare
species, this study uses allozymes, which are variant forms of enzymes, to investigate the genetics of a population of the
rare heath species Boronia rivularis, which is to be translocated to compensate for an urban development. The population
on the development site was found to be significant due to its large size and high genetic diversity and distinctiveness.
Diversity and inbreeding levels were not evenly distributed across the development site; inbreeding was highest where
density was highest. It was found that retention of a significant portion of the population on the development site reduced
the potential loss of connectivity. However, we found that ecological assessments based on density could have led to the
loss of the most genetically diverse and least inbred parts of the population.
An Emerging Crisis across Northern Prairie
Refuges: Prevalence of Invasive Plants and a
Plan for Adaptive Management by
Todd A. Grant, Bridgette Flanders-Wanner, Terry L. Shaffer, Robert K. Murphy, and Gregg A.
Knutsen
In the northern Great Plains, native prairies managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) can be pivotal in
conservation of North America's biological diversity. From 2002 to 2006, we surveyed 7,338 belt transects to assess the
general composition of mixed-grass and tallgrass prairie vegetation across five "complexes" (i.e., administrative groupings)
of national wildlife refuges managed by the Service in North Dakota and South Dakota. Native grasses and forbs
were common (mean frequency of occurrence 47%-54%) on two complexes but uncommon (4%-13%) on two others.
Conversely, an introduced species of grass, smooth brome (Bromus inermis), accounted for 45% to 49% of vegetation
on two complexes and another species, Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) accounted for 27% to 36% of the vegetation
on three of the complexes. Our data confirm prior suspicions of widespread invasion by introduced species of plants on
Service-owned tracts of native prairie, changes that likely stem in part from a common management history of little or
no disturbance (e.g., defoliation by grazing or fire). However, variability in the degree and type of invasion among prairie
tracts suggests that knowledge of underlying causes (e.g., edaphic or climatic factors, management histories) could help
managers more effectively restore prairies. We describe an adaptive management approach to acquire such knowledge
while progressing with restoration. More specifically, we propose to use data from inventories of plant communities on
Service-owned prairies to design and implement, as experiments, optimal restoration strategies. We will then monitor
these experiments and use the results to refine future strategies. This comprehensive, process-oriented approach should
yield reliable and robust recommendations for restoration and maintenance of native prairies in the northern Great Plains.
Seed Harvesting for Ecological Restoration:
Efficiency of Haymaking and Seed-Stripping
on Different Grassland Types in the Eastern
Italian Alps by
Michele Scotton, Lisa Piccinin, Matteo Dainese, and Federica Sancin
Haymaking and seed-stripping are frequently utilized methods of obtaining seeds for use in ecological restoration. We
sought to measure the efficiency of these two techniques in different grassland types in terms of the seed mix obtained
compared to the seed present in the vegetation. Haymaking and harvesting with a pull-type seed stripper were compared
in two different types of eastern Italian Alp meadows: a tall oats (Arrhenatherum elatius) meadow (grass height 70-100
cm) and a low fescue-bentgrass (Festuca nigrescens-Agrostis capillaris) meadow (grass height 35-65 cm). The percentage
of seed obtained from haymaking was similar to that obtained from seed-stripping (about 50% of the seed in the
standing vegetation). Nevertheless, haymaking efficiency differed less among the two grassland types (with reference to
the harvested seeds number per fertile stem, 39% in the tallgrass and 60% in the shortgrass vegetation) compared to
the efficiency of seed-stripping (20% and 73%, respectively). With haymaking, the seed mix obtained in both meadows
was similar to that present in the standing vegetation before harvesting. With seed-stripping, the similarity was high
only in the shortgrass meadow, where the stripping action of the brush affected the whole herbaceous layer, and the
downward motion of the brush allowed for effective harvesting. Both techniques were more efficient in the shortgrass
meadow than in the tallgrass vegetation.
Responses of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates to
Stream Channel Reconstruction in a Degraded
Rangeland Creek in the Sierra Nevada by
David B. Herbst
and Jeffrey M. Kane
Streams on western rangelands are sometimes degraded to the point that reestablishing lost ecological values requires
rebuilding their physical structure, shape, and form. We evaluated the biological response to reconstruction of a small
rangeland stream channel through comparisons of aquatic invertebrate communities before and after engineering activities
and in relation to local and regional reference stream conditions. We measured geomorphic and riparian habitat
features along with benthic macroinvertebrates for two years prior to restoration actions and for two years afterward.
Stream restoration activities included the construction of a new channel to replace an incised meadow stream reach
(including addition of coarse rock substrate, erosion control fabric, and willow planting) and the rehabilitation of gullies
and roads in the meadow and its watershed. In postproject monitoring, we found statistically significant changes in
the macroinvertebrate community and trophic structure at the restored site. These were exhibited as increases in EPT
taxa (mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies) and the proportion and diversity of sensitive taxa, decreased tolerant taxa, and an
increase in consumers of riparian organic matter (shredders) and decrease in fine organic particle filter-feeders. A site
monitored downstream of the restoration activities exhibited increased deposition of fines and sand one year after project
construction, but was similar to preproject conditions in the second year, and the macroinvertebrate community was
unchanged. Improved biological integrity at the restored site showed that rapid recovery can occur in rebuilt streams
within rehabilitated watersheds, but neither degraded nor enhanced conditions were transferred to downstream habitat,
at least over the initial postproject period.
