Restoration ecophysiology: an ecophysiological approach to improve restoration strategies and outcomes in severely disturbed landscapes

As human activities destroy and degrade the world's ecosystems at unprecedented scales, there is a growing need for evidence-based methods for ecological restoration if we are to preserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. Mining represents one of the most severe anthropogenic disturbances, o...

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Main Authors: Valliere, Justin M., Ruscalleda Alvarez, Jaume, Cross, Adam, Lewandrowski, W., Riviera, Fiamma, Stevens, Jason C., Tomlinson, Sean, Tudor, Emily P., Wong, Wei San, Yong, Jean W.H., Veneklaas, E.J.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: WILEY 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/IC150100041
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89992
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author Valliere, Justin M.
Ruscalleda Alvarez, Jaume
Cross, Adam
Lewandrowski, W.
Riviera, Fiamma
Stevens, Jason C.
Tomlinson, Sean
Tudor, Emily P.
Wong, Wei San
Yong, Jean W.H.
Veneklaas, E.J.
author_facet Valliere, Justin M.
Ruscalleda Alvarez, Jaume
Cross, Adam
Lewandrowski, W.
Riviera, Fiamma
Stevens, Jason C.
Tomlinson, Sean
Tudor, Emily P.
Wong, Wei San
Yong, Jean W.H.
Veneklaas, E.J.
author_sort Valliere, Justin M.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description As human activities destroy and degrade the world's ecosystems at unprecedented scales, there is a growing need for evidence-based methods for ecological restoration if we are to preserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. Mining represents one of the most severe anthropogenic disturbances, often necessitating intensive intervention to restore the most basic attributes of native ecosystems. Despite examples of successful mine-site restoration, re-establishing native vegetation in these degraded landscapes remains a significant challenge. Plant ecophysiology—the study of the interactions between plants and the environment—can provide a useful framework for evaluating and guiding mine-site restoration. By understanding the physiological mechanisms that allow plants to establish and persist in these highly disturbed environments, practitioners may be able to improve restoration outcomes. Specifically, methods in plant ecophysiology can inform site preparation and the selection of plant material for restoration projects, aid in monitoring restoration progress by providing additional insight into plant performance, and ultimately improve our ability to predict restoration trajectories. Here, we review the challenges and benefits of integrating an ecophysiological perspective to mine-site restoration in Western Australia, a global hotspot of biodiversity and mining operations. Using case studies and examples from the region's diverse ecosystems, we illustrate how an ecophysiological approach can guide the restoration of some of the world's most severely disturbed landscapes. With careful selection of study species and traits and consideration of the specific environmental conditions and stressors within a site, the restoration ecophysiology framework outlined here has the potential to inform restoration strategies across ecosystems.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-899922023-02-06T01:45:14Z Restoration ecophysiology: an ecophysiological approach to improve restoration strategies and outcomes in severely disturbed landscapes Valliere, Justin M. Ruscalleda Alvarez, Jaume Cross, Adam Lewandrowski, W. Riviera, Fiamma Stevens, Jason C. Tomlinson, Sean Tudor, Emily P. Wong, Wei San Yong, Jean W.H. Veneklaas, E.J. Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Ecology Environmental Sciences & Ecology adaptive management conservation physiology environmental stress mine-site restoration plant physiology rehabilitation ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION ECOSYSTEM SERVICES BANKSIA WOODLANDS WESTERN-AUSTRALIA WATER-STRESS PLANT FOREST SOIL BIODIVERSITY EUCALYPTUS As human activities destroy and degrade the world's ecosystems at unprecedented scales, there is a growing need for evidence-based methods for ecological restoration if we are to preserve biodiversity and ecosystem services. Mining represents one of the most severe anthropogenic disturbances, often necessitating intensive intervention to restore the most basic attributes of native ecosystems. Despite examples of successful mine-site restoration, re-establishing native vegetation in these degraded landscapes remains a significant challenge. Plant ecophysiology—the study of the interactions between plants and the environment—can provide a useful framework for evaluating and guiding mine-site restoration. By understanding the physiological mechanisms that allow plants to establish and persist in these highly disturbed environments, practitioners may be able to improve restoration outcomes. Specifically, methods in plant ecophysiology can inform site preparation and the selection of plant material for restoration projects, aid in monitoring restoration progress by providing additional insight into plant performance, and ultimately improve our ability to predict restoration trajectories. Here, we review the challenges and benefits of integrating an ecophysiological perspective to mine-site restoration in Western Australia, a global hotspot of biodiversity and mining operations. Using case studies and examples from the region's diverse ecosystems, we illustrate how an ecophysiological approach can guide the restoration of some of the world's most severely disturbed landscapes. With careful selection of study species and traits and consideration of the specific environmental conditions and stressors within a site, the restoration ecophysiology framework outlined here has the potential to inform restoration strategies across ecosystems. 2022 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89992 10.1111/rec.13571 English http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/IC150100041 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ WILEY fulltext
spellingShingle Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Ecology
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
adaptive management
conservation physiology
environmental stress
mine-site restoration
plant physiology
rehabilitation
ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
BANKSIA WOODLANDS
WESTERN-AUSTRALIA
WATER-STRESS
PLANT
FOREST
SOIL
BIODIVERSITY
EUCALYPTUS
Valliere, Justin M.
Ruscalleda Alvarez, Jaume
Cross, Adam
Lewandrowski, W.
Riviera, Fiamma
Stevens, Jason C.
Tomlinson, Sean
Tudor, Emily P.
Wong, Wei San
Yong, Jean W.H.
Veneklaas, E.J.
Restoration ecophysiology: an ecophysiological approach to improve restoration strategies and outcomes in severely disturbed landscapes
title Restoration ecophysiology: an ecophysiological approach to improve restoration strategies and outcomes in severely disturbed landscapes
title_full Restoration ecophysiology: an ecophysiological approach to improve restoration strategies and outcomes in severely disturbed landscapes
title_fullStr Restoration ecophysiology: an ecophysiological approach to improve restoration strategies and outcomes in severely disturbed landscapes
title_full_unstemmed Restoration ecophysiology: an ecophysiological approach to improve restoration strategies and outcomes in severely disturbed landscapes
title_short Restoration ecophysiology: an ecophysiological approach to improve restoration strategies and outcomes in severely disturbed landscapes
title_sort restoration ecophysiology: an ecophysiological approach to improve restoration strategies and outcomes in severely disturbed landscapes
topic Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Ecology
Environmental Sciences & Ecology
adaptive management
conservation physiology
environmental stress
mine-site restoration
plant physiology
rehabilitation
ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
BANKSIA WOODLANDS
WESTERN-AUSTRALIA
WATER-STRESS
PLANT
FOREST
SOIL
BIODIVERSITY
EUCALYPTUS
url http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/IC150100041
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89992