As scientific understanding about ecological processes has grown, the idea that ecosystem dynamics are complex, nonlinear, and often unpredictable has gained prominence. Of particular importance is the idea that rather than following an inevitable progression toward an ultimate endpoint, some ecosystems may occur in a number of states depending on past and present ecological conditions. The emerging idea of restoration thresholdsa also enables scientists to recognize when ecological systems are likely to recover on their own and when active restoration efforts are needed.
Conceptual models based on alternative stable states and restoration thresholds can help inform restoration efforts. New Models for Ecosystem Dynamics and Restoration brings together leading experts from around the world to explore how conceptual models of ecosystem dynamics can be applied to the recovery of degraded systems and how recent advances in our understanding of ecosystem and landscape dynamics can be translated into conceptual and practical frameworks for restoration.
In the first part of the book, background chapters present and discuss the basic concepts and models and explore the implications of new scientific research on restoration practice. The second part considers the dynamics and restoration of different ecosystems, ranging from arid lands to grasslands, woodlands, and savannahs, to forests and wetlands, to production landscapes. A summary chapter by the editors discusses the implications of theory and practice of the ideas described in preceding chapters.
New Models for Ecosystem Dynamics and Restoration aims to widen the scope and increase the application of threshold models by critiquing their application in a wide range of ecosystem types. It will also help scientists and restorationists correctly diagnose ecosystem damage, identify restoration thresholds, and develop corrective methodologies that can overcome such thresholds.
About the Society for Ecological Restoration International Society for Ecological Restoration International - The Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration Preface
PART I. Background: Concepts and Models Chapter 1. Models of Ecosystem Dynamics as Frameworks for Restoration Ecology \ Katharine N. Suding and Richard J. Hobbs Chapter 2. Critical Transitions and Regime Shifts in Ecosystems: Consolidating Recent Advances \ Stephen R. Carpenter and Marten Scheffer Chapter 3. Transition Dynamics in Succession: Implications for Rates, Trajectories, and Restoration \ Lawrence R. Wakler and Roger del Moral Chapter 4. Inference about Complex Ecosystem Dynamics in Ecological Research and Restoration Practice \ Arne Schröder Chapter 5. Thresholds in Ecological and Linked SocialEcological Systems: Application to Restoration \ Elizabeth G. King and Steven Whisenant Chapter 6. Resilience Theory in Models of Rangeland Ecology and Restoration: The Evolution and Application of a Paradigm \ Bradon T. Bestelmeyer, Kris M. Havstad, Bolormaa Damindsuren, Gudong Han, Joel R. Brown, Jeffrey E. Herrick, Caitriana M. Steele, and Debra P. C. Peters
PART II. Dynamics and Restoration of Different Ecosystem Types Chapter 7. Long-term Dynamics and Rehabilitation of Woody Ecosystems in Dryland South Island, New Zealand \ Susan Walker, Ellen Cieraad, Adrian Monks, Larry Burrows, Jamie Wood, Robbie Price, Geoff Rogers, and Bill Lee Chapter 8. Dryland Dynamics and Restoration: Perspectives for the Use Of Climatic Swings \ Milena Holmgren Chapter 9. Developing Data-Driven Descriptive Models for Californian Grasslands \ James W. Bartolome, Randall D. Jackson, and Barbara H. Allen-Diaz Chapter 10. Management and Restoration in African Savannas: Interactions and Feedbacks \ Mahesh Sankaran and T. Michael Anderson Chapter 11. Rapid Internal PlantSoil Feedbacks Lead to Alternative Stable States in Temperate Australian Grassy Woodlands \ Suzanne M. Prober, Ian D. Lunt, and John W. Morgan Chapter 12. A Revised State-and-Transition Model for the Restoration of Woodlands in Western Australia \ Rachel J. Standish, Viki A. Cramer, and Colin J. Yates Chapter 13. A State-and-Transition Model for the Recovery of Abandoned Farmland in New Zealand \ Rachel J. Standish, Ashley D. Sparrow, Peter A. Williams, and Richard J. Hobbs Chapter 14. Dynamics and Restoration of Australian Tropical and Subtropical Rainforests \ John Kanowski, Robert M. Kooyman, and Carla P. Catterall Chapter 15. Interactions between Lesser Snow Geese and Arctic Coastal Vegetation Leading to Alternative Stable States \ I. Tanya Handa and Robert L. Jefferies Chapter 16. Feedbacks that Might Sustain Natural, Invaded, and Restored States in Herbaceous Wetlands \ Joy B. Zedler Chapter 17. Development of Conceptual Models for Ecological Regime Change in Temporary Australian Wetlands \ Lien L. Sim, Jenny A. Davis, and Jane M. Chambers Chapter 18. State-and-Transition Models for Mining Restoration in Australia \ Carl Grant Chapter 19. An Alternative Stable State Model for Landscape-Scale Restoration in South Australia \ Peter Cale and Nigel Willoughby Chapter 20. Alternative Stable States for Planning and Implementing Restoration of Production Systems in Michoacán, Mexico \ Roberto Lindig-Cisineros
PART III. Synthesis: Implications for Theory and Practice Chapter 21. Synthesis: Are New Models for Ecosystem Dynamics Scientifically Robust and Helpful in Guiding Restoration Projects? \ Richard J. Hobbs and Katharine N. Suding
Editors Index
"Technically-written...yet not overly technical considering the subject matter...several authors went to length to relate theory to practical restoration issues and problems. Details of case studies were relatable and complicated theoretical concepts were explained with top-notch flow charts, diagrams, and figures rather than esoteric mathematics...a lot of useful information."
