Highlights from the Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration Series Part II: Restoration of Damaged Ecosystems

SER RE s

Society for Ecological Restoration to r ation re ad er Highlights from The Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration Series Part II: Restoration of Damaged Ecosystems

Series Editor: James Aronson Associate Editor: Karen D. Holl Editorial Board: Donald A. Falk, Richard J. Hobbs, and Margaret A. Palmer Int r o d uct i on The SER Restoration Reader

It’s now or never. As ecosystems, species, and ecological communities suffer accelerating decline as a result of human activities—and human communities suffer from loss of ecosystem services and impacts of climate change—restoration is becoming an essential component of conservation and management approaches. Around the globe, restorationists are tackling difficult problems, working to repair rivers damaged by diversions and habitat destruction, restore healthy forest ecosystems, repair grasslands whose ecological interactions have been severely disrupted . In rich and poor countries alike, restoration is a conduit for hope through local, community-based projects as well as through strategies for global sustainability.

Why “The Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration” Book Series? In response to the exploding worldwide interest in restoration, the Society for Ecological Restora- tion International and Island Press created a book series, “The Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration.” As the title suggests, our aim is to create an international forum devoted to advanc- ing restoration science and practice, as well as promoting their integration with the conservation sciences. This series offers practical knowledge, field-tested solutions, inspiration, and scientific insight from experienced practitioners and scientists that will allow restoration to become the powerful healing tool and integrative science that the world so clearly needs.

Here is Your Free Sampler of the Series We’ve created this free Restoration Reader so that you can see the breadth and depth of the series—and determine which books meet your needs. The Reader is organized in four separate easy-to-download files, like the sections of a book: Part I: Foundation Volumes If you are new to restoration, you will find a basic orientation to the field in these books. If you are an experienced restorationist, you will find invaluable reference and “big-picture” information here. Dip into these books for a glimpse of the scope, the scientific and philosophical underpin- nings, and the promise of restoration. Part II: Restoration of Damaged Ecosystems These books describe the nuts and bolts of restoration: the science, practice, and policy of repairing damaged ecosystems around the world, from arid lands to forests to river ecosystems. Ex- perienced practitioners and leading researchers share hands-on experience and accounts of both

ISLAND PRESS Solutions that inspire change. Int r o d uct i on The SER Restoration Reader

success and failure, and offer recommendations for future research and effective application of the principles of this field. Part III: Valuable Tools and References Restoration is a multidisciplinary, multifaceted field, drawing on techniques and knowledge from a wide variety of other disciplines, including oral history, dendrochronology, wildlife biology, and many branches of ecology. We invite you to sample these books to view the range and richness of information that may help you with your own projects or research. Part IV: Practitioner Volumes We’ve developed these books specifically in response to requests from those of you who spend your days out in the field. You asked for short books that focus on practical information rather than theory—and that people without recent scientific training could understand. Please sample these “practitioner” books. We think you will find not only the how-to resources you need but also the inspiration and community that will help to keep your work moving forward. This file (the one you are looking at) is Part II: Restoration of Damaged Ecosystems Please take some time to browse the other three parts, as well. Together, these files represent the multidisciplinary, multifaceted work of ecological restoration. As you peruse these samples of the emerging literature on restoration, we hope that you will find the science, how-to information, references, and companionship of purpose that will facilitate your current work.

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Help Us Spread the Word Please share this Reader with your colleagues and friends. You can forward this document as an e-mail attachment and/or pass on this link, where a free download is available: www.islandpress.org/ser/. We believe that ecological restoration will become, as noted biologist and conservationist Edward O. Wil- son has predicted, one of the keystones of ecology and environmental protection for the twenty-first century. We hope you agree, and that you’ll share this Reader with your friends and colleagues.

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ISLAND PRESS Solutions that inspire change. Part II: Restoration of Damaged Ecosystems C Cork Oak Woodlands on the Edge: Ecology, Adaptive ont e nt Management, and Restoration 8 Edited by James Aronson, João S. Pereira, and Juli G. Pausas Excerpt taken from chapter 6, “Coping with Drought,” by João

S. Pereira, Cathy Kurz–Besson, and M. Manuela Chaves s

River Futures: An Integrative Scientific Approach to River Repair 17 Edited by Gary J. Brierley and Kirstie A. Fryirs Excerpt taken from chapter 8, “Social and Biophysical Connectivity of River Systems,” by Mick Hillman, Gary J. Brierley, and Kirstie A. Fryirs

Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration: Five Case Studies from the United States 24 Edited by Mary Doyle and Cynthia A. Drew Excerpt taken from chapter 6, “Navigating the Shoals: Costs and Benefits of Platte River Ecosystem Management,” by Stephen Polasky

islandpress.org/readers Part II: Restoration of Damaged Ecosystems cont e nt

Old Fields: Dynamics and Restoration of Abandoned Farmland 28 Edited by Viki A. Cramer and Richard J. Hobbs Excerpt taken from chapter 6, “Old Field Vegetation Succes- s sion in the Neotropics,” by Karen D. Holl

A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration: New Hope for Arid Lands 33 By David A. Bainbridge Excerpt taken from chapter 1, “Desertification: Crisis and Opportunity”

Restoring the Pacific Northwest: The Art and Science of Ecological Restoration in Cascadia 40 Edited by Dean Apostol and Marcia Sinclair Excerpt taken from chapter 17, “Traditional Ecological Knowl- edge and Restoration Practice,” by René Senos, Frank K. Lake, Nancy Turner, and Dennis Martinez

ISLAND PRESS Solutions that inspire change. cont e nt The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook: For Prairies, Savannas, and Woodlands 49 Edited by Stephen Packard and Cornelia F. Mutel Excerpt taken from chapter 1, “Orchards of Oak and a Sea of Grass,” by Virginia M. Kline s

Great Basin Riparian Ecosystems: Ecology, Management, and Restoration 55 Edited by Jeanne C. Chambers and Jerry R. Miller Excerpt taken from chapter 9, “Process-Based Approaches for Managing and Restoring Riparian Ecosystems,” by Jeanne C. Chambers, Jerry R. Miller, Dru Germanoski, and Dave A. Weixelman

Ecological Restoration of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests 61 Edited by Peter Friederici Excerpt taken from chapter 6, “Ecological Restoration as Thinking Like a Forest,” by Max Oelschlaeger

islandpress.org/readers 7 16 20 25 28 12 25 15 17 11 22 479-2 478-5 - - . Pereira, and Juli Juli and Pereira, S. ronson, João João Aronson, Variation and Introgression Variation Origins and Migration Routes Flowers and Fruits: The Ecological Role of Acorns and Fruits: The Ecological Role of Flowers Trees? Nature’s Gift andWeakened Cork Harvest: Surviving Fire: The Ecological Role of Cork Framework Tree of Natural Ecosystems and Cultural Derivatives Biogeography

336 pages. 6 x 9 x 6 pages. 336 Site Profile 1.1: Akfadou, Algeria Akfadou, Site Profile 1.1: Mahand Messaoudène and Hachemi Merouani 2. Origin and Genetic Variability Soto Alvaro Roselyne Lumaret, Unai López de Heredia, and 1. The Tree Aronson and James João S. Pereira, Juli G. Pausas,

I. Cork Oak Trees and Woodlands PART Contents Figures, color-photo inserts, glossary. index, color-photo Figures, Paper, $40.00, ISBN 978-1-59726 $40.00, Paper, 2009. Cloth, $80.00, ISBN 978-1-59726 $80.00, Cloth, James James G. Pausas and Restoration and Ecology, Adaptive Management, Management, Adaptive Ecology, Cork Oak Woodlands Woodlands Oak Cork on the Edge Cork oak woodlands on the edge SER Restoration Reader

Unresolved Questions 30 Implications for Conservation of Cork Oak Genetic Resources 31 3. Open Woodlands: A Diversity of Uses (and Overuses) 33 Miguel Bugalho, Tobias Plieninger, James Aronson, Mohammed Ellatifi, and David Gomes Crespo A System with Different Names 34 One System, Multiple Land Uses 36 Recent Trends of Transformation and Degradation 40 Conclusions 44 Site Profile 3.1: Aguelmous, Morocco 46 Mohammed Ellatifi 4. Historical Perspective of Montados: The Example of Évora 49 Teresa Pinto-Correia and Ana Margarida Fonseca Land Use before the Fifteenth Century 49 Land Use between the Fifteenth and the Eighteenth Centuries 52 Land Use in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries: Emergence of the Montado 53 Conclusions 55 Site Profile 4.1: Machuqueira do Grou, Portugal 57 Nuno de Almeida Ribeiro 5. Cork Bottle Stoppers and Other Cork Products 59 Américo M. S. Carvalho Mendes and José A. R. Graça Cork as an Industrial Material 59 Economic History of the Cork Sector 63 Conclusions 68

PART II. Scientific Bases for Restoration and Management 71 6. Coping with Drought 73 João S. Pereira, Cathy Kurz-Besson, and M. Manuela Chaves The Limits of Survival 74 Water Deficits and Growth 78

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Water Deficits and Cork Stripping 79 Conclusions 80 7. Mycorrhizal Symbiosis and Its Role in Seedling Response to Drought 81 Daniel Mousain, Hassan Boukcim, and Franck Richard Mycorrhizal Symbiosis Diversity in Mediterranean Oaks 81 The Role of Mycorrhizal Symbiosis in Drought Tolerance of Trees 83 Cork Oak Response to Drought and ECMs 84 Conclusions 87 8. Soil Properties Constraining Cork Oak Distribution 89 Isabel Serrasolses, Marian Pérez-Devesa, Alberto Vilagrosa,Juli G. Pausas, Teresa Sauras, Jordi Cortina, and V. Ramon Vallejo Soil Characteristics 90 Cork Oak on Soils Developed over Carbonate Rocks: The Case of Pinet 94 Cork Oak Establishment in Contrasted Soils: A Lysimeter Experiment 95 Conclusions 97 Site Profile 8.1: Espadà, Calderona, and Pinet, Spain 100 Juli G. Pausas and V. Ramon Vallejo 9. Coping with Pests and Diseases 103 Manuela Branco and Ana Paula Ramos Biotic Factors Affecting Acorns, Seedlings, and Young Plantings 104 Biotic Factors Affecting Mature Trees 105 Decline and Loss of Productivity in Adult Stands: Forestry Practices and Protection 109

Conclusions 110 Site Profile 9.1: Maremma, Italy 112 Federico Selvi 10. Natural Regeneration 115 Juli G. Pausas, Teodoro Marañón, Maria Caldeira, and Josep Pons From Seed to Seedling 115 Seedling Performance 118 Recruitment Patterns: Three Case Studies 120

Chapter 6: Coping with Drought 11 SER Restoration Reader

Conclusions 123 Site Profile 10.1: Hayouna, Morocco 125 Mohamed Abourouh

PART III. Restoration in Practice 127 11. Germplasm Selection and Nursery Techniques 129 Maria Helena Almeida, Hachemi Merouani, Filipe Costa e Silva, Jordi Cortina, Roman Trubat, Esteban Chirino, Alberto Vilagrosa, Abdelhamid Khaldi, Boutheina Stiti, Sidi Lotfi El Alami, and V. Ramon Vallejo Germplasm Selection 129 Availability and Quality of Initial Acorn Stock 130 Acorn Manipulation, Storage, and Quality Assessment 130 Plant Production and Nursery Practices 131 Conclusions 137 Site Profile 11.1: Aspres and Albères, France 138 Renaud Piazzetta 12. Field Techniques to Improve Cork Oak Establishment 141 Jordi Cortina, Marian Pérez-Devesa, Alberto Vilagrosa, Mohamed Abourouh, Mahand Messaoudène, Nora Berrahmouni, Luis Neves Silva, Maria Helena Almeida, and Abdelhamid Khaldi Direct Seeding 142 Seedling Planting 142 Livestock Management 148 Conclusions 148

PART IV. Economic Analysis 151 13. Mixed Cork Oak–Stone PineWoodlands in the Alentejo Region of Portugal 153 Inocêncio S. Coelho and Pablo Campos Mixed Cork Oak and Stone Pine Woodland Areas 153 Private Economic Benefits and Cost Valuation Methods 155 Sustainability and Stewardship of Total Economic Value 159

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Site Profile 13.1: Monchique and Caldeirão, Portugal 162 José M. D. Rosendo 14. Cork OakWoodland Conservation and Household Subsistence Economy Challenges in Northern Tunisia 165 Pablo Campos, Paola Ovando, Ali Chebil, and Hamed Daly-Hassen Case Study: Iteimia 166 Conclusions 173 Site Profile 14.1: Maamora, Morocco 175 Mohamed Abourouh 15. Cost–Benefit Analysis of Cork Oak Woodland Afforestation and Facilitated Natural Regeneration in Spain 177 Paola Ovando, Pablo Campos, José L. Oviedo, and Gregorio Montero Cork OakWoodland, Shrubland, Pasture, and Cropland Management Scenarios 178 Present Discounted Values of Capital Income from Cork Oak Investment and Noninvestment Scenarios 180 Conclusions 187 16. Manufacture and Trade of Cork Products: An International Perspective 189 Santiago Zapata, Francisco M. Parejo, Amélia Branco, Michele Gutierrez, J. Ignacio Jiménez Blanco, Renaud Piazzetta, and Andreas Voth The Iberization of the Cork Business: 1920s to 1970s 190 Manufacture and Trade of Cork Products in the Last Thirty Years: The International Scene 192 Conclusions 199

PART V. Challenges for the Future 201 17. Ecoregional Planning for Biodiversity Conservation 203 Nora Berrahmouni, Pedro Regato, Mohammed Ellatifi, Hamed Daly-Hassen, Miguel Bugalho, Sahraoui Bensaid, Mario Díaz, and James Aronson Biodiversity Value and Ecosystem Services 203 Challenges for Conservation 204

Chapter 6: Coping with Drought 13 SER Restoration Reader

Reconnecting Environmental, Social, and Economic Interests through Landscape Conservation Planning 213

Conclusions 216 Site Profile 17.1: Los Alcornocales Natural Park, Spain 217 Teodoro Marañón 18. Facing Climate Change 219 João S. Pereira, Alexandre Vaz Correia, and Richard Joffre Rise in Atmospheric CO2 Concentration 220 Rising Temperatures 221 Effects on Communities and Ecosystems 223 Effects at the Landscape and Regional Scales 224 Conclusions 225 19. Simulating Function and Vulnerability of Cork Oak Woodland Ecosystems 227 John Tenhunen, Ralf Geyer, João M. B. Carreiras, Nuno de Almeida Ribeiro, Nguyen Q. Dinh, Dennis O. Otieno, and João S. Pereira Function and Productivity as Related to Vulnerability Assessments 228 The Pixel-Oriented Growth Model for MediterraneanWoodlands 229 Conclusions 233 20. The Way Forward 235 V. Ramon Vallejo, James Aronson, Juli G. Pausas, João S. Pereira, and Christelle Fontaine Cork Oak Decline 236 Cork OakWoodland Products 238 Management Options 240 Glossary 247 References 257 Editors 285 Contributors 287 Species Index 301 Index 307

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cork oak to soil degradation and climate change About this excerpt but also for general management and conservation programs, including the restoration and re- Cork oak forests have coevolved with hu- integration of fragmented cork oak landscapes. man societies for thousands of years. This Indeed, increased aridity is the most likely cause fascinating volume provides a synthesis of the most up-to-date, scientific, and practi- for the low regeneration rates observed in cork cal information on the management of cork oak (see Chapters 10 and 20). Therefore, many oak woodlands and the cultural systems that restoration projects based on artificial regenera- depend on cork oak. Ten profiles of cork oak tion may fail because of postplanting water defi- sites written by local experts add in-depth de- cits. Similarly, postfire resprouting of trees may scription of the variety of range of this tree. In fail because of drought stress. this excerpt from chapter 6, João S. Pereira, Cathy Kurz-Besson, and M. Manuela Chaves The Limits of Survival discuss how cork oak copes with drought, a topic of increasing relevance in this era of cli- In areas with Mediterranean type climate, most mate change. trees avoid dehydration of their living tissues during water deficits by reducing water loss or preserving access to soil water (Walter 1973; Excerpt taken from chapter 6, “Coping with Pereira et al. 2006). Whereas stomatal closure Drought,” by João S. Pereira, Cathy Kurz–Bes- and leaf shedding may limit water losses, deep son, and M. Manuela Chaves root systems provide access to water, free from Cork oak survives in its native habitats thanks the competition of coexisting plants with shal- to its ability to withstand the long, dry, and hot lower roots. However, when water deficits pre- summers of the Mediterranean region, when vail and both these strategies fail, the tree may soil and atmosphere water deficits combine with die. How and when does that occur? high light intensity and high temperatures to Without soil water replenishment, plant dehy- make life difficult for perennial plants (Pereira dration becomes unavoidable. As drought pro- et al. 2004). Recent changes in the region’s cli- gresses, the resulting plant water deficits may mate, such as consistent warming and a sig- cause the cavitation of some water columns in nificant reduction of springtime precipitation, the xylem water transport system. If water defi- have increased environmental adversity and cits and cavitation persist, those conduits may unpredictability (Pausas 2004). Moreover, the become embolized, thus losing the capacity to frequency of droughts has increased dramati- transport water. Persistence of drought may cally in the last twenty-five years in the west- lead to a state in which the hydraulic integrity of ern Medi-terranean (Miranda et al. 2002), and the tree is lost. When runaway embolism occurs episodes of high tree mortality occur more and in the whole trunk, severing the connection be- more frequently, especially in severe drought tween tree roots and shoots, water is no longer years (Pereira et al. 2006). Water deficits may delivered to the leaves and other living tissues, also be critical in generalized cork oak decline and eventually the entire tree dries out. In such associated with root pathogens because trees cases, trees lose their ability to resprout, even infected with pathogens, such as root rot (Phy- when water becomes available once again. The tophthora cinnamomi), are more vulnerable to limit to this catastrophic loss of xylem conduc- water deficitinduced damage than uninfected tivity is set by the xylem vulnerability to water trees (Desprez Loustau et al. 2006) (see Color deficits, that is, the values of leaf water potential Plate 11). at which most xylem elements fail to function. The main question we address in this chapter Whereas many seedlings are eliminated by such is how cork oak copes with drought. This is rel- processes in the first summer season of drought, evant not only for assessing the vulnerability of in large trees this does not occur at once. Indeed,

Chapter 6: Coping with Drought 15 SER Restoration Reader it may take a long time, usually long enough to allow other agents, namely pathogens or insects, to join the attack. In other words, when a tree dies it has usually undergone a gradual period of weakening (Jen- kins and Pallardy 1995). To understand and counteract this process, we need to know how to measure plant water status. The most common measure used is leaf water potential, which is denoted by the symbol (Ψ). Leaf water potential is an approximate indication of the difficulty plants experience in extracting moisture from the soil. By convention, a value near zero indicates plants that are well hydrated, whereas negative Ψ values signify that water is held by soil matrix forces in a way that is not easily taken up by plants. When measured at dawn or predawn  Figure 6.1. Interannual variation of precipitation (January (pd) (Ψpd), this assay indicates whether there is to August) and minimum leaf water potential, indicating an abundance of water in the soil (values near both predawn (Ψpd) and midday leaf water potential (Ψmd), measured from 1999 to 2005 on mature (n = 4 to 0) or water is scarce near the roots (negative val- 6; David et al. 2007) and young cork oak trees (n = 18 to ues). The lowest Ψpd values usually occur at the 27), in Herdade da Mitra, Évora, Portugal. Error bars are end of the summer and depend on the annual standard errors of the means. The annual precipitation was significantly correlated to predawn (R2 = 0.61, p = .02) precipitation amount (Figure 6.1). In general, and midday (R2 = 0.73, p = .009) minimum annual leaf leaf water potential near –4 MPa corresponds to water potentials. the minima measured in healthy cork oak trees lower hydraulic vulnerability limits (Tyree and in the field (David et al. 2007; Figure 6.1). Cochard 1996; Nardini and Tyree 1999). The Control of Water Loss Using water sparingly is just one way for plants How do trees manage their water status so as to resist drought or avoid it altogether. It is to avoid disaster? It is currently assumed that costly to the plant because when stomata close, stomatal functioning evolved to control water transpiration is indeed reduced, but photosyn- losses so that plant water status is maintained thetic carbon assimilation drops as well. Cork above the threshold of xylem runaway embo- oak trees keep their stomata more open at lower lism, thus preventing the plant from losing its leaf water potentials than do more mesophytic water transport capability (Jones and Sutherland species, such as Turkey oak and Portuguese oak 1991; Jackson et al. 2000). How does cork oak (Ksontini et al. 1998; Nardini et al. 1999), con- compare to other plants in terms of xylem vul- firming this species’ intermediate drought tolerance between the more mesophytic decidu- nerability? Compared with another evergreen ous oaks and the evergreen holm oak. But if a species, western holm oak (Quercus ilex subsp. drought-resistant plant keeps its stomata open rotundifolia), whole-tree hydraulic conductance when water runs short, it must compensate and minimum midday leaf water potential were somehow for water loss. This is the topic we ex- higher in cork oak, suggesting greater drought plore in the next section. resistance of holm oak (David et al. 2007). In fact, western holm oak occupies drier sites than cork Water Acquisition, Root Systems, and Hydraulic oak when they occur sympatrically. However, Lift when compared with less drought-resistant, de- To avoid dehydration and compensate for wa- ciduous oaks, cork oak has been shown to have ter loss, many Mediterranean woody plants

16 Cork Oak Woodlands on the Edge Quick Links: Buy Cork Oak Woodlands on the Edge Cork Oak Woodlands on the Edge TOC SER Restoration Reader TOC have deep roots and extract water from a large water table (Kurz-Besson et al. 2006; Otieno et volume of soil (Pereira et al. 2006). In a study car- al. 2006). The upper (horizontal) roots allow the ried out in Portugal, more than 70 percent of the plant to acquire nutrients and water in the wet water transpired by holm and cork oaks during season, whereas deeper roots obtain water after the dry season was derived from groundwater desiccation of the upper soil horizons during the (David et al. 2007). As a result, these deep-rooted dry season. Survival through the summer results species do not reach leaf water potentials as low from the combination of low transpiration (sto- as those observed in semi-deciduous, shallow- mata closed) and water uptake from deeper soil. rooted rockrose species in the same region that In summer this root positioning allows some re- dehydrate to the point of –5.5 MPa leaf water po- distribution of groundwater to the shallower root tential (Werner et al. 1999). system at night, through the process known as Mediterranean evergreen oak trees have a large hydraulic lift (Figure 6.2). number of roots growing horizontally and ex- tending much farther than the crown projection limits and a few root branches growing geotropi-

 Figure 6.2. Hydraulic lift occurs at night, when cork oak stomata are closed. The soil water potential gradient between shallow and deep soil layers induces water transport through roots from deeper to shallower soil layers via hydraulic lift. After trunks are refilled, some water may be available for redistribution into shallow soil layers through fine roots (hydraulic redistribution). Hydraulic lift was illustrated using tensiometer measurements. The daily fluctuation in soil water potential resulting from transpiration (decrease) and hydraulic lift (increase) is illustrated in the insert (data in insert from Kurz-Besson et al. 2006). Excerpted from Cork Oak Woodlands on the Edge: Ecology, Adaptive Management, and Restoration, edited by James Aronson, João S. Pereira, and Juli G. Pausas. Copyright © 2009 by Island Press. Ex- cally toward the subsoil (Verdaguer et al. 2000; cerpted by permission of Island Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission David et al. 2004). One study in Portugal showed in writing from the publisher. Island Press grants permission to that cork oak trees had root activity in two layers forward this unaltered electronic document to friends, colleagues, of the soil, one 40 to 100 centimeters deep and an- and other interested parties. other reaching deep subsoil layers or the ground-

Chapter 6: Coping with Drought 17 R iver f utu res River Futures An Integrative Scientific Approach to River Repair

Edited by Gary J. Brierley and Kirstie A. Fryirs

Cloth, $80.00, ISBN 978-1-59726-112-8 Paper, $40.00, ISBN 978-1-59726-113-5 2008. 365 pages. 8 x 10

Contents Preface xiii

PART I. The Emerging Process of River Repair 1

Chapter 1. Moves Toward an Era of River Repair 3 Gary J. Brierley and Kirstie A. Fryirs The Emerging Process of River Repair 4 The Emergence of Integrative River Science 8 Framing Our Goals in the Process of River Repair 11 Structure of the Book 12

Chapter 2. Vision Generation: What Do We Seek to Achieve in River Rehabilitation? 16 Darren Ryder, Gary J. Brierley, Richard Hobbs, Garreth Kyle, and Michelle Leishman Using a Guiding Image to Set Rehabilitation Goals 17 Scientific Considerations in Vision Generation 18 Assessing Rehabilitation Success 18 Socioeconomic Considerations: An Inclusive Approach to Vision Generation 20 Quick Links: ˈ Buy River Futures ˈ River Futures TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC

Incorporating a Guiding Image into Successful River Rehabilitation Practice 22 Conclusion 24

Chapter 3. Turbulence and Train Wrecks: Using Knowledge Strategies to the Enhance Application of Integrative River Science to Effective River Management 28 Andrew Boulton, Hervé Piégay, and Mark D. Sanders Sources of Turbulence 28 Reducing Turbulence with Shared Beliefs: Tenets and Commitments 29 Seeking Solvable Problems: Comparative Analysis of Knowledge Structures 31 Four Logical Steps to Evaluate Knowledge Structures 34 Strategies for Constructing Solvable Problems: Difficulties and Potential Solutions 34 Conclusion 36

PART II. An Integrative Scientific Perspective to Guide the Process of River Repair 41

Chapter 4. The Spatial Organization of River Systems 43 Carola Cullum, Gary J. Brierley, and Martin Thoms Perspectives on the Spatial Organization of River Systems 45 An Integrated Perspective: Analyzing River Systems as Spatially Nested Hierarchies 53 Challenges in Determining Scales and Patch Boundaries 55 Biotic Implications of the Spatial Arrangement of Geomorphic Process Domains 58 Management Implications 59 Conclusion 61

Chapter 5. Working with Change: The Importance of Evolutionary Perspectives in Framing the Trajectory of River Adjustment 65 Gary J. Brierley, Kirstie A. Fryirs, Andrew Boulton, and Carola Cullum Contemporary River Dynamics in Their Evolutionary Context 66 Scales and Forms of Geomorphic Adjustment 69 Linkages between Abiotic and Biotic Adjustments along Rivers 71 Conceptualizing River Evolution and Recovery as a Basis for Management Planning and Action 74 Examples of River Trajectories 75 Place-Based Conceptual Modeling 77 Conclusion 81

Chapter 6. Ecological Function in Rivers: Insights from Crossdisciplinary Science 85 Sarah Mika, Andrew Boulton, Darren Ryder, and Daniel Keating Interactions between Structure and Function 86 Interactions between Structure and Function in Space and Time 87 Connectivity within Riverine Ecosystems 90 Examples of Crossdisciplinary Research on Ecological Function 92 Conclusion 95

Chapter 7. Principles of River Condition Assessment 100 Kirstie A. Fryirs, Angela Arthington, and James Grove

Chapter 8 : Social and Biophysical Connectivity of River Systems 19 SER Restoration Reader

Purposes of River Condition Assessments 101 Ecosystem Integrity as a Basis for Assessing Biophysical River Condition 101 Integrating Abiotic and Biotic Factors in Assessments of River Condition 103 What Is Natural or Expected? Defining Reference Conditions 106 Indicators That Provide a Reliable and Relevant Measure of the Biophysical Condition of Rivers 108 Considerations in the Design and Application of Integrative Frameworks for Assessing Biophysical Condition 110 Integrating Tools for Assessing River Condition 111 Conclusion 118

Chapter 8. Social and Biophysical Connectivity of River Systems 125 Mick Hillman, Gary J. Brierley, and Kirstie A. Fryirs

Connectivity and River Health 126 Forms, Patterns, and Changes to Physical (Dis)Connectivity 127 Social (Dis)Connectivity 129 Contrasting Sub-Catchments from the Hunter Valley, New South Wales 133 Interbasin Transfers: The Snowy Hydro Scheme 137 (Dis)Connectivity: Themes for Integrative River Management 138 Synthesis: Sustainability, Health, Justice, and Policy in Addressing (Dis)Connectivity 140 Conclusion 142

PART III. International Rerspectives on the Process of River Repair 147

Chapter 9. The Australian River Management Experience 149 Kirstie A. Fryirs, Bruce Chessman, Mick Hillman, David Outhet, and Alexandra Spink

Setting the Scene: The Australian Landscape and Historical Setting 149 Biophysical Themes in Australian River Management Practice: What Is Achievable? 153 The Organizational Context of Australian River Management Practice: The Capacity to Do Something 155 Social Themes in Australian River Management Practice: Community Will to Do Something 164 Integration and Future Challenges 165 Conclusion 169

Chapter 10. River Management in the United States 174 Ellen Wohl, Margaret Palmer, and G. Mathias Kondolf

How Healthy Are Rivers in the United States? 174 Policy and Legal Framework 176 Contemporary Pressures and Constraints on Water Resources 177 Likely Future Influences on River Management 180 Strategies for River Protection and Rehabilitation 180 Examples of River Rehabilitation 186 Conclusion 197

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Chapter 11. Integrative River Science and Rehabilitation: European Experiences 203 Hervé Piégay, Larissa A. Naylor, Gertrud Haidvogl, Jochem Kail, Laurent Schmitt, and Laurent Bourdin

The Emergence of Integrative River Science in European Countries 205 Integrative Sciences in Pioneer Rehabilitation Programs 207 Challenges Approaching Implementation of the European Water Framework Directive 214 Conclusion 219

Chapter 12. The Light and Dark of Sabo-Dammed Streams in Steepland Settings in Japan 222 Tomomi Marutani, Shun-ichi Kikuchi, Seiji Yanai, and Kaori Kochi

Why Have We Developed the Sabo Dam Country? 222 Discontinuity of Geoecological Interactions along River Courses 226 Management of Dammed Streams 234 Conclusion 236

Chapter 13. Application of Integrative Science in the Management of South African Rivers 239 Kate M. Rowntree and Leanne du Preez

South African Water Legislation, Agenda 21, and South African River Management 240 The Reserve as an Example of South African Management Frameworks 241 Future Fluvial Geomorphologies 246 Integrative Science and the Future of South African River Management 250 Conclusion 253

PART IV. Managing the Process of River Repair 257

Chapter 14. Restoring Uncertainty: Translating Science into Management Practice 259 Mick Hillman and Gary J. Brierley

Sources of Uncertainty in the Management of River Systems 262 The Assessment of Condition in River Management: Characteristics and Uncertainty 266 Uncertainty and Sustainability 268 Living with Uncertainty in the Era of River Repair 270 Conclusion 270

Chapter 15. River Futures 275 Gary J. Brierley, Kirstie A. Fryirs, and Mick Hillman

The Emerging Process of River Repair 275 Using Coherent Scientific Information to Guide the Process of River Repair 277 Managing the Process of River Repair 278 Conclusion 284

About the Contributors 287

Index 299

Chapter 8 : Social and Biophysical Connectivity of River Systems 21 SER Restoration Reader

Contemporary perceptions of river health are About This Excerpt contingent upon present and past connections between people and their river. They encom- River Futures provides a holistic overview pass a range of potential uses and values. How- of considerations that underpin the use of ever, in the large body of literature influenced science in river management, emphasizing by Eurocentric ideas of landscape, healthy riv- cross-disciplinary understanding. This ex- ers are often romanticized as single, continuous, cerpt from chapter 8 introduces the notion constantly flowing channels (Kondolf 2006). of “connectivity” as an integrating theme, re- Postcolonial societies have afforded rivers a lim- lating biophysical notions of landscape and ited range of uses, and systems are expressed as ecosystem connectivity (or disconnectivity) healthy only if conditions suitable for these uses to social relationships to place. are maintained. Disconnection in a river system, whether it is the presence of isolated pools in Excerpt taken from chapter 8, “Social and Bio- river channels or ephemeral tributaries, has been portrayed as an undesirable and unsustainable physical Connectivity of River Systems,” by state (Kondolf et al. 2006). This contrasts with Mick Hillman, Gary J. Brierley, and Kirstie A. the recognition of variable and changing forms Fryirs of connection and disconnection in many indigenous cultures (Smolyak 2001; James 2006). Recognition of the variable and changing pat- Place is the location . . . where the social and terns of connectivity across time and space, and the natural meet. between social and biophysical dimensions, is — Dirlik 2001, 18 a core component of integrative river management. Whether appraised in biophysical or social Successful integrative river management re- terms, landscapes, ecosystems, and communi- quires an understanding of the links between ties can be relatively connected or disconnected. natural and cultural landscapes, ensuring that For river management to be successful and rel- institutional and community values are mean- evant it is important to recognize that biophysi- ingfully incorporated in the process of environ- cal disconnection may be natural and healthy at mental repair (Harris 2006). Coherent approach- a given time and place. For this reason we use es to the assessment of river health integrate the term (dis)connectivity to refer to dynamic biophysical and social dimensions of environ- patterns of connection and disconnection. For mental condition, building on the relationship example, disconnected and isolated parts of riv- between healthy rivers as products of, and in er systems may shelter distinct genetic popula- turn promoting, healthy societies. Understand- tions of species and unique floristic and faunal ing and working with the concept of connectivi- attributes (Sheldon et al. 2002; Bunn et al. 2006). ty across both the biophysical and social dimen- Likewise, human (dis)connectivity with rivers sions is a core component of this relationship. has often been mediated by cultural factors, A connected approach to integrative river man- particularly in indigenous societies through agement aims for a dialogue between scientific taboos, totems, and sacred sites that are the re- understanding and community values. Apply- sult of co-evolution with landscapes over many ing this principle therefore means understand- generations (Rose 1999; Townsend et al. 2004). ing both catchment-scale biophysical linkages However, in more recent history, biophysical and community perceptions of what constitutes disconnection has often been imposed through a “healthy river.” Such understandings are spe- the construction of barriers, while social discon- cific to time and place, militating against the ap- nection has resulted from appropriation and en- plication of generic models and assumptions. closure of riparian land or in response to rapidly

22 River Futures Quick Links: ˈ Buy River Futures ˈ River Futures TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC

developing perceptions by local communities of sions of (dis)connectivity through case ex- the river as polluted, unhealthy, or as bringer amples. of damaging floods. Present day disconnection 4. Highlight implications of these themes in is often the legacy of an earlier focus on narrow the development of just and sustainable ap- and exclusive uses of the river for irrigation, proaches to the management of healthy riv- discharge of effluent, or navigation. This type of ers. disconnection is referred to by Ward (2001) as Connectivity and River Health “geo-environmental disconnection,” the product of technocentric efforts to forge landscapes The view of river health outlined in chapter 7 for agriculture, industry, and recreation. Con- focuses on external, biophysical, and verifiable versely, biophysical and social connections may indicators of river condition. Often such indi- have been imposed through the development of cators are specific to particular disciplines and irrigation systems in semi-arid landscapes. scales. However, given that rivers epitomize the links between landscapes and ecosystems In this chapter, we argue that imposed, arbitrary (Jungwirth et al. 2002), a practical understand- (dis)connectivity based on a narrowly defined or ing of biophysical linkages is crucial in produc- exclusive use of water is unhealthy in river man- ing the “mature knowledge” that is increasingly agement and is ultimately unsustainable and required for effective integrated ecosystem man- unjust. Such (dis)connectivity reduces commu- agement (Lake 2001; Dunn 2004). This is in itself nity understanding of, and concern for, our riv- a major challenge, since complex indicators of ers, while allowing dominant and environmen- river condition, such as connectivity itself, have tally damaging uses and practices to continue. It proved difficult to quantify both for conceptual also promotes feelings of inequity, distributing reasons and because of scientific concern over costs and benefits through top-down decisions valid descriptors and rigor of resultant data or decrees. On the other hand, broad and holis- (Dunn 2004). tic (dis)connectivity in its many forms strongly A complementary but distinct view of river implies the convergence of social and biophysi- health is one based on the idea of social connec- cal perspectives and acknowledgment of a wid- tion, in which health is about people develop- er range of values as a vital step in the process ing, maintaining, or losing interaction with the of river repair. Transdisciplinary work on links river. Integral to thinking about the way people between ecological and community health and connect and disconnect with rivers is the broad well-being indicates that the healthy apprecia- geographical notion of place as socially con- tion of the inherent diversity and variability of structed (Massey 2005), and of a sense of place river systems is an integral part of healing our as individually interpreted rather than having relationship to the natural world (Costanza and one particular “essence.” The notion of “place- Mageau 1999; Connor et al. 2004). Based on these identity” has been used to describe this social guiding principles, this chapter uses a transdis- dimension of connection: “it can be said to rep- ciplinary and place-based analysis of biophysi- resent the physical settings’ importance for a cal and social (dis)connectivity to: person’s identity. Research in place-identity suggests that an individual has more complex 1. Examine the broad links between connectiv- relations to the environment than simply living ity and river health. in it” (Wester-Herber 2004, 111). 2. Describe the biophysical and social forms Connection through place-identity is funda- and changing patterns of connection and mental to community engagement in river man- disconnection within a river system and be- agement programmes, fostering a sense of com- tween people and that system. mitment, building social capital, and allowing 3. Analyze key themes in the interrelationship local knowledge a role in planning (Hillman between the biophysical and social dimen- et al. 2003; Thompson and Pepperdine 2003).

Chapter 8 : Social and Biophysical Connectivity of River Systems 23 SER Restoration Reader

Place-identity also highlights the need to think of health in terms of both biophysical indicators and human-nature relationships (Brierley et al. 2006b). However, the establishment of place-identity is a necessary prerequisite rather than an inherently sufficient condition for river health—there is no reason to argue that some good use-values create place-identity and others do not. Our point here is that without such connection, the relationships that sustain integrative river management cannot be forged and that narrow and exclusive values will prevail. The nexus between biophysical and community health in major river rehabilitation strategies has been expressed in practice in several forms. For instance, the Loire Vivante (Living Loire) program aims to “lead people back to the river,” while the Mersey Basin Campaign includes in its vision the goal of increasing the valuing of the river by its community. The Dutch policy of “Space for the River” aims to maintain flood protection in the face of increased design discharg- es, while at the same time conserving landscape, ecological, and historical features (Cals and van Drimmelen 2000). The Victorian River Health Strategy includes the objective of “maintaining the rivers’ place in our collective history” with the overall aim that “our communities will be confident and capable, appreciating the values of their rivers, understanding their dependency on healthy rivers and actively participating in decision-making” (Victorian Government 2002, 3).

The next sections develop a conceptual framework for exploring forms of biophysical and social (dis)connectivity in river systems, providing a lens on this integrative approach and on a condition-connection notion of health.

Excerpted from River Futures: An Integrative Scientific Approach to River Repair edited by Gary J. Brierley and Kirstie A. Fryirs. Copyright © 2008 by Island Press. Excerpted by permission of Island Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Island Press grants permission to forward this unaltered electronic document to friends, colleagues, and other interested parties.

24 River Futures

1 5 xi 55 33 44 59 89 8 1 ynthia A. Drew ynthia 26- - 25 -0 726 -0 726 9 9 8-1-5 8-1-5 7 7 The Watershed-Wide, Science-Based Approach to Ecosystem Restoration Approach to Ecosystem Science-Based The Watershed-Wide, Platte River Basin Ecology: A Three-Dimensional Approach to A Three-Dimensional Basin Ecology: River Platte Everglades Ecology: The Impacts of Altered Hydrology Ecology: The Impacts of Everglades Negotiating for Endangered and Threatened Species Habitat in the Negotiating for Endangered and Threatened Species Habitat in Rivers of Plans for the River of Grass: The Political Economy of of Grass: The Political Economy of for the River of Plans Rivers The Challenges of Restoring the Everglades Ecosystem Ecosystem Everglades The Challenges of Restoring the 0.00, ISBN 9 0.00,

x 9 x 6 pages. 352 Chapter 5. Management Adaptive Chapter 4. Basin River Platte Chapter 3. Restoration Everglades Chapter 1. Chapter 2.

Thomas L. Crisman Stephen Polasky David M. Freeman Thomas L. Crisman Mary Doyle Mary Doyle “Rock” Salt, Stuart Langton, and Terrence Introduction: loth, $7 River II. The Platte PART I. The Everglades PART Contents 2008. index figures, Maps, C ISBN 9 $35.00, Paper, Edited by Mary Doyle and C and Mary Doyle by Edited States Five Case Studies from the United the United from Studies Case Five Restoration Large-Scale Ecosystem Ecosystem Large-Scale large-scale ecosystem restoration SER Restoration Reader

Chapter 6. Navigating the Shoals: Costs and Beneﬁts of Platte River Ecosystem Management 100 Stephen Polasky

PART III. The California Bay-Delta 109

Chapter 7. California’s Delta: The Challenges of Collaboration 113 David Nawi and Alf W. Brandt

Chapter 8. The Ecology of Bay-Delta Restoration: An Impossible Dream? 147 Thomas L. Crisman

Chapter 9. Water Fights: The Economics of Allocating Scarce Water and Bay-Delta Restoration 160 Stephen Polasky

PART IV. The Chesapeake Bay 171

Chapter 10. The Culture of Collaboration in the Chesapeake Bay Program 175 Mary Doyle and Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm

Chapter 11. An Ecological Perspective on Management of the Chesapeake Bay 204 Thomas L. Crisman

Chapter 12. Murky Waters and Murky Policies: Costs and Beneﬁts of Restoring Chesapeake Bay 215 Stephen Polasky

PART V. The Upper Mississippi River 225

Chapter 13. The Upper Mississippi River and the Army Corps of Engineers’ New Role: Will Congress Fund Ecosystem Restoration? 229 Cynthia A. Drew

Chapter 14. Upper Mississippi Restoration Ecology: Putting Theory into Practice 269 Thomas L. Crisman

Chapter 15. Comparing Apples and Oranges? Costs and Beneﬁts of Upper Mississippi River System Restoration 279 Stephen Polasky

Conclusion: Assessing Ecosystem Restoration Projects 291 Mary Doyle About the Authors 301 Abbreviations and Acronyms 305

26 Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration Quick Links: ˈ Buy Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration ˈ Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration OT C ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC

the Northern Plains” (NRC 2004, 8). As such, water About This Excerpt from the Platte River and the habitat along the river is in high demand by people and other species. What Representing a variety of geographic regions the river is good for and how it should be managed and project structures, the case studies in this depend on one’s point of view. There are numerous volume shed light on the central controver- complex interest groups with a stake in watershed sies faced by large-scale ecosystem restora- management along the Platte; it is useful to categorize tion from political, ecological, and economic them into three main groups: (1) urban water users, perspectives. In this excerpt from chapter 6, Stephen Polasky introduces the complex in- (2) agricultural water users, and (3) environmental terest groups with a stake in watershed man- interests. The ﬁrst two groups have primary interests agement along the Platte River. in water uses that require withdrawal of water from the river, while the environmental interests seek to maintain natural flow regimes and habitat along the river necessary to support species, especially Excerpt taken from chapter 6, “Navigating the three federally listed endangered species: whooping Shoals: Costs and Benefits of Platte River Eco- crane, interior least tern, and pallid sturgeon and one system Management,” by Stephen Polasky threatened species: piping plover. Urban and Agricultural Water Use The presettlement Platte River was a wide, shallow, Within the Platte River Basin along the Front muddy, slow-moving river with complex, braided Range of the Rocky Mountains are rapidly channels. Early attempts to use the river to transport growing metropolitan areas from Denver to furs and other goods met with frustration and fail- Cheyenne. The area is attractive because of its ure, as boats frequently ran aground and had to be sunny weather and the nearby mountains’ beau- dragged over numerous sandbars. Nineteenth-cen- ty and recreational opportunities. In Colorado, tury humorist Artemus Ward described the Platte the population living in the South Platte Basin as “a mile wide and an inch deep” and said that it increased by 34 percent between 1990 and 2003, would be a considerable river if turned on edge (Wil- from 2.3 million to over 3 million (Thorvaldson loughby 2007). Attempting to navigate a successful and Pritchett 2005). Rapid population growth plan for ecosystem management on the Platte is even is expected to continue. Population within the more difﬁcult than attempting to navigate a fully South Platte Basin in Colorado is expected to loaded boat on the river itself. Like the Platte’s physi- grow by almost 2 million people (a 65-percent cal description, negotiations to reach agreement on increase) between 2000 and 2030 (DiNatale et how to manage water flows in the Platte River are al. 2005). More people will mean more water wide-ranging; often slow moving; involve complex, demands for residential, commercial, and in- interconnected sets of interest groups; and have an dustrial uses. Total water demand in the South unclear (muddy) resolution. While the Platte River Platte Basin in Colorado is expected to increase has not proved to be important for transportation, it by 630,000 acre-feet per year, roughly a 50-per- is vitally important in other ways. The Platte flows cent increase from 2000 to 2030 (DiNatale et al. through one of the most arid regions of the country, 2005). from central and eastern Colorado and Wyoming through western and central Nebraska, before emp- While urban water uses are growing rapidly, tying into the Missouri River at the relatively wetter, agriculture remains the dominant water user in eastern end of Nebraska. In dry years, the Platte is the Platte River Basin. Water is the limiting fac- the only significant source of surface water in much tor for agricultural production in much of the of its drainage basin: “The Platte River is a consistent western United States, certainly the case in the source of relatively well-watered habitat . . . with its Platte River Basin. Rainfall in much of the basin water source in distant mountains watersheds that averages between 10 and 20 inches per year, too are not subject to drought cycles as severe as those of little to support agricultural production without

Chapter 6: Navigating the Shoals: Costs and Benefits of Platte River Ecosystem Management 27 SER Restoration Reader irrigation. (“Dryland” agriculture, which does ally drain much of the remaining vitality from not require irrigation, is practiced but requires these communities. fallow years between crop production years.) The recent surge of interest in the production of Only near the mouth of the Platte in eastern Ne- renewable energy from biomass crops (biofuels) braska is rainfall sufficient to support annual might keep agriculture afloat in the region. The crop production without significant irrigation. increased demand for corn from ethanol pro- In the western states as a whole, agriculture ac- duction helped push corn prices from around $2 counted for over 75 percent of all surface water per bushel in early 2006 to nearly $4 per bushel diversions in 1990 (CBO 1997). During the same in early 2007 before prices fell back slightly (ERS year, municipal and industrial uses accounted 2007). The increased demand and higher price for roughly 10 percent of total surface diver- for corn make its production more profitable sions (CBO 1997). In the South Platte Basin in and water use for agriculture more valuable. Colorado, agricultural diversions are currently Calls for even higher production of biofuels in 3.4 times those of municipal and industrial uses the future could result in further increases in (DiNatale et al. 2005). Approximately 2 million agricultural prices. In the State of the Union Ad- acres of land are irrigated in the Platte River Ba- dress in 2007, President George Bush called for sin (NRC 2004). While agriculture uses the lion’s increasing renewable and alternative fuel pro- share of the basin’s water, the economic contri- duction to 35 billion gallons by 2017. By way of bution of the agricultural sector to the overall contrast, ethanol production in 2006 was 4.85 economy is small. Agriculture contributed less billion gallons (RFA 2007. Ethanol production than 1 percent of the total value of annual rev- in the Platte River Basin, however, will likely be enues from agricultural products in the South limited by water availability. In addition to wa- Platte Basin in Colorado (Thorvaldson and ter used for irrigation of corn and other crops, Pritchett 2005). Agriculture constitutes a high- water for ethanol production amounted to 4.2 er percentage of the economy in Nebraska, 4.6 gallons of water per gallon of ethanol produced percent of total gross state product in 2006 (BEA in 2005 (IATP 2006). 2007), because agricultural production is larger and the rest of the economy is smaller. Water for agricultural use in the Platte River Ba- sin is likely to decline over time because agriculture cannot compete economically or politically with water demand for urban uses, and overall water diversions will be limited by environmental concerns. In the South Platte Basin in Colo- rado, irrigated acres are expected to fall by between 133,000 to 226,000 acres from 2000 to 2030 (DiNatale et al. 2005). As well noted by David Freeman (see Chapter 4, this volume), though diverting water from agriculture to other higher valued uses is supported by economic logic, the drying of agriculture will have negative consequences for small towns Excerpted from Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration: Five Case and rural areas dependent upon agriculture. Studies from the United States edited by Mary Doyle and Cynthia Many small communities in the Great Plains A. Drew. Copyright © 2008 by Island Press. Excerpted by permis- have suffered from declining populations and sion of Island Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing stagnant economies for decades. Loss of water from the publisher. Island Press grants permission to forward this for irrigation will hasten the decline and liter- unaltered electronic document to friends, colleagues, and other interested parties.

28 Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration

1 ix 17 75 31 51 15 47

6 9

Amazonia Brazilian of Fields in Old Affecting Succession Processes the Describing for Concepts New Systems: Complex as Fields Old and Regeneration Forest Natural for History Land Use of Implications Concepts of Development Succession: Field Old Ecological Socioeconomic and Fields? Causes and Old Why

352 pages. 6 x 9 x 6 pages. 352 Jess K. Zimmerman, T. Mitchell Aide, and Ariel E. Lugo Ariel and Aide, Mitchell T. K. Zimmerman, Jess Chapter 5. Ganade Gislene Chapter 4. in Puerto Rico Strategies Restoration Chapter 2. R. Walker Lawrence and Hobbs J. Richard Chapter 3. Farmland Abandoned Dynamics of A. Cramer Viki Land Abandonment of Consequences A. Cramer Richard J. Hobbs and Viki Acknowledgments Acknowledgments Chapter 1.

PART II. Case Studies from Around the World II. Case Studies from PART PART I. Old Fields and the Development of Ecological Concepts I. Old Fields and the Development PART Contents Tables, figures, manuscript case studies, index studies, case manuscript figures, Tables, Paper, $40.00, ISBN 978-1-59726-075- $40.00, Paper, 2007. Cloth, $80.00, ISBN 978-1-59726-074- $80.00, Cloth, Edited by Viki A. Cramer and Richard J. Hobbs and Richard A. Cramer Viki by Edited Abandoned Farmland Abandoned Dynamics and Restoration of Restoration and Dynamics Old Fields Old old Fields SER Restoration Reader

Chapter 6. Old Field Vegetation Succession in the Neotropics 93 Karen D. Holl

Chapter 7. Patterns and Processes of Old Field Reforestation in Australian Rain Forest Landscapes 119 Peter D. Erskine, Carla P. Catterall, David Lamb, and John Kanowski

Chapter 8. Succession on the Piedmont of New Jersey and Its Implications for Ecological Restoration 145 Scott J. Meiners, Mary L. Cadenasso, and Steward T. A. Pickett

Chapter 9. Succession and Restoration in Michigan Old Field Communities 162 Katherine L. Gross and Sarah M. Emery

Chapter 10. Old Field Succession in Central Europe: Local and Regional Patterns 180 Karel Prach, Jan Lepsˇ, and Marcel Rejmánek

Chapter 11. Dynamics and Restoration of Abandoned Farmland and Other Old Fields in Southern France 202 Pascal Marty, James Aronson, and Jacques Lepart

Chapter 12. Land Abandonment and Old Field Dynamics in Greece 225 Vasilios P. Papanastasis

Chapter 13. Old Field Dynamics on the Dry Side of the Mediterranean Basin: Patterns and Processes in Semiarid Southeast Spain 247 Andreu Bonet and Juli G. Pausas

Chapter 14. Restoration of Old Fields in Renosterveld: A Case Study in a Mediterranean-type Shrubland of South Africa 265 Cornelia B. Krug and Rainer M. Krug

Chapter 15. Prospects for the Recovery of Native Vegetation in Western Australian Old Fields 286 Viki A. Cramer, Rachel J. Standish, and Richard J. Hobbs

PART III. Synthesis: Old Field Dynamics and Restoration 307

Chapter 16. Old Field Dynamics: Regional and Local Differences, and Lessons for Ecology and Restoration 309 Richard J. Hobbs and Viki A. Cramer

About the Editors 319

About the Contributors 321

30 Old Fields Quick Links: ˈ Buy Old Fields ˈ Old Fields TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC

Underlying Abiotic Gradients About This Excerpt Much of the difference in the rate and direction of succession in neotropical old fields can be explained Land that has been transformed by agriculture by anthropogenic factors, such as surrounding land is being abandoned in all sorts of ecosystems use and land use history (discussed later), but these around the world as economics and lifestyles factors are overlain on a number of abiotic gradients, change. In Old Fields, leading experts synthe- primarily rainfall, temperature, and soil type, which size past and current work on these abandoned strongly influence forest recovery. Tropical forests fall lands, providing an up-to-date perspective on along a rainfall gradient ranging from up to 7–8 m of their ecological dynamics. In chapter 6, from rainfall evenly distributed throughout the year in the which this excerpt is drawn, Karen D. Holl re- wettest sites to <1.5 m of rainfall with >6 months of views ongoing debates in the successional litera- dry season in the driest sites. The amount and sea- ture, and evaluates three interrelated questions sonality of rainfall are primary evolutionary drivers in the context of tropical old fields. for tropical forest plants, and they profoundly influence old field succession. Excerpt taken from chapter 6, “Old Field Vegeta- A number of tropical plant life-history traits that vary tion Succession in the Neotropics,” by Karen D. across the rainfall gradient strongly affect recovery. Holl First, drier tropical forests have a higher percentage of wind-dispersed seeds (Ewel 1977; Janzen 2002; Vieira and Scariot 2006). For example, in a review of studies across a precipitation gradient, Viera and Factors Affecting Forest Succession in Old Fields Scariot (2006) report 30%–63% wind-dispersed spe- It is necessary to identify factors that affect the rate cies in tropical dry forest and <16% wind-dispersed and direction of succession at a range of spatial scales species in tropical moist or wet forest. Dry forest recovery may therefore be less dispersal limited than in order to develop restoration strategies to accelerate moist tropical forests (Janzen 2002). Second, al- or redirect successional trajectories. I categorize the though resprouting after disturbance is a common factors affecting forest succession into three broad plant adaptation throughout the tropics, resprouting categories (Figure 6.2): the underlying abiotic gradi- is more common in tropical dry forests, where wa- ents (rainfall, temperature, and soil), the composition ter limitation favors an increased energy investment of surrounding land use mosaic, and the type and in- in roots (Ewel 1977; Vesk and Westoby 2004; Vieira tensity of past land use. I discuss in detail how each of and Scariot 2006). Third, seedling mortality due to these general factors affects the rate and direction of desiccation is much higher in dry forests and varies tropical old field succession. a great deal interannually, de- pending on rainfall fluctuations (Vieira and Scariot 2006), which makes establishment from seed less predictable. Likewise, seedling growth may be slower due to lack of water. There is some evidence that dry forests may be more resilient because of lower structural complexity, greater wind dispersal, and more frequent resprouting; nonetheless, it is impossible to generalize  Figure 6.2. Factors affecting (boxes) different modes of regeneration (ellipses) of tropical old fields. about the rate of recovery of all forests across a rainfall gradient,

Chapter 6: Old Field Vegetation Succession in the Neotropics 31 SER Restoration Reader given the many other factors that may influence the 2003, 2007). Although swidden agriculture (shift- rate of recovery. ing cultivation) is important along some agricultural A second underlying, large-scale, climatic gradient is frontiers (Finegan and Nasi 2004), the intensity and temperature. Temperature, however, is generally con- scale of agriculture in the tropics is generally increas- sidered a less important driving factor in tropical for- ing. Therefore, the many regenerating sites embed- ests compared to rainfall. The main effect of tempera- ded within agricultural landscapes are increasingly ture on recovery is in higher elevation systems such isolated from sources of seeds for recolonization. as cloud forests, where the slow growth rate of trees Many studies in secondary growth habitats in the can increase the time of recovery (Ewel 1980). Ad- tropics demonstrate that seed rain and seedling es- ditionally, Zarin et al. (2001) found that growing sea- tablishment, particularly of large, animal-dispersed son degrees (growing season length × growing season species, decline rapidly with increasing distance from temperature) was a significant predictor of biomass the forest edge both in wet and dry forests (e.g., Aide across numerous old fields in the Brazilian Amazon, and Cavelier 1994; Harvey 2000; Zimmerman et al. an area of little topographic variation, suggesting that 2000; Mesquita et al. 2001). The scale over which this temperatures may be an important predictor of re- decline occurs ranges from within a few meters of the covery at larger scales. pasture edge up to 100 meters. Needless to say, many A final important abiotic gradient is soil type. Much of abandoned old fields are >100 meters from the forest the tropics are covered by oxisols and ultisols, which edge, a distance at which there is generally minimal have low nutrient levels and high acidity. Some ar- seed rain unless there is woody vegetation to attract eas have more fertile, volcanic soils, such as andisols seed dispersers. This isolation may be mediated by and inceptisols, although these soils commonly have land use types, such as agroforestry, that facilitate low available phosphorus. Some authors (Moran et al. movement of some seed dispersers within the agri- 2000; Zarin et al. 2001) have noted that over large spa- cultural matrix (Finegan and Nasi 2004; Harvey et al. tial scales, differences in soil texture and fertility more 2004; Kupfer et al. 2004). Given that the area under strongly affect the recovery of biomass than previous secondary succession is increasing, successional for- land use (discussed later). For example, Moran et al. ests may be the primary source of seeds of early suc- (2000) studied forest recovery across a range of land cessional species in many recovering areas (Finegan uses (pasture, swidden, mechanized agriculture) at and Nasi 2004). Nonetheless, there have been few five locations in Colombia and Brazil. He found that studies comparing seed rain or vegetation recovery interregional variations in biomass and stand height as a function of different surrounding land uses. were best explained by soil fertility, whereas within The lack of seed dispersal into abandoned old fields single locations previous land use explained most of can affect both the rate of recovery as well as the suc- the variation. Soil patterning at smaller scales can also cessional trajectory, and a number of authors have affect species distributions. For example, Herrera and recorded lower numbers of individuals and species Finegan (1997) found that the different abundances establishing in old fields farther from forest (Mes- of two common tree species, Vochysia ferruginea and quita et al. 2001; Chinea 2002; Ferguson et al. 2003). Cordia alliodora, reflected differences in exchange- For example, Hooper et al. (2004) found that com- able acidity, slope, and magnesium. munity composition varied substantially with dis- Surrounding Landscape Mosaic tance from the forest edge in abandoned pastures in Gradients of climate and soil provide a template on Panama. However, most of these past studies on the which various anthropogenic factors act to influence effect of distance to forest edge on vegetation com- neotropical forest recovery. A primary anthropogen- munity composition have been carried out over rela- ic factor affecting succession in tropical old fields is tively short time periods (<5 years) and longer-term the mosaic of surrounding land cover types, such as studies are critical to furthering our understanding of remnant forest, complex agroforests, shifting cultiva- successional trajectories. tion, pasture, or intensive agriculture (reviewed in The surrounding landscape also has substantial ef- Guariguata and Ostertag 2001; Holl 2002; Chazdon fects on the faunal communities, which may affect

32 Old Fields Quick Links: ˈ Buy Old Fields ˈ Old Fields TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC not only seed dispersal, but other common tropical plant community mutualisms, such as pollination and herbivory. There is growing evidence that changes in mammal assemblages due to hunting, isolation, or fragmentation (Dirzo and Miranda 1990; Chap- man and Chapman 1995) can be detrimental to the recruitment of many neotropical trees. Large-seeded species that are animal dispersed may be particularly at risk of disappearing from fragmented areas due to loss of dispersers (Cordeiro and Howe 2003). In addition, disruption of these animal communities can cause profound changes in seed fate (Dirzo and Mi- randa 1990), secondary seed dispersal (Forget 1993), and seedling recruitment (Benítez-Malvido 1998). Despite the likely impacts of the surrounding land use mosaic on seed predation and seedling herbivory, it has received much less study (Holl and Lulow 1997; Duncan and Duncan 2000; Jones et al. 2003) and is a ripe area for future research on vegetation dynamics in tropical old fields.

Excerpted from Old Fields edited by Viki A. Cramer and Richard J. Hobbs. Copyright © 2007 by Island Press. Excerpted by permission of Island Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Island Press grants permission to forward this unaltered electronic document to friends, colleagues, and other interested parties.

Chapter 6: Old Field Vegetation Succession in the Neotropics 33 A g u ide A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration New Hope for Arid Lands f o r deser David A. Bainbridge

Cloth, $100.00, ISBN 1-55963-968-7 Paper, $50.00, ISBN 1-55963-969-5 2007. 416 pages. 8 x 10 Tables, figures, index t a n d dr yl res

Contents

A User’s Guide ix

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xv

Chapter 1. Desertification: Crisis and Opportunity 1

Chapter 2. Understanding the Ecology of Arid Lands 13

Chapter 3. The Economics and Psychology of Desertification 33

Chapter 4. Why the Desert Can’t Heal Itself: Understanding Disturbance 63

Chapter 5. Restoration Approaches and Planning 90

Chapter 6. Restoration Equipment and Supplies 112

Chapter 7. Project Management 131 to ra Chapter 8. Soil Salvage and Restoration 143

Chapter 9. Seed Collection, Storage, and Management 164

Chapter 10. Container Plant Production and Planting 190 t i on

Chapter 11. Direct Seeding 216 Quick Links: ˈ Buy A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration ˈ A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC

Chapter 12. Water Management and Irrigation 225

Chapter 13. Riparian Restoration 258

Chapter 14. Restoration in Use 278

Chapter 15. Restoration Monitoring 301

Chapter 16. The Challenge Ahead 313

Appendix 1: Plant Sampling Background and Methods 329

Appendix 2: Stay Healthy 333 Glossary 347 References 349 About the Author 375 Index 377

Chapter 1 : Desertification: Crisis and Opportunity 35 SER Restoration Reader

account for 15 percent of the world’s popula- About This Excerpt tion. In 1980 about 450 million people suffered Is there hope for reversing and repairing arid losses in income and quality of life from degrad- lands? Dryland degradation and desertified drylands (Table 1.2). Today these lands affect cation now affect almost a billion people the daily lives of more than 850 million people, around the world. In A Guide for Desert and and every year another 1–1.5 million hectares Dryland Restoration, David Bainbridge, who are completely lost to production through de- has worked in deserts for twenty-five years, sertification (Dregne 1986; United Nations En- offers practical, field-tested solutions to this vironment Programme 2005). By addressing critical problem. Written for restoration prac- the underlying causes of dryland deterioration, titioners, land managers, ranchers, farmers, understanding the history of abuse and change, educators, landscapers, and foresters, this and applying the best restoration techniques we book is meant to be used in the field and on can begin to reverse these changes. the ground to improve land and water man- Globally more than 60 percent of the rangeland, agement. In this excerpt from chapter 1, Bain- 60 percent of rainfed croplands, and 30 percent bridge offers an overview of the problem of of irrigated croplands are at risk for further deg- desertification and forecasts the elements of radation (Figure 1.6). Poor use of fragile resourc- effective restoration efforts. es has limited the ability of dryland residents to Excerpt taken from chapter 1, “Desertification: make a living, reduced their quality of life, de- Crisis and Opportunity” stroyed communities, led to conflicts over land and water, reduced health and life expectancy, The Task Ahead and severely affected natural systems and bio- Dryland restoration is needed in almost every diversity (Lean and Hinrichsen 1992). place humans have been active past the gath- Land degradation in one area often affects oth- erer–hunter stage (Bainbridge 1985b). Areas er areas through increased flooding, reduced now considered to be desert-like in many cases stream flow, and dust and sand deposition. Re- were complex and productive ecosystems but cent studies have even suggested a link between were gradually or quickly destroyed by poor dustfall resulting from desertification in Africa management. South-eastern Spain provides an and coral reef dieback in the Caribbean. The dust excellent example of a human-made desert, and from the growing deserts in western China has it is but one of many (Latorre et al. 2001). circled the globe, with largely unknown affects The semiarid and arid areas of the world make on ecosystems where the dust, fungal spores, up about 35 percent of the global land area and and nutrients are deposited.

 Table 1.2. Areas affected by severe or very severe desertification (percentage)

Cropland

Rangeland Rainfed Irrigated

Very Severe Severe Very Severe Severe Very Severe Severe Africa 0.4 53.3 0.7 6.5 — 1.2 Asia 0.7 44.0 1.4 8.5 1.8 6.3 Europe 1.1 46.0 0.4 14.6 0.9 3.9 Australia 4.4 8.4 <0.1 1.0 1.1 7.0 North America 2.1 59.0 0.2 1.0 1.0 3.5 South America 3.9 47.2 0.6 2.6 0.7 3.7

36 A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration Quick Links: ˈ Buy A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration ˈ A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC

Restoration and improved management of these from more humid areas where vegetation did resources are essential in reversing the process recover naturally, and few studied the lessons of degradation and desertification. Restoration from other drylands around the world. may include a wide range of interventions, from Although restoration is desirable for biologi- surface shaping to soil amendments, tillage and cal, economic, social, and aesthetic reasons, it weed removal, seeding, planting, irrigation, and can rarely be justified with current incomplete aftercare. Low-cost revegetation efforts can help economic accounting practices. This has also restore productivity to degraded grazing lands. hampered research and limited trials and dem- On severely damaged sites the establishment onstrations to short-term studies. Funding for of any species may be difficult, and even the long-term research has been rare and support growth of weeds may be considered a success. for integrated research rarer still. Why study the Rehabilitation and reclamation are used to de- effects of spending $5,000 an acre for a potential scribe efforts to return sites to use in stable con- grazing return of less than $50 a year? dition but often with introduced species and less Restoration research also provides us with an complexity than a restoration project. Ecological often humbling opportunity to test and refine restoration tries to restore ecosystem function our application and understanding of ecologi- (how things work) and structure (how things cal processes and theories (Bradshaw 1992b). look) to match undisturbed reference sites. This Although the roots of the science of restoration can be very difficult because our understanding ecology can be traced back to the late 1800s in of these dryland systems is limited and the envi- Europe, Aldo Leopold and his work at the Uni- ronmental variability is very high, characterized versity of Wisconsin during the Great Depres- by pulses rather than steady progress even in sion laid the foundation for environmental res- undisturbed and “stable” conditions. toration in America. Although some excellent Restoration Efforts work was done on recovery after disturbance in Work on dryland restoration began in earnest in the 1970s and 1980s (Vasek et al. 1975; Lathrop about 1980, although projects in the Southwest 1983b; Prose and Metzger 1985), modern inter- were started as early as 1900 and many were at- est and commitment to research and publication tempted in the 1930s (Griffiths 1901; Cox et al. improved rapidly after the Society for Ecologi- 1982). Without a solid scientific base and with- cal Restoration (SER) International held its first out controlled experiments and research, prog- annual conference in 1989 in Oakland, Califor- ress was limited. Many flawed and inappropri- nia. This conference included a few papers on ate approaches were used over and over because dryland restoration. In 1993 I led the first SER managers were ignorant of what other people workshop on dryland restoration at Red Rock had done in earlier trials. Research efforts were Canyon State Park in California with Ray Fran- also hampered by a very limited understand- son and Laurie Lippitt (Figure 1.7). This hands- ing of arid and semiarid ecosystems (Hall 2001). on training is critical in improving understand- Most researchers and land managers had come ing and management. Many other projects were started about this time throughout the Southwest, and I have learned much from their successes and failures. My colleagues, staff, and students have also contributed a great deal to my understanding. This research and testing have led to improved techniques and approaches for desert restoration, but it will never be easy.

 Figure 1.6. World desertification map, with severity indicated A multidisciplinary approach is very desirable by shading. for restoration work. Ideally a team will be able

Chapter 1 : Desertification: Crisis and Opportunity 37 SER Restoration Reader to provide insight about not only the plants, soil ropeans. If we want to go back before human in- microorganisms, insects, animals, reptiles, and tervention in land use, we would be back 25,000 birds but also the current and historic national years or more in California and perhaps 250,000 and international events that have determined years in Australia. the economic incentives and pressures that in- The native people of what is now called south- fluence land managers. Restoration begins with western North America were intelligent, skilled, a clear understanding of environmental history, and knowledgeable applied ecologists who ac- current conditions, and the decision-making en- tively managed the land and shaped its eco- vironment and leads through planning, fund- systems (Lawton and Bean 1968; Shipek 1990; ing, and implementation to maintenance and Anderson 1996). Although they did not have monitoring. bulldozers, tractors, and transnational seed Setting appropriate restoration targets often is companies they were skilled in the use of fire; a critical issue and is discussed in more detail kept animals; hunted some species very effec- in Chapter 5. Current laws often require land to tively; selected, transported, and planted seeds be restored only to the condition it was in be- for annual and perennial crops; and transplant- fore the latest insult and injury. This could mean ed trees and shrubs. A better knowledge of their restoration to alien grasses and weeds in much management practices can explain many bio- of the western United States. Others think, as I logical mysteries, and it will also help improve do, that restoration should consider conditions our land management and protection of rare before overgrazing began, when the land was and endangered species and ecosystems (Figure managed by native people. This may mean be- 1.8). fore 1800 in California and before 1700 in New Restoration Is Possible Mexico. We must remember that this means a return to a different management scheme, not Successful restoration requires a systematic, a time when there was no human manipulation holistic view of the interactions between hu- of the environment. Most of these lands were mans and the environment through time. The occupied and managed for thousands of years, most appropriate restoration approach for often successfully, before the arrival of the Eu- a given site depends on the type of distur-

 Figure 1.7. The first SER desert restoration class, hosted by Red Rock Canyon State Park, California. Hands-on learning is best for restoration training.

38 A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration Quick Links: ˈ Buy A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration ˈ A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC

▶ A )

▶ B )

 Figure 1.8. Lessons from the past: (a) Terraces and (b) reservoir at Mesa Verde, Colorado, demonstrate proven methods for soil and water conservation in arid lands.

Chapter 1 : Desertification: Crisis and Opportunity 39 SER Restoration Reader bance, the degree of disturbance, the causes of just 10 percent of the desertified rangelands in the disturbance, the available budget (both time the United States could cost $36 billion a year, and labor), and the goals and speed of recovery about 12 percent of the current budget for the desired. The effort should always include con- Department of Defense. To treat 10 percent of sideration of ecosystem structure and function. the 3.6 billion hectares of degraded drylands in Traditionally structure has often been favored the world each year would cost about $360 bil- (how many plants, what kinds) over function lion dollars, about 4 percent of the annual gross (water flow and retention, nutrient cycling), domestic product of the United States. Sadly, the but repairing function usually is more impor- countries that are worst affected are least able tant. Like many others, I originally began with to pay, with many struggling to pay immense a focus on returning specific plants, but after a debt services on loans from rich countries. In few years it became clear that restoring function many cases their total external debts are more was more important. If ecosystem function is than three times their total foreign exchange restored it will hasten recovery and ensure that earnings. The ongoing effort to relieve some of the environment continues to improve after the this pressure is critical because these high debt restoration team leaves. service requirements often drive resource mis- management. The cost for restoration can range from a few hundred dollars to $20,000 per acre or more. As the investment increases the rate of recovery will increase, but even large expenditures are no guarantee of success in these extreme environments. Everything has to be done correctly at the right time, and water usually has to be provided for initial establishment. The cost of failing to restore damaged drylands is high, biologically, socially, and economically. Yet until recently the value of the ecosystem services provided by nature has not been counted, and an economic justification for restoration was lacking. The functions of flood control, water purification, oxygen production, and dust control do matter, and they do have value. When Robert Dixon compared the cost of a big flood in Tucson with the cost of dryland restoration, which would have lessened or prevented the flood, the restoration would have cost less. As nature’s services are more completely and clearly valued, restoration will become more common as an economic investment. It will always remain an important activity for beauty, biodiversity, recreation, and quality of life. Res- toration also provides invaluable opportunities Excerpted from A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration by to test our theory and knowledge about how David A. Bainbridge. Copyright © 2007 by Island Press. Excerpted ecosystems function (Bradshaw 1992b). by permission of Island Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in The magnitude of the task globally can be calcu- writing from the publisher. Island Press grants permission to lated from the vast areas of land needing treat- forward this unaltered electronic document to friends, colleagues, ment. A modest restoration program to repair and other interested parties.

40 A Guide for Desert and Dryland Restoration

1 3 11 xix xiii xvii xxiii 7 9 - 8- 7 77 -0 963

-0 963

Eric Higgs Eric Northwest Environmental Geography and History Northwest Ecological Restoration

5, ISBN 1-55 9.9

09 pages. 8 x 10 x 8 pages. 509 . Eric Higgs Preface Chapter 2. Chapter 1. Foreword

Dean Apostol Dean Apostol Dean Peter Lavigne Peter Acknowledgments Introduction Dean Apostol Dean , ISBN 1-55 5 loth, $99.9 ables, figures, index figures, ables, I. The Big Picture PART Contents 2006 T C $4 Paper, Foreword by Foreword Edited by Dean Apostol and Marcia Sinclair Marcia and Apostol Dean by Edited Restoration in Cascadia Restoration The Art and Science of Ecological of Ecological Science and The Art Northwest Restoring the Pacific Pacific the Restoring restoring the pacific northwest SER Restoration Reader

PART II. Paciﬁc Northwest Ecosystems 27

Chapter 3. Bunchgrass Prairies 29 Marcia Sinclair, Ed Alverson, Patrick Dunn, Peter Dunwiddie, and Elizabeth Gray

Case Study: Yellow Island Restoration over the Long Term 44

Case Study: West Eugene Wetlands 55

Case Study: Garry Oak Ecosystem Restoration in Canada 58

Case Study: Fort Lewis Wildﬂower Explosion 59

Chapter 4. Oak Woodlands and Savannas 63 Paul E. Hosten, O. Eugene Hickman, Frank K. Lake, Frank A. Lang, and David Vesely

Case Study: Managing Cultural and Natural Elements of the Bald Hills of Redwood National and State Parks 86

Case Study: Fuel Reduction and Restoration in Oak Woodlands of the Applegate Valley 87

Case Study: Ecological Restoration at Bald Hill, Corvallis, Oregon 89

Chapter 5. Old-Growth Conifer Forests 97 Jerry F. Franklin, Dean Rae Berg, Andrew B. Carey, and Richard A. Hardt

Case Study: Biological Complexity Restoration at Fort Lewis 112

Case Study: Upper Siuslaw Late-Successional Reserve Restoration Plan 114

Case Study: Monte Carlo Thinning 115

Chapter 6. Riparian Woodlands 122 Dean Apostol and Dean Rae Berg

Case Study: Riparian Silviculture at Kennedy Flats, Vancouver Island, British Columbia 140

Case Study: Riparian Restoration in Portland, Oregon 143

Chapter 7. Freshwater Wetlands 150 John van Staveren, Dale Groff, and Jennifer Goodridge

Case Study: King County Wetland Mitigation Bank, Washington 164

Case Study: Mud Slough, Oregon 166

Case Study: Clay Station Wetland Mitigation Bank 168

Chapter 8. Tidal Wetlands 173 Ralph J. Garono, Erin Thompson, and Fritzi Grevstad

Case Study: Deschutes River Estuary and Capitol Lake Restoration Study 183

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Case Study: Control of Invasive Plants in Willapa Bay, Washington 184 Case Study: Habitat Mapping in the Lower Columbia Estuary 186 Case Study: Padilla Bay Estuarine Research Reserve 188 Case Study: Nehalem Bay 189 Case Study: Tillamook Bay 190 Case Study: South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve 191 Chapter 9. Ponderosa Pine and Interior Forests 194 Stephen F. Arno and Carl E. Fiedler Chapter 10. Shrub Steppe 216 Steven O. Link, William H. Mast, and Randal W. Hill Case Study: Hanford Prototype Barrier 228 Case Study: Reducing Unnatural Fuels in the Shrub Steppe 230 Case Study: Restoration of Upland Habitats at Columbia National Wildlife Refuge 233 Case Study: Canoe Ridge 235 Chapter 11. Mountains 241 Regina M. Rochefort, Laurie L. Kurth, Tara W. Carolin, Jon L. Riedel, Robert R. Mierendorf, Kimberly Frappier, and David L. Steensen Case Study: Restoration of a Small Impact: Paradise Social Trail 258 Case Study: Sunrise Campground, Mt. Rainier National Park 260 Case Study: Whitebark Pine Restoration in Glacier National Park 268

PART III. Crossing Boundaries 277

Chapter 12. Urban Natural Areas 279 Mark Griswold Wilson and Emily Roth Case Study: The Columbia Slough’s Community Partnerships 284 Case Study: Protecting the Backyard of Boise 286 Case Study: The Saanich Approach to Environmental Protection and Stewardship 289 Case Study: The High Point Redevelopment Project 290 Case Study: Birds as Indicators of Habitat Quality Along Urban Streams 292 Chapter 13. Stream Systems 298 Jack E. Williams and Gordon H. Reeves Case Study: Restoring Large Wood Structure in Tenmile Creek 309

Chapter 17 : Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Restoration Practice 43 SER Restoration Reader

Case Study: Removing a Small Irrigation Dam in Bear Creek 313

Chapter 14. Landscape and Watershed Scale 319 Dean Apostol, Warren Warttig, Bob Carey, and Ben Perkowski

Case Study: Building a Culture of Restoration in the Mattole River Watershed 326

Case Study: Landscape-Scale Restoration Design in the Little Applegate Watershed 332

Case Study: Landscape-Scale Restoration in the Skagit River Basin 336

Case Study: Kennedy Flats Watershed Restoration 343

Chapter 15. Restoring Wildlife Populations 351 Bruce H. Campbell, Bob Altman, Edward E. Bangs, Doug W. Smith, Blair Csuti, David W. Hays, Frank Slavens, Kate Slavens, Cheryl Schultz, and Robert W. Butler

Case Study: Restoring Populations of Cavity-Nesting Oak- Associated Bird Species 358

Case Study: Gray Wolves 360

Case Study: Restoration of the Columbia Basin Pygmy Rabbit 363

Case Study: Restoration of Western Pond Turtles 365

Case Study: The Teeter-Totter Effect of Eagle Recovery on Great Blue Herons 366

Case Study: Restoration of Butterﬂies in Northwest Prairies 367

Chapter 16. Managing Northwest Invasive Vegetation 374 David F. Polster, Jonathan Soll, and Judith Myers

Case Study: Repeated Cutting to Tame Reed Canarygrass 387

Case Study: Eliminating Scotch Broom 387

Case Study: Biological Control 389

Two Case Studies on Herbicide Use 390

Chapter 17. Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Restoration Practice 393 René Senos, Frank K. Lake, Nancy Turner, and Dennis Martinez

Case Study: The Karuk Tribe of Northern California and Local Fire Safe Councils— Fuel Reduction Projects, Wildland Urban Interface, and Fuel Breaks 402

Case Study: Lomakatsi Restoration Project, Southern Oregon 404

Case Study: Huckleberry Crop Management 405

Case Study: Wildlife Crossing Design on the Flathead Indian Reservation 408

Case Study: Paciﬁc Lamprey Research and Restoration 410

Case Study: Salmon Restoration in the Paciﬁc Northwest 412

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Case Study: Paleoecology and Salish Sea Restoration 412 Case Study: Back to the Future 414 Case Study: Rekindling the Fire of Camas Production 416 Case Study: Restoring Wapato on Shuswap Lake 418 Conclusion: The Status and Future of Restoration in the Paciﬁc Northwest 427 Dean Apostol and Marcia Sinclair About the Contributors 441 Supporters and Partners 453 Index 457

Chapter 17 : Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Restoration Practice 45 SER Restoration Reader

land ethic holds that we can have a positive res- About This Excerpt toration effect in the very act of using natural The Pacific Northwest, stretching along the resources. Kincentric ecology entails direct in- west coast of North America from northern teraction with nature to promote enhanced eco- California through British Columbia to south- system and cultural functioning. This is what east Alaska, is a “hotspot of boggling diver- sustainable practices are all about. sity in restoration projects,” according to Our responsibility for participating in the “rec- Eric Higgs, chair of the board of directors of reation of the world” (as tribes on Klamath the Society for Ecological Restoration Inter- River in northwestern California call it) is never national from 2001 to 2003. Restoring the finished. Periodic intervention by humans in Pacific Northwest brings together fifty-seven nature has long been part of ecosystem dynam- experts and practitioners to showcase nine ics in the Pacific Northwest. Given the myriad seminal habitat types, six distinct restoration ecological catastrophes we now face, the need approaches, and more than three dozen case for active restoration will only increase. There studies. It is an essential handbook and en- are no finished restoration projects. Nature has cyclopedic overview for restorationists and self-healing powers, but these engage only af- practitioners around the world. This excerpt ter a specific harmful disturbance (e.g., a dam or from chapter 17 offers key concepts in tradi- invasive species) is removed or modified. Hu- tional ecological knowledge. mans also can lend a hand by restoring miss- ing species, modifying structure, and so forth. Excerpt taken from chapter 17, “Traditional As the SERI Primer notes, continuing manage- Ecological Knowledge and Restoration Prac- ment is necessary to “guarantee the continued tice,” by René Senos, Frank K. Lake, Nancy well-being of the restored ecosystem thereafter” Turner, and Dennis Martinez (Society for Ecological Restoration 2004:6). Pioneering Western ecologists and restoration- Key Concepts in TEK Restoration ists have come to similar conclusions with respect to kincentricity, starting with Aldo Leop- Kincentricity old (1949) and his land community ethic, which A key concept in the indigenous world view is posited that an individual is a member of a kincentricity , or a view of humans and nature as community of interdependent parts and that part of an extended ecological family that shares each citizen is ethically bound to maintain co- ancestry and origins (Salmón 2000, Martinez operative relations with the biotic community. 1995). The kin or relatives include all the natu- Restorationist Stephen Packard discovered that ral elements of an ecosystem; indigenous people recovering degraded Midwest landscapes re- sometimes refer to this interconnectedness as quired corps of dedicated volunteers to restore “all my relations. ” Kincentricity acknowledges several thousand acres of tallgrass prairie and that a healthy environment is achievable only oak savanna (Stevens 1995). This ambitious en- when humans regard life around them as kin. deavor was not possible until people invested in Kinship with plants and animals entails famil- the r home places. Environment al philosopher ial responsibilities; it tells us why we are on this Andrew Light (2005) has explored the personal, earth and what our ecological role or niche is moral, and environment al dimensions of mak- vis-à-vis our relatives in the natural world. T o ing amends to our kin through the act of resto- put it another way, it tells us that we are a le- ration and considers ho w restoration provides gitimate part of nature, that we have respon- a venue for ecological citizenship. Kincentricity sibilities within nature, and that in exercising provides a basis for considering restoration as those responsibilities we are as “ecological” or a process of engagement with nature, a way to “natural” as any other species. The indigenous sustain or repair relations with the living world.

46 Restoring the Pacific Northwest Quick Links: ˈ Buy Restoring the Pacific Northwest ˈ Restoring the Pacific Northwest TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC

In doing so we develop viable cultural, econom- most resembles present climatic and ecological ic, and ecological practices that support and conditions (Figure 17.2). The last 10,000 years nurture our shared environment. also is the period during which humans have exerted the most influence on North American Reference Systems ecosystems (Egan and Howell 2005). When addressing the needs of restoration to- The use of reference ecosystems in restoration day, whether at the landscape, habitat, or spe- is not without controversy. It can be expensive cies level, it is important to recognize indig- and time-consuming to use multiple disciplines enous peoples as an influence in shaping and and indirect proxy lines of ethnographic and maintaining the historical condition of many scientific evidence to establish a reasonable different ecosystems. In this sense, the effect of probability of accuracy in identifying a site at a past indigenous management practices should specific point in history (see Egan and Howell be considered part of the reference ecosystem, 2005 for technical information regarding recon- or more generally as providing a set of reference structing historical ecosystems). processes to guide a restoration effort. In the Northwest, reference conditions influenced by Some restoration scientists and practitioners indigenous land use practices of a pre-European question the value of using historical baselines era are the benchmark. to guide restoration. Not only can it be difficult to reconstruct historical ecosystems because of Any reference condition or design of future de- severe changes in some environments, but why sired conditions must account for humans’ use go back to an arbitrary point in history? Why and management of the environment. The scale choose, for example, a time before European and intensity of human use and management contact as the reference? Why not just try to of the environment are important to success- improve the function of degraded ecosystems? ful ecocultural restoration and to establishing a Isn’t nature constantly changing? sustainable relationship to place. Our reference window is at least as large as 10,000 years, or However, TEK does not advocate that we stop the postglacial Holocene period, with particu- change and freeze ecosystems in a particular time frame or that we recreate a snapshot lar attention paid to the last 4,000 years, during in time. After all, present conditions are also a which a gradual cooling trend occurred that snapshot in time. What we really need to do is connect the past with the present in order to re- veal what kind of trajectory an ecosystem may be on and then nudge that trajectory just enough to restore key functions. History and function, then, are inseparable. Both Higgs and Martinez have written and spoken about balancing historical fidelity or authenticity with ecological functionality. Instead of fixing a snapshot in time, we need to rerun a moving picture, played out within boundaries determined by historical trends in disturbance regimes, including the kinds, intensities, and frequencies of disturbance with which an ecosystem has evolved. For example, forest stand-level restoration proj-  Figure 17.2. Ecosystem trajectory showing that humans ects are subject to constraints imposed by the represent an ecological force on the landscape.(From Lewis greater landscape scale. Although a reference and Anderson 2002. Copyright © 2002 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. Reprinted with permission. All ecosystem can guide initial restoration efforts, rights reserved. ) these will be modified by larger landscape con-

Chapter 17 : Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Restoration Practice 47 SER Restoration Reader siderations (e.g., fragmentation, fire hazard, Restoring and maintaining biocultural diversity exotic species invasion, species losses), or even of the landscape through integrated restora- larger phenomena such as climate change. An- tion planning involves an interdisciplinary as choring the reference model in real historical well as a multicultural approach. Fuel reduction time will help us to recover key features of eco- projects that incorporate Indian fi re will have system structure, composition, and processes higher levels of success in restoring and main- within natural variability , with a look to de- taining biodiversity , which in turn will sup- signing the future desired condition. port cultural diversity and local communities. Building sound reference models for ecocultur- This premise may hold true especially with na- al restoration requires the best Western science tive cultures that historically and currently rely and the best of TEK, not one or the other . Each on fire and fire-dependent landscapes for their sustenance and cultural survival (Boyd 1999). has the potential to reinforce the other and to A community forestry approach can help local compensate for inherent methodological limita- communities cope with likely future changes tions by considering history and function, qual- caused by climate change and intensified de- ity and quantity, long term and short term, cul- mands of natural resources. ture and ecology, economy and environment. Defining Scale Successional Theory and Disturbance Issues of ecological and social scale are impor- Traditional ecological knowledge complements tant considerations in restoration work. Any contemporary knowledge of fire ecology by pro- restoration program directed toward a given viding information about historical and contemporary applications of fire by indigenous people, including fire effects on wildlife and vegetation in different environments. Indigenous knowledge of fire ecology includes but is not limited to variations in fire frequency, intensity, severity, and specificity of areas burned in different ecosystems or plant communities by indigenous people or by lightning ignitions. TEK provides knowledge about fire effects and ecosystem responses and about how physical and biological processes such as hydrology and forest succession respond to fire over time (Lewis and An- derson 2002). Integrating multiple knowledge systems to understand the effects of fire on the remaining post- treatment vegetation or soils can lead to greater accomplishment of objectives. Thinning and spring season pile burning may be intermediate steps that help prepare the site for the re- introduction of fall season low-intensity burns that emulate Indian fire (Williams 2000). Eth- nographic information and TEK may be instru- mental at each treatment step, especially when one is considering restoration effects on wildlife, food plants, or nontimber forest products,  Figure 17.3. Scale of potential management effects. (From Lewis and Ander son 2002. Copyright © 2002 by the Univer- resources that hold high social and ecological sity of Oklahoma Press, Norman. Reprinted with permission. value to local communities (Anderson 2001). All rights reserved.)

48 Restoring the Pacific Northwest Quick Links: ˈ Buy Restoring the Pacific Northwest ˈ Restoring the Pacific Northwest TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC geographic area must carefully define the scale at which it will operate. For example, will projects focus on a single species or population, a particular habitat, or an entire watershed? Will restoration engage the collaboration of an individual, a community, or a national organization or institution? Indigenous ways of understanding and relating to the environment provide useful models for framing restoration efforts at the appropriate scale. In coastal Pacific Northwest environs, individual families traditionally were responsible for a particular resource base at a specific location (e.g., shellfish beds). Villages were organized around specific places along stream reach- es, and an affiliated tribal group (distinguished by common linguistics) managed a given biore- gion (J. James, personal communication, 2001). Appropriate technologies and resource management practices were ritualized to maintain healthy functioning of the system at all social and ecological scales. Defining the scale of operation provides context for our individual actions linking with others’ actions across or up in scale. TEK provides an operational framework that addresses the integration of the various ecological and social scales, situated within temporal scales (Figure 17.3; Berkes et al. 2000). The perspective of scale can also be reflective in that the strengths and weaknesses of TEK and Western science are evaluated in the context of the restoration program or projects being planned, implemented, or monitored.

Excerpted from Restoring the Pacific Northwest by Dean Apostol and Marcia Sinclair. Copyright © 2006 by Island Press. Excerpted by permission of Island Press. All rights reserved. No part of the excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Chapter 17 : Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Restoration Practice 49 th e The Tallgrass Restoration

Handbook tallg r a ss For Prairies, Savannas, and Wood- lands

Edited by Stephen Packard and Cornelia F. Mutel

Foreword by William R. Jordan III res

Cloth, $55.00, ISBN 978-1-55963-319-2

Paper, $45.00, ISBN 978-1-59726-034-3 to r aat i o n ha d b ook 2005. 504 pages. 6 x 9 Index, appendix

Contents

List of Illustrations xi

List of Tables xii

Foreword by William R. Jordan III xiii

Preface to the 2005 Edition, by Cornelia F. Mutel and Stephen Packard xix

Perspective, by Stephen Packard and Cornelia F. Mutel xxv

Acknowledgments xxxv

Part I. Introduction Chapter 1. Orchards of Oak and a Sea of Grass 3 Virginia M. Kline Chapter 2. Prairie Underground 23 R. Michael Miller Quick Links: ˈ Buy The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook ˈ T he Tallgrass Restoration Handbook TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC

Part II. Goals and Plans Chapter 3. Planning a Restoration 31 Virginia M. Kline Chapter 4. Restoration Options 47 Stephen Packard Chapter 5. Restoring Remnants 63 Stephen Packard and Laurel M. Ross Chapter 6. Restoring Populations of Rare Plants 89 James A. Reinartz

Part III. Seeds and Planting Chapter 7. Obtaining and Processing Seeds 99 Steven I. Apfelbaum, Brian J. Bader, Fred Faessler, David Mahler Chapter 8. Tips for Gathering Individual Species 127 Richard R. Clinebell II Chapter 9. Designing Seed Mixes 135 Neil Diboll Chapter 10. Seed Treatment and Propagation Methods 151 James E. Steffen Chapter 11. Interseeding 163 Stephen Packard Chapter 12. Plowing and Seeding 193 John P. Morgan Chapter 13. Hand-Planted Prairies 217 Peter Schramm

Part IV. Management and Monitoring Chapter 14. Conducting Burns 223 Wayne R. Pauly Chapter 15. Summer Fires 245 Roger C. Anderson Chapter 16. Controlling Invasive Plants 251 Mary Kay Solecki Chapter 17. Monitoring Vegetation 279 Linda A. Masters

Chapter 1: Orchards of Oak and a Sea of Grass 51 SER Restoration Reader

Part V. Protecting, Restoring, and Monitoring Animals Chapter 18. Insects 305 Douglas J. Taron Chapter 19. Amphibians and Reptiles 319 Kenneth S. Mierzwa Chapter 20. Birds 327 Victoria J. Byre Chapter 21. Bison 339 Allen A. Steuter

Appendixes A. Vascular Plants of Midwestern Tallgrass Prairies 351 Douglas Ladd B. Terrestrial Vertebrates of Tallgrass Prairies 401 Stanley A. Temple C. Cross-References for Plant Names 415 D. Publications on Natural Communities of the Tallgrass Region 427 E. Sources of Seeds and Equipment 437 F. Restoration Contacts 443 Contributors 445 Index 451

52 The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook Quick Links: ˈ Buy The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook ˈ The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC

Plants of the Prairie Community About This Excerpt Prairies are rich in species, and the grasses, com- In the 1930s, researchers at the University posites, and legumes are especially well repre- of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum launched sented. (See appendix A for a listing of tallgrass experiments aimed at learning how prairies prairie vascular plants.) The particular group of work, and the field of ecological restoration species present depends on geographic location, was born. The Tallgrass Restoration Hand- since some species’ ranges are limited to certain book offers the excitement and perspective areas within the prairie region; it also depends of the trial-and-error, hands-on work of prai- on local topography and soil. Prairies near the rie restoration. Written by practitioners for northern limits of the prairie region differ in com- practitioners, this is a practical manual of the position from those farther south, while within art and science of prairie, savanna, and oak the same geographic area, prairies on high rocky woodland restoration. In this excerpt, Virginia hill slopes, sand terraces, deep silt loam soils, and Kline introduces us to the living community poorly drained lowlands also differ from one that makes up this “sea of grass and orchards another. In Wisconsin, characteristic grasses of of oak.” the drier prairies include little bluestem, prairie dropseed, and side-oats grama. Sites with deep silt loam soils are dominated by big bluestem and Indian grass, while wetter sites have blue joint Excerpt taken from chapter 1, “Orchards of Oak grass and prairie cord grass. (See Figure 1.1.) Dis- and a Sea of Grass,”by Virginia M. Kline turbance and fire history influence composition as well; for example, some species require soil The Tallgrass Prairie disturbance, such as that provided by bison wal- lows or animal burrows, to get started, and some What Is a Prairie? species do best when fires are frequent or occur French explorers called it prairie, taken from a at a particular season. French word meaning “meadow,” and early set- Prairie plants grow close together, sharing avail- tlers adopted that name for this unfamiliar New able resources in time and space. Some species World grassland, for which there seemed to be flower early in the season, some in midsummer, no appropriate word in English. Those who ex- some in fall. Thus not all the species have their perienced the prairie firsthand had no need for most rapid growth phases at the same time; in- a precise definition of the term; that would come stead they take turns. Early growers tend to be much later, after a fledgling science acquired its short, and height tends to increase over the grow- own new name: ecology. John T. Curtis, the first ing season, culminating in the tall grasses in early ecologist at the University of Wisconsin, under- fall. However, some species that bloom later than took with his students the task of delineating and the tall grasses, including goldenrods, asters, and characterizing each of the major biotic communi- gentians, are shorter than the grasses, taking ad- ties of Wisconsin. Based on their extensive field vantage of the increased light levels as the grass studies, Curtis’s book The Vegetation of Wiscon- leaves turn fall color. Beneath the surface, roots sin was published in 1959. In it Curtis defined of different shapes, sizes and depths divide the a prairie as an open community, dominated by space. grass, and having less than one tree per acre. In Adaptations of the Plants setting this limit, he cautioned that this was an arbitrary distinction for the convenience of those Each species is adapted to the extreme tempera- studying a continuum of vegetation. Nature tures, drought, wind, high light intensity, fire, seldom draws lines; one community is likely to and grazing that are part of the prairie plant’s blend into the next. environment. Some of the morphological adaptations easily observed on the prairie include

Chapter 1: Orchards of Oak and a Sea of Grass 53 SER Restoration Reader finely divided or narrow vertical leaves to pre- and light are important resources as well. Many vent overheating by the sun and offer less resis- prairie species take advantage of wind for pollen tance to the wind, and leathery or waxy leaves to and seed dispersal. Many have a large amount of reduce water loss. Unseen are the extensive root leaf surface (even though individual leaves may systems that make up two-thirds of the total plant be small) to take advantage of the high light in- biomass—an adaptation that helps maintain a fa- tensity, thereby increasing productivity. Many vorable water balance and allows rapid regrowth of the plants, including the warm-season grass- after fire or grazing. Buds located at or below the es, carry out photosynthesis using a distinctive ground surface are important for resprouting, as chemical pathway that is advantageous under is the ability, in grasses, to regrow from nodes the hot and dry conditions frequently encoun- low on the plant. tered in prairies. This C4 pathway (so named be- Although we often consider wind and high light cause the first product formed is a four-carbon levels as factors that plants must withstand, wind molecule) allows a high rate of photosynthesis at high temperatures and a higher efficiency of

Figure 1.1. Prairie grasses. Note: There are as yet no popular guides to the identification of most prairie or woodland grasses and sedges. Yet these plants are crucial to restoration. The best way to learn them is to master the technical keys and to find local botanists who can coach you. The drawings and captions here will introduce a few of the most widespread species.) a. Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium): Seed heads throughout top half of the stems. Leaves folded (v-shaped) in bud. Base of stem very flat. Mesic to dry soil. Thigh high. b. June grass (Koeleria macrantha): Long, compact, erect seed heads. Dry, often sandy soil. Shin high. c. Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii): “Turkey-foot” seed heads. Stems often multicolored (with blue, purple, red, green, yellow, and orange). Base of stem roundish. Leaves rolled in bud. Mesic soil. Head high. d. Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans): Seed head featherlike. Distinctive auricles (lobes that hug stem at base of leaf). Mesic soil. Head high. e. Porcupine grass (Stipa spartea): Needle-sharp seeds measure five to eight inches long. Dry soil. Waist high. f. Blue joint grass (Calamagrostis canadensis): Wispy seed heads on three- to four-foot stems. Papery ligule around stem at base of leaf. Forms solid stands in wetlands; spreads by runners. Waist high. g. Switch grass (Panicum virgatum): Open seed heads. Hairy where leaf meets stem. Wet-mesic soil. Chest high. h. Canada wild rye (Elymus canadensis): Plant is pale blue-green at flowering time. Nodding heads of bristly seeds, which spread and recurve as they dry. Wet-mesic soil and woods edges. Waist to chest high. i. Prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis): Very narrow leaves in dense clumps. Spherical seeds in open heads that rise well above leaves. Strong scent of buttered popcorn or hot wax. Mesic to dry soil. Seed heads waist high. j. Prairie cord grass (Spartina pectinata): Coarse, rough-edged leaves tapering to very fine tips. Rows of brushlike seed heads. Wet soil. Over head high.

54 The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook Quick Links: ˈ Buy The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook ˈ The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC water use. Tallgrass prairies are among the most productive vegetation types in the world. Fire Fire is an important process in prairies, where it is part of a positive feedback system, the growth of prairie grass providing excellent fuel for fire and fire in turn stimulating the growth of prairie grass. Lightning can ignite a prairie fire, but during the centuries preceding European settlement, fires set by Native Americans were much more important. These people used fire for a variety of reasons, which can perhaps be summarized as managing their habitat. They burned frequently, possibly as often as every year. Where the climate is suitable for trees and shrubs, fire is critical to prevent woody invasion of prairie. Fire played a major role in maintaining the mosaic of prairie, oak savanna, and oak forest that characterized the eastern boundary of the prairie. Fire also increases the vigor of many prairie species, and the year of a burn is likely to be associated with taller plants, especially the grasses, and a greater abundance of flowers. The stimulation is due to removal of the insulating lit- ter of grass stems and leaves by the fire, which allows the soil to warm up earlier in the spring and thus increases the length of the growing season. Today managers of prairies often use carefully timed burns to help control unwanted exotic weeds as well.

Excerpted from The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook by Stephen Packard and Cornelia F. Mutel. Copyright © 2005 by Island Press. Excerpted by permission of Island Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Island Press grants permission to forward this unaltered electronic document to friends, colleagues, and other interested

Chapter 1: Orchards of Oak and a Sea of Grass 55 grea Great Basin Riparian Ecosystems t basi n riparia n e Ecology, Management, and Restoration

Edited by Jeanne C. Chambers and Jerry R. Miller

Foreword by James A. MacMahon

Cloth, $70.00, ISBN 1-55963-986-5 Paper, $35.00, ISBN 1-55963-987-3 2004. 320 pages. 6 x 9 Tables, figures, index co

Contents s

Foreword ix y

James A. MacMahon s

Preface xiii t ems

Chapter 1. Restoring and Maintaining Sustainable Riparian Ecosystems: The Great Basin Ecosystem Management Project Jeanne C. Chambers and Jerry R. Miller 1

Chapter 2. Climate Change and Associated Vegetation Dynamics during the Holocene: The Paleoecological Record 24 Robin J. Tausch, Cheryl L. Nowak, and Scott A. Mensing

Chapter 3. Fluvial Geomorphic Responses to Holocene Climate Change 49 Jerry R. Miller, Kyle House, Dru Germanoski, Robin J. Tausch, and Jeanne C. Chambers

Chapter 4. Basin Sensitivity to Channel Incision in Response to Natural and Anthropogenic Disturbance 88 Dru Germanoski and Jerry R. Miller Quick Links: ˈ Buy Great Basin Riparian Ecosystems ˈ Great Basin Riparian EcosystemsO T C ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC

Chapter 5. Geomorphic and Hydrologic Controls on Surface and Subsurface Flow Regimes in Riparian Meadow Ecosystems 124 David G. Jewett, Mark L. Lord, Jerry R. Miller, and Jeanne C. Chambers Chapter 6. Effects of Natural and Anthropogenic Disturbances on Water Quality 162 Michael C. Amacher, Janice Kotuby-Amacher, and Paul R. Grossl Chapter 7. Effects of Geomorphic Processes and Hydrologic Regimes on Riparian Vegetation 196 Jeanne C. Chambers, Robin J. Tausch, John L. Korfmacher, Dru Germanoski, Jerry R. Miller, and David G. Jewett Chapter 8. Explanation, Prediction, and Maintenance of Native Species Richness and Composition 232 Erica Fleishman, Jason B. Dunham, Dennis D. Murphy, and Peter F. Brussard Chapter 9. Process-Based Approaches for Managing and Restoring Riparian Ecosystems 261 Jeanne C. Chambers, Jerry R. Miller, Dru Germanoski, and Dave A. Weixelman About the Editors and Authors 293 Index 299

Chapter 9: Process-Based Approaches for Managing and Restoring Riparian Ecosystems 57 SER Restoration Reader

500 to 400 YBP, which predates Anglo-American About This Excerpt settlement of the area in the 1860s. “Great Basin Riparian Ecosystems is not just The tendency of a stream to incise depends on about the ecology and restoration of Great the sensitivity of the watershed to both natural Basin riparian areas, but also the geomor- and anthropogenic disturbance. Analysis of cen- phology and hydrology of the associated up- tral Great Basin watersheds indicate that stream lands…. The most important lesson in these incision is closely related to watershed character- pages is that restorationists cannot escape istics, including geology, size, and morphology, history. The geomorphic history is critical and to valley segment attributes like gradient, to understanding the roles of humans, live- width, and substrate size (Chapter 4). In these stock, and climate change in stream chan- semiarid ecosystems where precipitation and, nel incision, and restoring to presettlement thus, streamflow is highly variable both between conditions may actually result in an unstable and within years, most incision occurs during state in a nonequilibrium landscape. The les- episodic, high-flow events. Since the initiation of sons recounted here have broad implications the EM Project in 1994, high-flow events capable for other systems.” of producing significant incision have occurred in 1995 and 1998 (Chambers et al. 1998; Germanoski — Edith B. Allen, former editor of et al. 2001). Watersheds that are highly sensitive Restoration Ecology to disturbance respond to more-frequent, lower- magnitude runoff events than watersheds that are less sensitive to disturbance, The combined Excerpt taken from chapter 9, “Process-Based geomorphic and hydrologic characteristics of the watersheds determine the composition and pat- Approaches for Managing and Restoring tern of riparian vegetation at watershed- to val- Riparian Ecosystems,” by Jeanne C. Chambers, ley-segment scales (chapter 7). Thus, watershed Jerry R. Miller, Dru Germanoski, and Dave A. attributes that characterize basin sensitivity to Weixelman disturbance also have good predictive value for vegetation types and associations. A number of the watersheds are characterized Processes Structuring Great Basin Riparian by prominent side-valley alluvial fans that influ- Areas ence both stream and riparian ecosystems. The The processes currently structuring riparian ar- fans reached their maximum extent during the eas in the central Great Basin are strongly influ- drought that occurred from about 2500 to 1399 enced by past climates. The paleoecological re- YPB (Miller et al. 2001; Chapter 3). Watersheds cords collected as part of the EM Project, as well with well-developed fans often are characterized as previous investigations, indicate that a major by stepped-valley profiles and, consequently, drought occurred in the region from approxi- riparian corridors that exhibit abrupt changes mately 2500 to 1300 YBP (Miller et al. 2001; Chap- in local geomorphic and hydrologic attributes. ter 2). During this drought, most of the available Because of the relationships among geomorphic sediments were stripped from the hillslopes and characteristics, hydrologic regimes, and ripar- deposited on the valley floors and on side-val- ian vegetation, the fans also influence ecosystem ley alluvial fans (Chapter 3). As a consequence of patterns within the riparian corridors (Korfm- this hillslope erosion, streams are now sediment acher 2001; Chapters 4 and 7). Many of the fans limited and have a natural tendency to incise. currently serve as local base-level controls that In fact, geomorphic data indicate that over the determine the rate and magnitude of upstream past two thousand years, the dominant response incision. Riparian ecosystems located immedi- of the streams to disturbance has been incision. ately upstream of alluvial fans often are at risk of The most recent episode of incision began about stream incision through the fan deposits. Many

58 Great Basin Riparian Ecosystems Quick Links: ˈ Buy Great Basin Riparian Ecosystems ˈ Great Basin Riparian Ecosystems TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC of the fans have multiple knickpoints (a short, mately, stream incision (Lahde 2003). Once initi- oversteepened segment of the longitudinal pro- ated, stream incision often continues to occur as file of the channel) and are subject to stream in- a result of knickpoint migration. cision due to high shear stress associated with Assigning cause and effect to more diffuse an- knickzone migration during high-flow events. thropogenic disturbances such as overgrazing Similarly, ecosystems located in watersheds with by livestock is more difficult. In general, over- pseudostable channels can be degraded during grazing by livestock can negatively affect stream catastrophic incision via groundwater sapping. bank and channel stability, and localized chang- Because the stream channel serves as a ground- es in stream morphology often have been associ- water discharge point, it represents the base level ated with overgrazing by livestock in the western to which the hydraulic gradient of the ground- United States (see reviews in Trimble and Men- water system is adjusted. Stream incision lowers del 1995; Belsky et al. 1999). However, data that this base level for groundwater discharge, result- clearly demonstrate the relationship(s) between ing in declines in water table levels and subse- regional stream incision and overgrazing by live- quent changes in the composition and structure stock have not been collected for the central Great of riparian vegetation (Castelli et al. 2000; Wright Basin. In reality, it may never be possible to pre- and Chambers 2002). Meadow complexes are cisely distinguish the amount of channel incision presently the ecosystems most susceptible to caused by climate change from that due to an- degradation not only because they are often lo- thropogenic disturbance. From a restoration and cated upstream of alluvial fans, but also because management standpoint, it is important to recog- they are subject to processes such as groundwa- nize that because particular types of streams are ter sapping (Chapter 5). prone to incision, they have greater sensitivity to The rate and magnitude of stream incision in cen- both natural and anthropogenic disturbances. tral Great Basin watersheds have been increased Anthropogenic disturbances have effects on the by anthropogenic disturbances. Because most of central Great Basin riparian ecosystems that are the streams have been prone to incision for the unrelated to stream incision. In semiarid range- past two thousand years, separating changes at- lands, like those in the western United States, the tributable to ongoing stream incision from those general degradation of riparian areas has been associated with anthropogenic disturbance can attributed primarily to overgrazing by livestock be exceedingly complex (Chapter 3). In the cases (see reviews in Kauffman and Krueger 1984; of roads, diversions, and livestock or recreational Clary and Webster 1989; Skovlin 1984; Fleischner trails, the point of initiation of stream incision of- 1994; Ohmart 1996; Belsky et al. 1999). Livestock ten can be identified and the local effects of the grazing influences riparian ecosystems by (1) disturbance on the stream reconstructed. The removing herbage, which allows soil tempera- most direct evidence that anthropogenic distur- tures to rise and results in increased evaporation; bance has influenced stream incision in the central (2) damaging plants due to rubbing, trampling, Great Basin is derived from ongoing studies on grazing, or browsing; (3) altering nutrient dy- the effects of roads on riparian areas. Increasing- namics by depositing nitrogen in excreta from ly, roads are identified as major causes of stream animals and removing foliage; and (4) compact- incision and riparian area degradation across the ing soil, which increases runoff and decreases United States (USDA Forest Service 1997; For- water availability to plants. Research conducted man and Deblinger 2000; Trombulak and Frissel on Great Basin meadow ecosystems (Weixelman 2000). In the central Great Basin, several causes et al. 1997; Chapter 7) and elsewhere shows that of “road captures” have been documented and these effects can cause change in plant physiol- many others observed where streams have been ogy, population dynamics, and community attri- diverted onto road surfaces during high flows butes such as cover, biomass, composition, and (Lahde 2003). This diversion has resulted in in- structure. In addition, overgrazing by livestock creased shear stress and stream power and, ulti- can result in local decreases in water quality as a

Chapter 9: Process-Based Approaches for Managing and Restoring Riparian Ecosystems 59 SER Restoration Reader result of increased sediment from road damage sediment and hydrologic regime. Others are still and road crossings (M. Amacher, unpublished adjusting and will continue to incise because of data). Disturbances due to recreation, such as heterogeneous channel profiles and the lack of campsites, and vehicle and foot traffic, have in- hillslope sediments. Due to the resulting changes creasingly widespread effects but have been in stream processes and surface and groundwa- poorly documented. ter relations, riparian ecosystems have crossed The cumulative effects of climatic perturba- thresholds. For our purposes, threshold cross- tion and anthropogenic disturbance in the cen- ings occur when the system does not return to the tral Great Basin have multiple consequences for original state following disturbance (Ritter et al. streams and their associated riparian ecosystems. 1999). Threshold crossings can be defined based There have been major changes in channel pat- on the limits of natural variability within sys- tern and form and many streams have been iso- tems. For streams and riparian ecosystems that lated from their floodplains (Chapters 3 and 4). have crossed geomorphic and hydrologic thresh- Surface water and groundwater interactions have olds, returning the system to a predisturbance been altered (Germanoski et al. 2001; Chapter 5), state is an unrealistic goal. Thus, it is necessary to and declines in water tables have caused chang- base concepts of sustainability and approaches to es in plant species composition and vegetation management on current, and not historic, stream structure (Wright and Chambers 2002; Chapter processes and riparian ecosystem conditions. 7). Overgrazing by livestock and other anthropo- As outlined in Chapter 1, the goal of restoration genic disturbances have caused additional deg- and management activities in the central Great radation of these ecosystems. The net effects of Basin is sustainable stream and riparian ecosys- these changes have been a decrease in the real tems. Sustainable ecosystems, over the normal extent of riparian corridors and a reduction in cycle of disturbance events, retain characteris- habitat quantity and quality for both aquatic and tic processes including rates and magnitudes of terrestrial animals. geomorphic activity, hydrologic flux and stor- Conceptual Basis for Management and age, biogeochemical cycling and storage, and biological activity and production (modified from Restoration Chapin et al. 1996 and Christensen et al. 1996). The importance of developing a conceptual ba- Sustainable stream and riparian ecosystems also sis for managing and restoring degraded ecosys- exhibit physical, chemical, and biological link- tems is gaining increasing recognition (Allen et ages among their geomorphic, hydrologic, and al. 1997; Williams et al. 1997; Whisenant 1999; biotic components (Gregory et al. 1991). Thus, for National Research Council 2002). For degraded the purposes of this volume, managing and re- riparian ecosystems like those in the Great Basin, storing riparian areas is defined as reestablishing such a conceptual basis must consider both the or maintaining sustainable fluvial systems and type and characteristics of degradation, and the riparian ecosystems that exhibit both character- recovery potential as determined by the underly- istic processes and related biological, chemical, ing physical and biotic processes. and physical linkages among system components In the central Great Basin many of the streams (modified from National Research Council 1992). and, consequently, riparian ecosystems are cur- Inherent in this definition is the idea that sustain- rently in a nonequilibrium state. Because of the able ecosystems provide important ecosystem drought that occurred between 2500 and 1300 services. In the central Great Basin, ecosystem YBP and the erosion of available hillslope sedi- services from riparian areas include an adequate ments, the streams are sediment limited and ex- supply of high-quality water, habitat for a diverse hibit a tendency to incise. Some of the streams array of aquatic and terrestrial organisms, forage have adjusted to the new set of geomorphic con- and browse for native herbivores and livestock, ditions, in other words, they have reached their and recreational opportunities. maximum depth of incision under the current

60 Great Basin Riparian Ecosystems Quick Links: ˈ Buy Great Basin Riparian Ecosystems ˈ Great Basin Riparian Ecosystems TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC

Excerpted from Great Basin Riparian Ecosystems by Jeanne C. Chambers and Jerry R. Miller. Copyright © 2004 by Island Press. Excerpted by permission of Island Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Island Press grants permission to forward this unaltered electronic document to friends, colleagues, and other interested parties.

Chapter 9: Process-Based Approaches for Managing and Restoring Riparian Ecosystems 61

1 7 xi 26 48 58 xv xiii X 1 - -653 963 - -652 963

The “Flagstaff Model” The Evolutionary and Historical Context Ecology of Humans and Ponderosas in the Pines: Historical First Peoples Ecological and Market Economics

0.00, ISBN 1-55 0.00, x 9 x 6 584 pages. 3. Chapter 4. Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Introduction Acknowledgments Acknowledgments Peter Friederici Peter Friederici Peter Covington Wallace W. Alcoze Thom P. J. Daugherty and Gary B. Snider Gary Paul Nabhan Gary Paul Foreword loth, $7 ables, figures, index figures, ables, I. The Context for Restoration PART Contents .00, ISBN 1-55 $35.00, Paper, 200 T Edited by Peter Friederici Peter by Edited Nabhan Gary Paul by Foreword C Ecological Restoration of of Restoration Ecological Ponderosa Southwestern Pine Forests southwestern ponderosa pine forests Quick Links: ˈ Buy Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests ˈ Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC

Chapter 5. The Governance Environment: Linking Science, Citizens, and Politics 70 Hanna J. Cortner

Chapter 6. Ecological Restoration as Thinking Like a Forest 81 Max Oelschlaeger

PART II. Restoring Ecosystem Functions and Processes 93

Chapter 7. The Ponderosa Pine Forest Partnership: Ecology, Economics, and Community Involvement in Forest Restoration 99 William H. Romme, Mike Preston, Dennis L. Lynch, Phil Kemp, M. Lisa Floyd, David D. Hanna, and Sam Burns

Chapter 8. Fuels and Fire Behavior 126 G. Thomas Zimmerman

Chapter 9. Soils and Nutrients 144 Paul C. Selmants, Adrien Elseroad, and Stephen C. Hart

Chapter 10. Hydrology 161 Malchus B. Baker Jr.

Chapter 11. Assessing Landscape-Level Inﬂuences of Forest Restoration on Animal Populations 175 James Battin and Thomas D. Sisk

PART III. Restoring and Protecting Biological Diversity 191

Chapter 12. Healing the Region of Pines: Forest Restoration in Arizona’s Uinkaret Mountains 197 Peter Friederici

Chapter 13. Tree Health and Forest Structure 215 Joy Nystrom Mast

Chapter 14. Understory Vegetation 233 Julie E. Korb and Judith D. Springer

Chapter 15. Exotic Invasive Plants 251 Carolyn Hull Sieg, Barbara G. Phillips, and Laura P. Moser

Chapter 16. Vertebrates 268 Carol L. Chambers and Stephen S. Germaine

Chapter 17. Arthropod Responses: A Functional Approach 286 Karen C. Short and José F. Negrón

Chapter 18. Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Species 306 Paul Beier and Joyce Maschinski

Chapter 6: Ecological Restoration as Thinking Like a Forest 63 SER Restoration Reader

PART IV. Conducting Restoration: Practical Concerns 329 Chapter 19. Community-Based Forest Restoration 335 Ann Moote Chapter 20. Ecological Restoration in the Urban–Wildland Interface 353 John M. Marzluff and Gordon A. Bradley Chapter 21. Air Quality and Smoke Management 371 Gretchen Barkmann Chapter 22. Restoration and Cultural Resources 387 Helen C. Fairley Chapter 23. Monitoring 402 Peter Z. Fulé Chapter 24. Adaptive Management and Ecological Restoration 417 Carol Murray and David Marmorek Conclusion: Key Concepts and Questions in Adaptive Ecosystem Restoration of Ponderosa Pine Forest Ecosystems 429 W. Wallace Covington and Diane Vosick Appendix 1: Species Mentioned in Text 433 Appendix 2: Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Vertebrate Species in Arizona, New Mexico, South Utah, and Colorado 439 Appendix 3: Arizona Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Plants Potentially Affected by Ponderosa Pine Forest Restoration 450 Appendix 4: Colorado Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Plants Potentially Affected by Ponderosa Pine Forest Restoration 454 Appendix 5: Nevada Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Plants Potentially Affected by Ponderosa Pine Forest Restoration 455 Appendix 6: New Mexico Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Plants Potentially Affected by Ponderosa Pine Forest Restoration 460 Appendix 7: Utah Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Plants Potentially Affected by Ponderosa Pine Forest Restoration 466 References 467 About the Contributors 543 Index 547

64 Ecological Restoration of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests Quick Links: ˈ Buy Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests ˈ Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC

This evolving conversation, whatever its un- About This Excerpt certainties, is a high-minded effort—ecocentric With years of drought parching the south- rather than narrowly anthropocentric. Ecologi- western region of the United States, a grow- cal restoration presupposes that biophysically ing human population moving into drastically evolved systems and creatures have intrinsic altered ponderosa pine forests, and severe value. The community of restorationists is begin- wildfires occurring regularly in the region, Eco- ning to think and act in ways ﬁrst conceptualized logical Restoration of Southwestern Pondero- by Aldo Leopold (1949). He argued that govern- sa Pine Forests is a timely and much-needed ing land management practices were funda- volume with information that is also relevant mentally ﬂawed, and that new ways of thinking outside this region. In this book, Peter Fried- that address the evolved reality of ecosystems erici brings together practitioners and think- and the deleterious outcomes of ecologically ers from a wide variety of fields to synthesize myopic human actions were essential to long- what is known about ecological restoration in term ecosystem integrity, stability, and beauty. ponderosa pine forests. In this excerpt, Max In particular, Leopold distinguished views that Oelschlaeger argues that all participants in classify natural systems as resources to be eco- these forests must see themselves as part nomically exploited from those that categorize of the “forest story” for restoration to be suc- them as something more than raw materials for cessful. human purposes—even if they can be economically exploited. In his essay “Thinking Like a

Mountain,” Leopold shows how ranchers think Excerpt taken from chapter 6, “Ecological Res- about montane ecosystems as cow factories, toration as Thinking Like a Forest,” by Max loggers think about them as wood factories, and Oelschlaeger hunters think about them as deer factories. But none thinks like the mountain itself, a naturally Ecological Restoration in Ecosystem Context evolved system with a temporal dimension and evolved structure that elude the native range of Frank Golley (1993) argues that the “ecosys- human perceptions and established conceptual tem concept” militates against the theoretical schemes. Leopold’s intent is to make clear the separation of evolved human systems, or cul- difficulty humans face in thinking ecologically. ture (carried by symbolic codes), from evolved biological systems, or nature (carried by genet- In fact, without expanding the temporal scale of ic codes). That separation, he continues, is not perception and escaping conventions that over- only conceptually untenable, but dangerous to determine their thinking, humans cannot think the sustainability of cultural-natural systems. ecologically. The muddle that characterizes restoration of For those caught in the muddle, the challenge southwestern ponderosa forests is precisely a of restoration might be described as coming to case in point. Why? Because these ecosystems “think like a forest.” And maybe, just maybe, are increasingly and predominantly artifactual, accepting that challenge might help us begin shaped more by human agency than naturally to understand why stakeholders are conﬂicted. evolved, more the consequence of cultural nar- Why? Because humans have very little experi- ratives than of genetic codes. The evolving nar- ence, almost none, in thinking like a forest. Since rative of ecological restoration recognizes their the advent of Neolithic culture, we big-brained anthropogenic nature. It also dreams of restor- two-leggeds have primarily thought about the ing these forests to health by uncoupling our- natural world, whether landscapes or species, selves from them, by taking actions that incre- from the perspective of a self-interested spe- mentally nudge the forests onto trajectories of cies. In the modern world, that self-interest has recovery. played out through narrow, fundamentally eco-

Chapter 6: Ecological Restoration as Thinking Like a Forest 65 SER Restoration Reader nomic judgments; forest policies and sciences members of Congress, and funding for manage- have primarily served the ends of exploitation. ment agencies—but none of these stakeholders Public-lands forests would doubtless be in even were thinking like a forest. Rather, all consid- worse condition without the efforts of Gifford ered the forest a commodity, raw material to Pinchot, who stopped a long history of laissez- fuel an economic engine. faire exploitation. But the ethical credo behind The situation finally changed during the 1990s, progressive resource conservation was—and as commercial forestry on public lands dramati- remains—largely economic. Fire exclusion and cally declined. Yet environmental advocates suppression grew out of the same ideology that continue to worry, understandably, about the led to the damming of wild rivers. Just as free- reestablishment of commercial forestry. Today’s flowing rivers were conceptualized as wasting greatest danger to ponderosa forests is not the water, so forest fires were viewed as destroying sawyer but crown fire, but proposals for mul- valuable timber, and the grasses that naturally tigenerational, landscape-scale ecological resto- carried frequent, low-intensity fires through ration projects that would incrementally lessen the pines were seen as fodder that could grow and ultimately eradicate the danger of crown beef and mutton. Today’s multi-use statutory fire are viewed by some advocacy groups as a framework (often termed “multi-abuse” by en- Trojan Horse. Given the history of these forests, vironmentalists) is firmly rooted in utilitarian- this position is not incomprehensible. ism. Forest science itself has been mesmerized Yet as I listen to the diverse community of eco- by classical physics and its quest for predictive logical restorationists, I hear hope that the basic knowledge, and by market economics, which composition, structure, and function of ecosys- views forests as raw materials only. tems driven far from their natural dynamic equi- Forest science fails to recognize its roots in the librium might be restored. Who among us—oth- scientific revolution of the 1600s and the notion er than profiteers looking for a quick buck and that through science humans would become the the first stage out of town—could be against masters and possessors of nature. The result- such a goal? We have learned that the anthro- ing “conspiracy of optimism” (Hirt 1994) held pogenic ecosystems to which we are so closely that by applying science to management and coupled are, whatever previous intentions, policy we could exclude fire, harvest timber, subject to catastrophic, costly, and irreversible eradicate insects, graze the grasses, provide rec- changes. I have been somewhat surprised when reational opportunities— and still have healthy, people whom I respect for their untiring de- flourishing forests. But forest science was until fense of southwestern forests claim that ecologi- recently blind to the evolved role of low-inten- cal restoration is a fast road to Hell—to forest sity ground fires in ponderosa pine ecosystems, conditions worse than those that exist now. This ignorant of the unsustainability of commercial proves, at least, that “high-mindedness” comes forestry in the arid Southwest, indifferent to the at the cost of cognitive dissonance. But cogni- adverse consequences of grazing, and oblivi- tive dissonance can be productive by inviting a ous to the harmful consequences of some recre- deeper and richer understanding of the tangle ational uses. of issues concerning restoration. Politically the forests have been held in the lock Sweet Reason of the “iron triangle” (Chapter 5) made up of Human beings are generally not risk-takers. We commercial interests, western congressional tend to like things settled, sure and certain. Poli- representatives and senators, and entrenched ticians, especially, do not like risk. Land manag- land management bureaucrats, including forest ers do not like risk. They need to be in control of scientists. It assured a stream of timber, employ- the forest. Scientific researchers attempt to min- ment, and subsidies for the commercial inter- imize risk of various types of methodological ests, campaign contributions and reelection for mistakes. Environmentalists do not like risks,

66 Ecological Restoration of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests Quick Links: ˈ Buy Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests ˈ Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests TOC ˈ SER Restoration Reader TOC either, especially leaders of many environmen- That said, are we learning to think like a for- tal organizations, for whom compromise has est? Maybe, only maybe. We remain collectively become a dreaded word. And all of us, when at the sheer beginning of a learning curve that it comes to ethical judgment, hate even a whiff slopes up steeply and only gradually flattens of relativism. What we like are evaluative judg- out. The scientific process of conjecture and ref- ments that a particular goal is clearly better than utation—or fallible learning—is farthest along any other goal. Thus, we too often accept utili- in answering question one: What are the causal tarian arguments. factors that have led to present conditions and Yet the deepest thinkers of our time, like the that might be manipulated to heal ponderosa Nobel Prize winner Ilya Prigogine, argue that forests? These factors are addressed in Parts II the end of certainty is at hand (Prigogine 1984, and III of this volume. However, stakeholder 1997). Fallibilism rules. No judgments of policy, groups, including researchers, are beginning to science, or ethics are anything more or less than realize that science, however noble in its quest fallible. Remarkable advances in understand- for truth, is not the final solution (Chapter 5). ing the biological basis of human nature have Neither the science that exists today, nor future trailed in the wake of theoretical developments advances, will ever be complete. Scientific inqui- such as Gödel’s proof and Heisenberg’s uncer- ry itself is increasingly understood as existing tainty principle. As a result, some say we have within and partially framed by complicated his- moved beyond both objectivism (the belief that torical, social, political, and economic contexts humans can have sure and certain knowledge (Sarewitz 1996). Further, scientific inquiry inevi- that is good for all people in all places at all tably has multiple public dimensions, including times) and relativism (the belief that humans a commitment to open and continuing public can never make knowledge claims that escape inquiry, comment, and even participation (Lee the particularity of time and place, person and 1993; Wildlands Project 2001–2002). class, or political ideology, nationalist fervor, Enter question two; namely, policy—What ame- and religious dogma). liorative actions are appropriate, over what time One constructive alternative to either objectiv- frame, at what cost?—and the policy process— ism or relativism is the conjecture that humans What processes are appropriate in establishing learn as they go. We are, simply, fallible learners. forest policy? Many commentators remark on Learning how to think like a forest is an exercise the paradox of the public-lands West, which in fallibility that perhaps begins with the recog- at one and the same time manifests an inspir- nition that most of what we thought we knew ing “geography of hope” (Stegner 1987) while about forests is not defensible. Clearcutting, for yielding first and typically a politics of exploi- example, defended by several generations of tation (Wilkinson 1992) that gives way finally timber managers as scientifically grounded and to a politics of stalemate (Kemmis 1990). As so- thus as rational forest management, is clearly a called new Western historians have made clear failed economic strategy that is hard on west- (Limerick 1987), the post-settlement West was ern forests and associated human communities overdetermined by ideologies little suited to its (Langston 1995; Power 1996). Similarly, fire ex- landscapes, and thereby subjected to short-term clusion within ponderosa pine forests (though exploitation. Only recently has the policy process not necessarily at urban–wildland interfaces) is started to change, with a variety of experiments unecological and economically wasteful, lead- in inclusive, collaborative processes. Given the ing to ever-increasing loss of ponderosa forests diversity of opinion among stakeholder groups, to crown fire, destruction of watersheds, loss though, and the inability of various experiments of critical habitat for endangered species, drain collaborative process to overcome these dif- matically increasing expenditures to fight fires, ferences, it is likely that the federal government loss of property, and even the loss of human life will continue to pour tens of billions of dollars (USGAO 1998). into the black hole of fire exclusion and suppres-

Chapter 6: Ecological Restoration as Thinking Like a Forest 67 SER Restoration Reader sion (Chapter 4). As far as the policy process that might establish landscape-scale ecological restoration projects is concerned, fallible learning remains a dream. Finally, question three, that of intention: What reasons legitimate a proposed policy, policy process, or scientific claim? Clearly, given the muddle that exists and the increasing frequency of crown fires, the status quo is not a legitimate alternative. Prolonging the muddle might serve the agendas of some stakeholder groups, but such stalemate blocks thinking like a forest. Policies for ecological restoration are informed by science on the quantitative side and by ethics on the qualitative side. Science itself is inevita- bly value-laden, and the legislative framework that established and governs our public lands— including such legislation as the Wilderness Act and Endangered Species Act—is itself the result of so-called citizen choices (Sagoff 1988), or affirmations by the American people of what counts and what does not. Though narrowly fo- cused, largely self-interested economic motives continue to play a large role in the management of our national forests and parks, their establishment did reflect America’s collective commitment to intrinsic values of the natural (or semi- natural) world. Ecological restoration necessarily serves these larger purposes (Bateson 1979; Golley 1993). Thus, restoration is conflicted partly because it implicitly contains definitions of our human- ity—notions of whom we are, where we are go- ing, and why we should go there, or in effect a moral map (Jordan 2003).

Excerpted from Ecological Restoration of Southwest Ponderosa Pine Forests edited by Peter Friederici. Copyright © 2003 by Island Press. Excerpted by permission of Island Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Island Press grants permission to forward this unaltered electronic document to friends, colleagues, and other interested parties.

68 Ecological Restoration of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests