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