Abstract
Chemical contamination has impaired ecosystems, reducing biodiversity and the provisioning of functions and services. This has spurred a movement to restore contaminated ecosystems and develop and implement national and international regulations that require it. Nevertheless, ecological restoration remains a young and rapidly growing discipline and its intersection with toxicology is even more nascent and underdeveloped. Consequently, we provide guidance to scientists and practitioners on when, where, and how to restore contaminated ecosystems. Although restoration has many benefits, it also can be expensive, and in many cases systems can recover without human intervention. Hence, the first question we address is: "When should we restore contaminated ecosystems?" Second, we provide suggestions on what to restore-biodiversity, functions, services, all 3, or something else--and where to restore given expected changes to habitats driven by global climate change. Finally, we provide guidance on how to restore contaminated ecosystems. To do this, we analyze critical aspects of the literature dealing with the ecology of restoring contaminated ecosystems. Additionally, we review approaches for translating the science of restoration to on-the-ground actions, which includes discussions of market incentives and the finances of restoration, stakeholder outreach and governance models for ecosystem restoration, and working with contractors to implement restoration plans. By explicitly considering the mechanisms and strategies that maximize the success of the restoration of contaminated sites, we hope that our synthesis serves to increase and improve collaborations between restoration ecologists and ecotoxicologists and set a roadmap for the restoration of contaminated ecosystems.
Highlights
Chemical contaminants are pervasive and diverse (Gilliom et al 2007; Loos et al 2009; ORD 2011)
In the United States and European Union (EU), there are more than 80 000 chemicals registered for use (ORD 2011) and in the United States, pesticides or their degradates were detected in each of over 1000 streams analyzed for contaminants (Gilliom et al 2007)
Restoration is the process of returning a disturbed site to a more-or-less natural condition, and the field of restoration ecology provides a suite of tools for accelerating the recovery of Integr Environ Assess Manag 12, 2016—JR Rohr et al
Summary
Chemical contaminants are pervasive and diverse (Gilliom et al 2007; Loos et al 2009; ORD 2011). Determining whether active or passive restoration is more cost-effective requires knowing something about the degree of damage caused by the contaminant, the intrinsic rate of natural ecosystem recovery, which can be influenced by disturbances and sources of propagules (organismal dispersers) in the surrounding landscape, the landscape context in which the site is positioned, and restoration goals, funds, and costs (Dobson et al 1997; Holl and Aide 2011). Once the PMP is approved, the project team conducts a detailed site characterization This entails compiling and reviewing existing and prior studies relating to contaminants, hydrological, ecological, and sediment characteristics of the study area, characterizing the damage to the site, and defining ecological and physical site parameters critical for project design and that could be affected by restoration, such as hydrology, soil characteristics, topography, bathymetry, species composition, and ecosystem functions and services. Once the restoration scenario or plan is selected, the project team prepares a preliminary 1) design, 2) cost estimate, and 3) construction schedule, and describes postconstruction maintenance and the adaptive management and monitoring plan to determine effectiveness
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
