Recovery Of Biodiversity Research Articles

Biological Control of Salvinia molesta (D.S. Mitchell) Drives Aquatic Ecosystem Recovery

Salvinia molesta D.S. Mitchell (Salviniaceae) is a damaging free-floating invasive alien macrophyte native to South America. The biological control programme against S. molesta by the weevil Cyrtobagous salviniae Calder and Sands (Erirhinidae) has been successful in controlling S. molesta infestations in the introduced range, however, there is some debate as to how biological control success is measured. This study measured the response of epilithic algae and aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in a S. molesta-dominated state and subsequently where the weed had been cleared by biological control, as a proxy for ecosystem recovery in a before–after control–impact mesocosm experiment. The restored treatment (S. molesta and C. salviniae) demonstrated epilithic algae and aquatic macroinvertebrate recovery during the “after” biological control phase, defined as similar to the control treatment. Comparatively, the impacted treatment (100% S. molesta) showed a drastic decline in biodiversity and shifts in community assemblages. We conclude that the biological control effort by C. salviniae facilitated biodiversity recovery of the impacted treatment. Furthermore, epilithic algae and aquatic macroinvertebrate communities were reliable biological indicators for measuring ecological impacts of invasion and ecosystem recovery following biological control, and thus represent potential tools for evaluating biological control success and ecological restoration.

Intestinal microbiota in patients with acute leukemia (AL) and allogeneic hematopoietics stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).

e19518 Background: Microbiome is a challenging study area due to its influence on the multiple host functions. The majority of human-associated microbes reside within the colon. Our understanding about the complex interplay between host and environmental factors to shaping the microbiota is evolving rapidly AL is an unfavorable prognosis disease whose only cure possibility is the allo-HSCT. This procedure uses high doses of chemotherapy and multiple drugs such as antibiotics, antiviral, antifungals, and immunosuppressants that damage the mucous membranes and alter the intestinal microbiome balance. These events have been linked to bacterial resistance, relapse risk, Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD), and poor Overall Survival (OS). The present study’s objective was to identify the intestinal microbiome bacteria groups during allo-HSCT and to evaluate their impact on patients outcome. Methods: Observational and prospective study was performed. Eleven patients with acute leukemia under alloHSCT and 11 health control (relatives) were enrolled. Gut faecal samples were collected in both groups; three for patients (at income day (ID), neutropenic period (N) and 30 days after discharge (+30D) and one in healthy donor (HD) at income day of their relatives. Bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences were characterized by illumina and QUIIME 2. Biodiversity of microbiome was evaluated by OTUS, Shannon index and dominance. This proyect was supported by CONACyT. Results: We analyze 11 patients, 55% were male, with a median of 25 years-old at allo-HSCT. 7/10 received a HLA-identical and 4/10 an haploidentical HSCT. 82% had GVHD (I-IV), 1/11 died (two due to infections-GVHD and one of disease relapse). We analyzed 44 samples. There are no difference between healthy control group and income day patients’ samples. Statistical differences in the patients’ microbiome were identified among HSCT moments. According OTUS and Shannon Index the biodiversity decrease at neutropenia, and increase at day +30 outcome but it doesn’t represent a complete recovery. Greater bacterial dominance was observed in neutropenia period. (Table). 3/10 patients who died didn’t recovery biodiversity at day +30. Conclusions: Our results suggest that poor microbiome biodiversity recovery could be a worst prognostic [Table: see text]

Community Experiences in the use of Modified Taungya System for Restoring Degraded Forests and Improving Livelihoods in Ghana

Using the Modified Taungya System (MTS) to establish plantations has been identified as one of the important strategies required to meet the demand for wood resources in Ghana. The MTS is a forest management approach in which farmers are given lands within degraded forest reserves to inter-plant food crops with trees, and further nurture the trees into maturity under specified roles and benefit sharing agreements. This study evaluated the MTSs and management approach based on the following sustainability criteria: recognition of gender role in agroforestry development, contribution of the systems to poverty reduction, and contribution of the systems to the improvement in productive and protective functions of agriculture. The systems were established in degraded portions of the Pamu-Berekum Forest Reserve, Ghana in 2000. Data were collected in 2016 through personal interviews of 40 farmers selected from three communities living close and around the forest reserve. It is clear from the result that women participation in the project activities is significant and may have contributed to the reported successful outcome. More than a decade after the establishment of these plantations, there is evidence that the non-timber forest products, (e.g. fuelwood, medicine) generated from practising MTS have had a significant impact on the community livelihood with significant changes in annual income. Also, the farms clearly have many trees surviving that have economic, social, and ecological significance. The MTS, indeed, has the potential to support biodiversity recovery within degraded forest reserves in Ghana as well as to improve the livelihoods of farmers.

Challenges in tree-planting programs

Climate Numerous tree-planting projects have been launched globally, but will they really help to improve environmental conditions? In a Perspective, Holl and Brancalion discuss the issues with tree-planting projects, including reforestation with non-native species, limited recovery of biodiversity, competing land uses, and lack of long-term management to ensure survival of planted trees. Although tree planting can be beneficial, there are numerous challenges to be overcome before this practice can be shown to improve the environment. Science , this issue p. [580][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aba8232

The effects of tropical secondary forest regeneration on avian phylogenetic diversity

Abstract The conversion of tropical forests to farmland is a key driver of the current extinction crisis. With the present rate of deforestation unlikely to subside, secondary forests that regenerate on abandoned agricultural land may provide an option for safeguarding biodiversity. While species richness (SR) may recover as secondary forests get older, the extent to which phylogenetic diversity (PD)—the total amount of evolutionary history present in a community—is conserved is less clear. Maximizing PD has been argued to be important to conserve both evolutionary heritage and ecosystem function. Here, we investigate the effects of secondary forest regeneration on PD in birds. The regeneration of secondary forests could lead to a community of closely related species, despite maintaining comparable SR to primary forests, and thus have diminished biodiversity value with reduced evolutionary heritage. We use a meta‐dataset of paired primary and secondary forest sites to show that, over time, forest specialist species returned across all sites as secondary forest age increased. Forest specialists colonize secondary tropical forests in both the Old World and the New World, but recovery of PD and community composition with time is only evident in the Old World. Synthesis and applications. While preserving primary tropical forests remains a core conservation goal, our results emphasize the important role of secondary forest in maintaining tropical forest biodiversity. Biodiversity recovery differs between Old and New World secondary forests and with proximity to primary forest, highlighting the need to consider local or regional differences in landscape composition and species characteristics, especially resilience to forest degradation and dispersal capability. While farmland abandonment is increasing across marginal areas in the tropics, there remains a critical need to provide long‐term management and protection from reconversion to maximize conservation benefits of secondary forests. Our study suggests such investments should be focused on land in close proximity to primary forests.

Where Marine Protected Areas would best represent 30% of ocean biodiversity

The IUCN (the International Union for Conservation of Nature) World Conservation Congress called for the full protection of 30% of each marine habitat globally and at least 30% of all the ocean. Thus, we quantitatively prioritized the top 30% areas for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) globally using global scale measures of biodiversity from the species to ecosystem level. The analysis used (a) Ecosystems mapped based on 20 environmental variables, (b) four Biomes (seagrass, kelp, mangrove, and shallow water coral reefs) plus seabed rugosity as a proxy for habitat, and (c) species richness within each biogeographic Realm (indicating areas of species endemicity), so as to maximise representivity of biodiversity overall.We found that the 30% prioritized areas were mainly on continental coasts, island arcs, oceanic islands, the southwest Indian Ridge, the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Coral Triangle, Caribbean Sea, and Arctic Archipelago. They generally covered 30% of the Ecosystems and over 80% of the Biomes. Although 58% of the areas were within countries Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), only 10% were in MPAs, and <1% in no-take MPAs (IUCN category Ia). These prioritized areas indicate where it would be optimal to locate MPAs for recovery of marine biodiversity within and outside country's EEZ. Our results thus provide a map that will aid both national and international planning of where to protect marine biodiversity as a whole.

Ecosystem functions of birds as a tool to track restoration efficiency in Brazil

Restoration practices are designed to reverse the negative effects of human activities on the environment, allowing the recovery of biodiversity and ecosystem functions. However, restoration activities require monitoring the recolonization of faunal assemblages to assess whether ecosystem functions and services performed by them have been recovered. Because of the presumed link between species traits and ecosystem functioning, a potential solution to evaluate restoration efficiency is the grouping of species based on their ecological functions. Here, we review studies on bird assemblages of active restoration sites in Brazil and apply a data-driven approach to group bird species into functional groups using species trait information. We reviewed if studies provided detailed information (e.g., data on species composition and abundance) for comparative analyses and evaluated how restoration time (i.e., how long-ago restoration started) affected the similarity in bird species composition considering three restoration age classes: recent, intermediate, and old. We also tested whether the composition of bird functional groups varies in restoration sites of different age classes. Although we found a small number of studies (n = 8) with birds in restoration areas, we compiled a dataset consisting of 232 bird species from 14 different restoration sites. We found that bird assemblages from recent restoration sites (up to 5 years) were dissimilar to bird assemblages from older restoration sites (over 20 years). Also, older restoration sites had a higher occurrence of more specialist functional groups (e.g., small frugivores birds of superior stratum). Despite the small number of studies, our results reinforce the sensitivity of birds to habitat changes and their potential in indicating restoration efficiency. We argue for the necessity of standardized protocols in the collection and reporting of data on restoration activities, which will improve comparative analysis in theoretical and applied restoration ecology.

Does forest restoration assist the recovery of threatened species? A study of cloud forest amphibian communities

Forest restoration may support recovery and conservation of biodiversity. However, the response of biodiversity to forest restoration is likely to vary depending on the restoration strategy used and taxa considered. Our goal was to assess the recovery of amphibians, a highly threatened biological group, in three cloud forests under different restoration strategies. We compared different measures of species diversity in cattle pasture, 13-year-old forest under passive restoration (P13), 23-year-old forest under passive restoration (P23), 23-year-old forest under active restoration (A23) and mature cloud forest in Mexico. We sampled amphibians in 45 plots and measured landscape and habitat variables to assess their influence on amphibian recovery. We found a total of 13 amphibian species, of which 23% are in the Vulnerable (VU) category of the IUCN Red List and 15% are Critically Endangered (CR). All forests under restoration recovered amphibian species richness and composition, including that of the threatened species, but abundance differed among restoration strategies. Abundance of VU and CR species was higher in A23 than in P13 and P23, but that of CR species was highest in cloud forest. Responses to forest restoration differed among taxa; recovery of salamanders was lower than that of anurans. Proximity to water bodies, as well as high canopy and leaf litter cover, had a strong positive influence on amphibian recovery. Our results indicate that recovery of threatened biodiversity could be promoted through forest restoration, particularly active restoration, and highlight the essential role of mature forest in the maintenance and recovery of amphibian communities.

Fresh perspectives for classic forest restoration challenges

Restoration ecology is a young scientific discipline whose limitations can compromise the recovery of ecosystem biodiversity and functions. Specifically for limitations on forest restoration, we first recommend considering measures prior to land use changes to deal with the common lack of efforts to anticipate and plan restoration. Second, we suggest using multiple references in restoration planning to avoid simplified reference characterization, and we advise assessing ecosystem recovery with indicators that better incorporate ecosystem complexity in recovery assessments. Finally, we propose initiatives to encourage scientific communication outside academia to diminish the communication gap between scientists and practitioners.

Biophysical model of coral population connectivity in the Arabian/Persian Gulf.

The coral reef ecosystems of the Arabian/Persian Gulf (the Gulf) are facing profound pressure from climate change (extreme temperatures) and anthropogenic (land-use and population-related) stressors. Increasing degradation at local and regional scales has already resulted in widespread coral cover reduction. Connectivity, the transport and exchange of larvae among geographically separated populations, plays an essential role in recovery and maintenance of biodiversity and resilience of coral reef populations. Here, an oceanographic model in 3-D high-resolution was used to simulate particle dispersion of "virtual larvae." We investigated the potential physical connectivity of coral reefs among different regions in the Gulf. Simulations reveal that basin-scale circulation is responsible for broader spatial dispersion of the larvae in the central region of the Gulf, and tidally-driven currents characterized the more localized connectivity pattern in regions along the shores in the Gulf's southern part. Results suggest predominant self-recruitment of reefs with highest source and sink ratios along the Bahrain and western Qatar coasts, followed by the south eastern Qatar and continental Abu Dhabi coast. The central sector of the Gulf is suggested as recruitment source in a stepping-stone dynamics. Recruitment intensity declined moving away from the Straits of Hormuz. Connectivity varied in models assuming passive versus active mode of larvae movement. This suggests that larval behaviour needs to be taken into consideration when establishing dispersion models, and establishing conservation strategies for these vulnerable ecosystems.

Proposal for an Ecological Research Center for the Recovery and Revaluation of Biodiversity in the Town of Quichas-Lima, Peru

Proposal for an Ecological Research Center for the Recovery and Revaluation of Biodiversity in the Town of Quichas-Lima, Peru

Silvicultural treatment effects on commercial timber volume and functional composition of a selectively logged Australian tropical forest over 48 years

Post-logging silvicultural treatments involving thinning are commonly recommended to increase the commercial timber production under polycyclic harvesting regimes in tropical forests. However, thinning practices intentionally designed to improve commercial timber production may alter species composition and functional composition. Low, medium, and high intensity thinning following logging plus a logged only control was applied in an Australian tropical forest in 1969 to assess the long-term liberation thinning impacts on the commercial timber volume and the functional composition of the regenerating forest. Over 46 years following thinning, only medium- and high-intensity thinning promoted recruitment of commercial trees into the >10 cm diameter class. All three thinning treatments enhanced the standing volume of most desirable commercial species, mainly driven by the growth of remaining non-harvested trees in the 10–20 cm diameter class. The merchantable timber volume of other less desirable species was also promoted in the four treatments. Over the first 28 years after treatment (1969–1997), the average annual timber volume accumulation rate was highest in the medium-intensity thinning (1.97 m3 ha−1 year−1). The positive impacts of medium- and high-intensity thinning on commercial timber volume growth lasted longer than the low-intensity thinning. From 1997 to 2015, average annual volume increments increased in the medium- and high-intensity thinning, changed little in the low-intensity thinning, and decreased in the untreated control. Moreover, the medium- and high-intensity thinning led the community functional composition to shift towards early-successional species, which reduced community-weighted mean wood densities. The changes induced by intensive thinning treatments may affect the recovery of forest biomass and biodiversity. Hence, the trade-off between enhancing timber stocks and maintaining functional composition should be considered during planning and implementation of tropical forest management.

Evaluation of nanoremediation strategy in a Pb, Zn and Cd contaminated soil

We addressed the efficiency of a nanoremediation strategy using zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI), in a case of co-mingled heavy metals (HM) pollution (Pb, Cd and Zn). We applied a combined set of physical-chemical, toxicological and molecular analyses to assess the effectiveness and ecosafety of nZVI (5% w/w) for environmental restoration. After 120 days, nZVI showed immobilization capacity for Pb (20%), it was scarcely effective for Zn (8%) and negligibly effective for Cd. The HMs immobilization in the nZVI treated soils (compared to control soil), reaches its maximum after 15 days (T3) as reflected in the decrease of HM toxicity towards V. fischeri. The overall abundance of the microbial community was similar in both sets of samples during all experiment, although an increase in the number of metabolically active bacteria was recorded 15 days post treatment. We studied the induced impact of nanoremediation on the soil microbial community structure by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). Even when higher HM immobilization was recorded, no significant recovery of the microbial community structure was found in nZVI-treated soil. The most marked nZVI-induced structural shifts were observed at T3 (increase in the Firmicutes population with a decrease in Gram-negative bacteria). Predictive metagenomic analysis using PICRUSt showed differences among the predicted metagenomes of nZVI-treated and control soils. At T3 we found decrease in detoxification-related proteins or over-representation of germination-related proteins; after 120 days of nZVI exposure, higher abundance of proteins involved in regulation of cellular processes or sporulation-related proteins was detected.This study highlights the partial effectiveness of nanoremediation in multiple-metal contaminated soil in the short term. The apparent lack of recovery of biodiversity after application of nZVI and the decreased effectiveness of nanoremediation over time must be carefully considered to validate this technology when assurance of medium- to long-term immobilization of HMs is required.

Evaluation and potential use of native forest species in the recovery of a legal reserve in the Western Amazon

The Brazilian Amazon, which has been heavily devastated by exploratory processes and human occupation, has great value in terms of forest resources. As such, the aim of this study was to evaluate the potential use of native forest species to constitute productive agroforestry systems that can be set up in areas of legal reserve. A floristic/phytosociological survey was carried out of tree individuals with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥10 cm in 12 plots of 50 x 100 m (0.5 ha). From the data, species with a density of greater than three trees ha-1 were selected, and evaluated for use and ecological group. A total of 180 species distributed in 40 botanical families were identified, of which only 23 species presented an absolute density (AD) ≥3 trees ha-1, indicating that the occurrence of most species in the area is rare. Species such as Copaifera multijuga, Dinizia excelsa, Peltogyne paniculata, Tachigali chrysophylla, Dipteryx odorata, Bertholletia excelsa and Hevea brasiliensis are used commercially and may be indicated for production systems. As a result, native Amazonian forest species have great potential for use in recovery programs, promoting the recovery of local biodiversity and the development of small rural properties. However, it is necessary to invest in research and the development of public policy to support such initiatives.

How improved governance can help achieve the biodiversity conservation goals of the Philippine National Greening Program

The Philippine National Greening Program (NGP) is a Forest and Landscape Restoration (FLR) initiative designed to increase forest cover on degraded lands for poverty reduction, food security, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation. Despite the inclusion of an explicit biodiversity objective in the NGP, the Philippine government is struggling to implement projects that explicitly address biodiversity recovery. Using a case-study methodology, we identified three constraints that obstruct achievement of the NGP’s biodiversity conservation goals: 1) a focus on planting targets; 2) disregard for established community-based forestry practices; and 3) poor planning, organization, and implementation. These factors restricted establishment of diverse plantings suited to biodiversity recovery. Poor governance emerged as an overarching issue that connects each of these factors. Specific regulatory guidelines clearly need to be added to existing policy frameworks to assist planners and practitioners in the implementation of biodiversity-focused projects. Our results also indicate that these three factors and governance limitations, which impede attainment of biodiversity objectives, also affect production goals of the program. It is evident that establishing species-rich projects alone will benefit biodiversity little unless broader steps are taken to improve implementation processes across the NGP.

Projecting terrestrial biodiversity intactness with GLOBIO 4.

Scenario‐based biodiversity modelling is a powerful approach to evaluate how possible future socio‐economic developments may affect biodiversity. Here, we evaluated the changes in terrestrial biodiversity intactness, expressed by the mean species abundance (MSA) metric, resulting from three of the shared socio‐economic pathways (SSPs) combined with different levels of climate change (according to representative concentration pathways [RCPs]): a future oriented towards sustainability (SSP1xRCP2.6), a future determined by a politically divided world (SSP3xRCP6.0) and a future with continued global dependency on fossil fuels (SSP5xRCP8.5). To this end, we first updated the GLOBIO model, which now runs at a spatial resolution of 10 arc‐seconds (~300 m), contains new modules for downscaling land use and for quantifying impacts of hunting in the tropics, and updated modules to quantify impacts of climate change, land use, habitat fragmentation and nitrogen pollution. We then used the updated model to project terrestrial biodiversity intactness from 2015 to 2050 as a function of land use and climate changes corresponding with the selected scenarios. We estimated a global area‐weighted mean MSA of 0.56 for 2015. Biodiversity intactness declined in all three scenarios, yet the decline was smaller in the sustainability scenario (−0.02) than the regional rivalry and fossil‐fuelled development scenarios (−0.06 and −0.05 respectively). We further found considerable variation in projected biodiversity change among different world regions, with large future losses particularly for sub‐Saharan Africa. In some scenario‐region combinations, we projected future biodiversity recovery due to reduced demands for agricultural land, yet this recovery was counteracted by increased impacts of other pressures (notably climate change and road disturbance). Effective measures to halt or reverse the decline of terrestrial biodiversity should not only reduce land demand (e.g. by increasing agricultural productivity and dietary changes) but also focus on reducing or mitigating the impacts of other pressures.

Rapid ocean acidification and protracted Earth system recovery followed the end-Cretaceous Chicxulub impact

Mass extinction at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary coincides with the Chicxulub bolide impact and also falls within the broader time frame of Deccan trap emplacement. Critically, though, empirical evidence as to how either of these factors could have driven observed extinction patterns and carbon cycle perturbations is still lacking. Here, using boron isotopes in foraminifera, we document a geologically rapid surface-ocean pH drop following the Chicxulub impact, supporting impact-induced ocean acidification as a mechanism for ecological collapse in the marine realm. Subsequently, surface water pH rebounded sharply with the extinction of marine calcifiers and the associated imbalance in the global carbon cycle. Our reconstructed water-column pH gradients, combined with Earth system modeling, indicate that a partial ∼50% reduction in global marine primary productivity is sufficient to explain observed marine carbon isotope patterns at the K-Pg, due to the underlying action of the solubility pump. While primary productivity recovered within a few tens of thousands of years, inefficiency in carbon export to the deep sea lasted much longer. This phased recovery scenario reconciles competing hypotheses previously put forward to explain the K-Pg carbon isotope records, and explains both spatially variable patterns of change in marine productivity across the event and a lack of extinction at the deep sea floor. In sum, we provide insights into the drivers of the last mass extinction, the recovery of marine carbon cycling in a postextinction world, and the way in which marine life imprints its isotopic signal onto the geological record.

A new approach to map landscape variation in forest restoration success in tropical and temperate forest biomes

Abstract A high level of variation of biodiversity recovery within a landscape during forest restoration presents obstacles to ensure large‐scale, cost‐effective and long‐lasting ecological restoration. There is an urgent need to predict landscape variation in forest restoration success at a global scale. We conducted a meta‐analysis comprising 135 study landscapes to predict and map landscape variation in forest restoration success in tropical and temperate forest biomes. Our analysis was based on the amount of forest cover within a landscape — a key driver of forest restoration success. We contrasted 17 generalized linear models measuring forest cover at different landscape sizes (with buffers varying from 5 to 200 km radii). We identified the most plausible model to predict and map landscape variation in forest restoration success. We then weighted landscape variation by the amount of potentially restorable areas (agriculture and pasture land areas) within the same landscape. Finally, we estimated restoration costs of implementing Bonn Challenge commitments in three specific temperate and tropical forest biome types in the United States, Brazil and Uganda. Landscape variation decreased exponentially as the amount of forest cover increased in the landscape, with stronger effects within a 5 km radius. Thirty‐eight per cent of forest biomes have landscapes with more than 27% of forest cover and showed levels of landscape variation below 10%. Landscapes with less than 6% of forest cover showed levels of variation in forest restoration success above 50%. At the biome level, Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests had the lowest (12.6%), whereas Tropical and Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests had the highest (22.9%) average of weighted landscape variation in forest restoration success. Our approach can lead to a reduction in implementation costs for each Bonn Challenge commitment between US$ 973 Mi and 9.9 Bi. Policy implications. Our approach identifies landscape characteristics that increase the likelihood of biodiversity recovery during forest restoration — and potentially the chances of natural regeneration and long‐term ecological sustainability and functionality. Identifying areas with low levels of landscape variation can help to reduce the risks and financial costs associated with implementing ambitious restoration commitments.

Collaboration and Conflict—Developing Forest Restoration Techniques for Northern Thailand’s Upper Watersheds Whilst Meeting the Needs of Science and Communities

This paper describes an early example of Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR), which resulted from collaboration between a university, local community, and national park authority in the upper Mae Sa Valley, near Chiang Mai City, northern Thailand. Working together, the Hmong community of Ban Mae Sa Mai, Doi Suthep National Park Authority and Chiang Mai University’s Forest Restoration Research Unit (FORRU-CMU) established a chronosequence of trial restoration plots from 1996 to 2013, to test the framework-species method of forest restoration. The project developed successful restoration techniques and gained insights into the factors that influence villagers’ participation in forest restoration. Recovery of forest biomass, carbon storage, structure, biodiversity and ecological functioning exceeded expectations. Villagers appreciated the improved water security resulting from the project, as well as a better relationship with the park authority and increased land security. Recently, however, tree chopping and a breakdown in fire-prevention measures (perhaps symptoms of “project fatigue”) have threatened the sustainability of the plot system. The project demonstrates the importance of a sound scientific basis for forest restoration projects, long-term institutional support, and appropriate funding mechanisms, to achieve sustainability.

La facilitación entre plantas como herramienta de restauración de diversidad y funciones ecosistémicas

Navarro-Cano, J.A., Goberna, M., Verdu, M. 2019. Plant facilitation as a tool to restore diversity and ecosystem functions. Ecosistemas 28(2): 20-31. Doi.: 10.7818/ECOS.1747 Traditional restoration programmes have focused on conditioning plantation sites and reintroducing plant species. Nowadays, however, ecological restoration is conceived as the complete recovery of biodiversity and ecosystem performance. Here, we review the use of plant-plant facilitation as a tool to restore both diversity and ecosystem functions. Facilitation is an ecological interaction between a nurse species, which is able to colonize a stressful habitat and modify the microenvironment beneath its canopy, and the beneficiary species that are not so stress-tolerant and grow under the nurse. Differences in the establishment niche between the nurse and its beneficiaries imply that species sharing facilitative interactions have different functional traits, and can therefore coexist. This process increases, at the landscape scale, all taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic plant diversity. Plant diversity patterns further permeate into those of consumers and decomposers. Thus, restoration based on plant-plant facilitation allows the recovery of multiple facets of diversity at several trophic levels and, eventually, the restoration of essential ecosystem functions (fertility, productivity, or decomposition). We illustrate these cascading effects in the text by means of observational surveys in natural ecosystems governed by facilitation, as well as manipulative experiments and restoration activities.