Restoration Challenges Research Articles

Trade-off’s in Restoration: Using Soil Amendments to Address Restoration Challenges for Plants

Trade-off’s in Restoration: Using Soil Amendments to Address Restoration Challenges for Plants

Annual Understory Plant Recovery Dynamics in a Temperate Woodland Mosaic during a Decade of Ecological Restoration

Temperate woodlands are one of the world's ecosystems in greatest need of ecological restoration, but relatively little is known about their floristic recovery dynamics over decadal timescales. From 2000 to 2012, we monitored understory plant communities in a woodland mosaic in Missouri, USA, as it underwent restoration via prescribed, dormant-season burning and mechanical thinning of red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) and exotic shrubs. Native species richness increased linearly by 36% over this time period, driven primarily by an influx of forb species in thin-soiled upland areas where red cedar was removed. Floristic quality also increased with differential dynamics across local communities; forest floristic quality saturated quickly whereas floristic quality increased gradually over the time series in woodlands and red cedar–dominated woodlands. Species that underlay these patterns were mainly ruderal or matrix forbs and grasses with little dependence on intact, undisturbed habitats. In contrast, conservative species were rare or absent. This case study suggests that understory plant recovery dynamics may be slower in harsher and more degraded sites and faster in more mesic sites within a woodland mosaic. Our observations set a benchmark for woodland understory plant recovery dynamics and indicate that a future restoration challenge is to prioritize the managed translocation of dispersal-limited, conservative species.

Challenges and considerations of applying nature-based solutions in low- and middle-income countries in Southeast and East Asia

AbstractLow- and middle-income countries in Southeast and East Asia face a range of challenges related to the rapid pace of urbanisation in the region, the scale of pollution, climate change, loss of ecosystem services and associated difficulties for ecological restoration. Possible pathways towards a more sustainable future lie in the applications of nature-based solutions (NBS). However, there is relatively little literature on the application of NBS in the region, particularly Southeast Asia. In this paper we address this gap by assessing the socio-ecological challenges to the application of NBS in the region – one of the most globally biodiverse. We first provide an overview and background on NBS and its underpinnings in biodiversity and ecosystem services. We then present a typology describing five unique challenges for the application of NBS in the region: (1) Characteristics of urbanisation; (2) Biophysical environmental and climatic context; (3) Environmental risks and challenges for restoration; (4) Human nature relationships and conflicts; and (5) Policy and governance context. Exploiting the opportunities through South-South and North-South collaboration to address the challenges of NBS in Southeast and East Asia needs to be a priority for government, planners and academics.

Definition of Key Indicators to Identify Optimal Distribution Grid Restoration Strategies

Due to significant changes in the power energy system and extreme weather conditions as a result of the increasing impact of climate change, large scale blackouts become more likely. With the rising penetration of renewable energy sources in distribution grids and the shutdown of large conventional power plants, the system inertia and therefore the resilience is decreasing. This will have a significant influence on the provision of ancillary services in the future. Especially for grid restoration processes, new concepts are necessary to assure an optimal integration of the distributed energy resources to resupply a grid after a blackout. However, to identify and assess the capability of distribution grids to restore the grid operation to resupply their grid independently of the transmission system key indicators are necessary for an analysis. Hence, this paper introduces a key indicator system, which has the goal to address several challenges of a distribution grid restoration.

The Minimum Required Landscape Discharge

Due to challenges of ecological restoration of post-mining areas to pre-operational conditions in aspect of water quality and quantity, development and assessment of ecological based minimal landscape discharge is necessary. In order to determine it, the basic nature and human factors and their relations within a catchment area had to be described and the essential parameters defined. The hydro ecological relations in the landscape are described by means of the numerous measurement methods and interpretation algorithms. The further aim was these procedures and the interpretation thresholds concerning the Minimum Required Landscape Discharge to recognize and optimally adapt for application.

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.

Tropical forest and peatland conservation in Indonesia: Challenges and directions

Abstract Tropical forests and peatlands provide important ecological, climate and socio‐economic benefits from the local to the global scale. However, these ecosystems and their associated benefits are threatened by anthropogenic activities, including agricultural conversion, timber harvesting, peatland drainage and associated fire. Here, we identify key challenges, and provide potential solutions and future directions to meet forest and peatland conservation and restoration goals in Indonesia, with a particular focus on Kalimantan. Through a round‐table, dual‐language workshop discussion and literature evaluation, we recognized 59 political, economic, legal, social, logistical and research challenges, for which five key underlying factors were identified. These challenges relate to the 3Rs adopted by the Indonesian Peatland Restoration Agency (Rewetting, Revegetation and Revitalization), plus a fourth R that we suggest is essential to incorporate into (peatland) conservation planning: Reducing Fires. Our analysis suggests that (a) all challenges have potential for impact on activities under all 4Rs, and many are inter‐dependent and mutually reinforcing, implying that narrowly focused solutions are likely to carry a higher risk of failure; (b) addressing challenges relating to Rewetting and Reducing Fire is critical for achieving goals in all 4Rs, as is considering the local socio‐political situation and acquiring local government and community support; and (c) the suite of challenges faced, and thus conservation interventions required to address these, will be unique to each project, depending on its goals and prevailing local environmental, social and political conditions. With this in mind, we propose an eight‐step adaptive management framework, which could support projects in both Indonesia and other tropical areas to identify and overcome their specific conservation and restoration challenges. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Review of seed pelletizing strategies for arid land restoration

Arid lands face numerous restoration challenges due to infrequent and irregular precipitation which impacts plant germination, growth, and survival. Abundant seed predators, harsh surface conditions, and native seeds often poorly suited to mechanical distribution compound restoration challenges. Seed pellets (a.k.a. pods, seed balls, and seed bombs), an aggregation of clay, soil, water, and multiple seeds, have the potential to reduce some of the challenges. However, no formal guidelines based on an aggregated research review exist. Available publications, both peer‐reviewed and any public domain, were reviewed. Of the 24 publications found (some describing multiple tests), seed pellets tested on rangelands had 9 negative effects, 10 neutral effects, and 8 positive effects. Greenhouse testing showed five negative effects, two neutral effects, and four positive effects. Forest systems had three neutral effects and two positive effects. Advantages in mechanical distribution were not well quantified and other effects were lumped together in germination and seedling establishment totals. The use of pelleted seed would benefit from a more mechanistic understanding of the interaction between the pellets and the systemic constraints. As long as the pellets themselves do not greatly reduce germination or establishment, they appear a potentially viable method for improving seed distribution and seeding efficiency, protecting seeds, and adding amendments. While the evidence is far from conclusive, seed pellets may also hold some advantages in increasing germination and establishment.

Increased soil temperature and decreased precipitation during early life stages constrain grass seedling recruitment in cold desert restoration

Abstract Seed‐based restoration is one of the most difficult challenges for dryland restoration. Identifying environmental conditions that drive variation in seed and seedling mortality across similar restoration efforts could increase understanding of when and where restoration outcomes are likely to be favourable and identify new tools and strategies to improve outcomes. We asked how variation in a suite of environmental predictors influenced germination, emergence, seedling establishment and juvenile survival of four commonly sown perennial grass species across 33 seeding experiments distributed over an ~160,000‐km2 area of the Great Basin, a cold desert system in the western United States. Across experiments, we observed wide variation in the rates of four demographic transitions and wide variation in environmental conditions experienced by plants at each stage. For all species, higher precipitation during the first 30 days following seeding was associated with an increase in germination. Conversely, higher soil temperature over this same time period was associated with a significant decrease in germination and emergence, and soil temperature was associated with a substantial portion of the variation in germination and emergence probabilities observed across our seeding experiments. Within the range of precipitation variation observed, we were unable to detect a significant relationship between seedling establishment the first growing season and cumulative precipitation the first year, precipitation during the first spring growing season or annual climatic water deficit (CWD) the first year. Higher CWD the second growing season reduced seedling survival over that time period. Synthesis and applications. Our results show higher soil temperature negatively impacts grass seedling establishment. Restoration efforts should be prioritized when seasonal or subseasonal temperature forecasts indicate likely periods of below average temperatures. These results also indicate that climate warming will make restoration even more difficult, with our model estimates suggesting the 2°C increase in temperature expected in the Great Basin over the coming decades will decrease germination and emergence by about 30%. Lastly, while our field‐based approach provided insight into short‐term drivers of mortality, it did not provide insight into drivers of longer term survival, suggesting a need for further work on predicting long‐term restoration outcomes.

Impact assessment of a super-typhoon on Hong Kong's secondary vegetation and recommendations for restoration of resilience in the forest succession

Typhoons of varying intensities severely impact ecosystem functioning in tropical regions and their increasing frequencies and intensities due to global warming pose new challenges for effective forest restoration. This study examines the impact of a super-typhoon (Mangkhut) on the regenerating native secondary forest and exotic monocultural plantations in the degraded tropical landscape of Hong Kong. The super typhoon, which hit Hong Kong on 16 September 2018 lasted for 10 h (09:40–19:40) and was the most severe storm affecting Hong Kong over the past 100 years. Hong Kong's secondary forest is a mosaic of forest patches recovering through natural succession since 1945, and plantation stands of exotic monocultural species. We determine the loss in biomass by performing NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) difference analysis using two Landsat-8 multispectral images acquired before and after the typhoon. This the assessment of typhoon impacts according to successional age group, structural stages of vegetation, landscape topography, and on stands of exotic plantations. Results indicate that hilltops, open shrubland and grassland were hard hit, especially on southwest and southeast facing slopes, and almost 90% of the landscape showed abnormal change. Patches of exotic monoculture plantation (Lophostemon confertus, Melaleuca quinquenervia, and Acacia confusa) were the most severely damaged by the typhoon, showing more than 25% decrease in NDVI, followed by young secondary forest. Field observations confirmed that in exotic plantations, almost the entire canopy was destroyed and there is no generation of young under story trees to replace those lost. The affected young forests and shrublands are mainly dominated by fast growing, soft wooded early successional species such as Mallotus paniculatus or Machilus chekiangensis as well as weak, multi-trunked, fungus infected, or other structurally deficient trees, which were uprooted or seriously damaged by typhoon gusts. The net effect of typhoons in Hong Kong's degraded landscape, appears to reinforce the arrested succession of dense, less diverse stands of weaker early successional species due to the absence of late and middle successional species and native dispersal agents. In order to obtain a stronger, more resilient forest, it would be necessary to enhance biodiversity by artificially planting a species mix, which resembles primary forests in the region. This could be achieved by thinning of young secondary forest followed by enhancement planting of pockets of high diversity forest.

Distributed Load Restoration in Unbalanced Active Distribution Systems

The resilience of modern power systems has been constantly threatened by various natural disasters and man-made attacks. Under those threats, fast and automatic restoration actions are critical for restoring impacted systems to normal operating conditions and preventing from additional disastrous consequences. Smart grid technologies, such as distributed energy resources (DERs) and microgrids, provide both opportunities and challenges for distribution system restoration. In this paper, distributed load restoration (DLR) in unbalanced active distribution networks is developed using the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMMs) algorithm. The step-by-step restoration actions are provided to schedule the output of DERs and distribution system control devices, as well as the power consumption from transmission system restoration. The nonlinearities from three-phase unbalanced power flow and distribution components modeling are relaxed into a convex quadratic programming model. Then, the problem is decomposed into subproblems for each node by applying ADMM-DLR; and solves through each agent by exchanging limited information with neighboring nodes in an iterative procedure. The developed models and algorithms are validated and demonstrated through testing of the IEEE 13-node and 123-node test feeders. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of restoring unbalanced distribution system with the hybrid bottom-up and top-down restoration strategies.

Liver Transplant for Patients With Preexisting Portal Vein Thrombosis: A Single-Center Experience.

Portal vein thrombosis is not uncommon in liver cirrhosis patients. Previously, portal vein throm-bosis had been considered as a contraindication to liver transplant because of technical challenges for adequate restoration of portal inflow followed by high morbidity and mortality. However, alternative options for portal vein thrombosis during liver transplant have been introduced, and portal vein thrombosis is now no longer considered as an absolute contraindication for liver transplant. Herein, we introduce our ex-periences and outcomes of liver transplant for patients with portal vein thrombosis. Between March 2014 and June 2018, 65 patients underwent liver transplant at our institution, with 13 (20%) having portal vein thrombosis preoperatively. The characteristics and management of these patients were reviewed retrospectively, and outcomes were compared with those of patients without portal vein thrombosis. The type of portal vein thrombosis included Yerdel grade 1 in 7 patients (53.8%), grade 2 in 4 patients (30.8%), grade 3 in 1 patient (7.7%), and grade 4 in 1 patient (7.7%). For restoration of portal inflow, eversion thrombectomy was performed in 11 patients (84.6%), renoportal bypass in 1 patient (7.7%) with grade 4 portal vein thrombosis, and superior mesenteric vein jump graft in 1 patient (7.7%) with grade 2 portal vein thrombosis. There was no portal vein-related morbidity except for 1 patient who needed portal vein stent because of stricture. Outcomes after liver transplant were comparable among patients with and without portal vein thrombosis. Although the surgical procedure has a technical complexity, liver transplant is no longer a contraindication for patients with portal vein thrombosis because of various alternative options, allowing similar outcomes among patients with and without portal vein thrombosis.

Challenges of Restoration and Storage of a weak Historical Textiles in Uncontrolled Museum Conditions; Practical Applications

Challenges of Restoration and Storage of a weak Historical Textiles in Uncontrolled Museum Conditions; Practical Applications

Decisions Must be Made Without Delay

The principal associate of structural engineers Thomasons explains the restoration challenges facing the fire-damaged Notre-Dame cathedral

Seed conglomeration: a disruptive innovation to address restoration challenges associated with small‐seeded species

Small‐seeded species are an integral component of many natural systems. However, small‐seeded species are often omitted from restoration projects due to limited flow through seeders, low broadcast distance, and inconsistent seeding rates. To address these problems, we developed a novel technique within a rotary coater that allows for the conglomeration of small, low‐purity seeds using a combination of clay, compost, water, and a polymer binder. We used Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis), which has a seed size of approximately 1 mm or less, as a model species to evaluate the technology. We demonstrated improved flowability of conglomerates over untreated (control) seeds through measurements of the Hausner ratio (8% decrease), the angle of repose (21% decrease), and delivery through a broadcast seeder. Seeding rates of conglomerated seed were more consistent than control seed over rugged terrain. Conglomerates were also broadcast 2.2 times further than control seed, which may mitigate the overall cost of implementing this technology. Laboratory trials demonstrated that the final germination of conglomerated seed averaged 15% higher than control seed. Field trials at two sites demonstrated that seedling emergence was similar for control and conglomerated seed. With no deleterious effects observed from the conglomeration treatment, additional research is merited for using conglomerates as a platform to apply various additives, such as fungicides, plant growth hormones, fertilizers, and biologicals. The potential outcomes of these strategies may have a significant impact on future seeding attempts by improving seed delivery and increasing overall seeding success.

Restoring forests: regeneration and ecosystem function for the future

Conventions and policies for biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation state the need for increased protection, restoration and climate change adaptation of forests. Much degraded land may be targeted for large-scale forest restoration, yet challenges include costs, a shortage of regeneration material and the need for restored forests to serve as a resource for communities. To ensure ecosystem function for the future, forest restoration programs must: (1) learn from the past; (2) integrate ecological knowledge; (3) advance regeneration techniques and systems; (4) overcome biotic and abiotic disturbances and (5) adapt for future forest landscapes. Historical forest conditions, while site-specific, may help to identify the processes that leave long-term legacies in current forests and to understand tree migration biology/population dynamics and their relationship with climate change. Ecological theory around plant–plant interactions has shown the importance of negative (competition) and positive (facilitation) interactions for restoration, which will become more relevant with increasing drought due to climate change. Selective animal browsing influences plant–plant interactions and challenges restoration efforts to establish species-rich forests; an integrated approach is needed to simultaneously manage ungulate populations, landscape carrying capacity and browse-tolerant regeneration. A deeper understanding of limiting factors that affect plant establishment will facilitate nursery and site preparation systems to overcome inherent restoration challenges. Severe anthropogenic disturbances connected to global change have created unprecedented pressure on forests, necessitating novel ecological engineering, genetic conservation of tree species and landscape-level approaches that focus on creating functional ecosystems in a cost-effective manner.

Towards sustainable drinking water abstraction: an integrated sustainability assessment framework to support local adaptation planning

ABSTRACTGlobally, groundwater is the major drinking water resource. Improving the sustainability of groundwater abstraction for drinking water calls for adaptation on a local scale. The aim of this research is to develop a locally oriented, integrated sustainability assessment framework to support the adaptation planning process for local drinking water abstractions. The framework uses 45 socio-economic, physical and technical sustainability criteria. Future developments that affect the sustainability of local drinking water abstractions are the increasing water demand, land use change, climate change and soil energy transition. Based on the sustainability challenges of local drinking water abstractions, water saving, protection and restoration of raw water quality, mitigation or reduction of impact of abstraction and improvement of supply security are identified as adaptation strategies. To illustrate the proposed approach the sustainability assessment framework was applied to two local drinking water abstractions in the Netherlands. The paper concludes that the proposed framework provides decision- makers with a transparent understanding of trade-offs that decisions have, and the information generated by the framework supports a careful balancing of relevant aspects playing a role in a decision on adapting local drinking water abstractions. Further development and upscaling of the proposed framework to a drinking water company’s level will contribute to sustainable development of drinking water abstraction on a strategic level.

Considerations over the Italian road bridge infrastructure safety after the Polcevera viaduct collapse: past errors and future perspectives

In the last four years, Italy experienced the collapse of five road bridge: Petrulla viaduct (2014), Annone (2016) and Ancona (2017) overpasses, Fossano viaduct (2017) and Polcevera (2018) bridge. Although for deeply different reasons, the collapses occurred can all been gathered into the same common cause: the (lack of) knowledge of the effective structural condition, a serious problem that affects existing constructions. As it will be shown in the paper, different problems such as missing of the as-built designs, an appropriate construction and movement precautions, a heavy vehicle checking, and a material decay monitoring can nevertheless be addressed as an inadequate knowledge of what is happening to/in the structure. In the first section, the paper will report a short description of the failures for the five bridges, while in the second part a main set of problems involved in bridge safety and maintenance will be discussed. Finally, in the third part, a review on innovative and peculiar investigation and monitoring techniques will be illustrated. The collected results can shed new light on future perspectives for the Civil Engineering sector, sector that has to be ready for facing the challenges of preservation, restoration and/or replacement of the existing infrastructural constructions, worldwide.

Restauração da “Casa da Candinha”, Guarulhos-SP

A Casa da Candinha, edificação em taipa de pilão, principal residência da Fazenda Bananal, em Guarulhos-SP, foi objeto de projeto de restauro empreendido pelo corpo docente e discente da Universidade Guarulhos e técnicos da Prefeitura de Guarulhos. Exemplar da arquitetura colonial na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo, está localizada cerca de 4 km ao norte do Aeroporto Internacional de São Paulo-Guarulhos, e a menos de 1 km das obras do trecho norte do Rodoanel, resistindo ao avanço da ocupação urbana e ao ritmo letárgico das ações do poder público. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho busca evidenciar o processo de desenvolvimento do projeto de restauro, as particularidades da edificação e os desafios enfrentados para a viabilização de sua restauração.

The Challenges of Restoration of Dignity in Cyberspace

The Challenges of Restoration of Dignity in Cyberspace