Scientists at the Nature Conservation Foundation have an interesting paper that reviews published work on ecological restoration and outlines how many such studies fall short in describing exactly what they mean by restoration or what kind of interventions (or lack of interventions) was carried out, and what the goals of the restoration were (mainly ecological or economic). They outline the pitfalls in this and suggest ways forward for others in the future to decribe more clearly their goals, approaches, and interventions so that the efficacy of different approaches can be better understood and implemented.
Krishnan, A. and Osuri, A.M. (2022), Beyond the passive–active dichotomy: aligning research with the intervention continuum framework of ecological restoration. Restoration Ecology e13828. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13828
Aparna Krishnan also has a neat thread with some lovely illustrations on Mastodon and Twitter:
https://ecoevo.social/@appam/109448673563170455
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The New Yorker has a long read on ecological restoration efforts in India, profiling Pradip Krishen and his work in the arid Roee and deserts of Rajasthan, by Dorothy Wickenden. The article also includes mention of the Ecological Restoration Alliance - India and some of the work of the Nature Conservation Foundation in the tropical rainforests of the Anamalai Hills in the Western Ghats.
The Promise and the Politics of Rewilding India
by Dorothy Wickenden
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/12/19/the-promise-and-the-politics-of-rewilding-india
New publication on the importance of integrating concerns on equity for effective ecological restoration:
How Social Considerations Improve the Equity and Effectiveness of Ecosystem Restoration
Sara Löfqvist and others (2022)
BioScience: biac099, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biac099
From the Abstract
...we outline how social processes that are critical to restoration equity and effectiveness can be better incorporated in restoration science and policy. Drawing from existing case studies, we show how projects that align with local people's preferences and are implemented through inclusive governance are more likely to lead to improved social, ecological, and environmental outcomes.
A note/comments shared by ERA-India member, Aparajita Datta:
A blog post by the lead author on the paper that summarizes the key points in the paper.My two-bit and why this resonates so much with me:In the context of restoration in many parts of India, getting this right is so key to a long-lasting successful restoration that is also equitable and just. But this remains the most challenging aspect - and having social scientists on board to collaborate with restoration practitioners would be so much needed. This is especially imp for lands that are not under some private ownership/authority/control.It's a huge bottleneck especially in many areas in the North-east. The natural science/ecology/technical part is so much easier..
An important new publication on montane grasslands and invasive alien wattle plantations in the Western Ghats. The paper indicates that grasslands do a better job in hydrological terms and in reducing runoff and flooding than the invasive alien wattle tree plantations. A highlight from the Abstract...
Our study that replacing grasslands with woody plants at landscape scales, could affect hydrological processes and could increase flood risks during the monsoon, especially in mountainous regions. Management of invaded catchments by regulation of wattle and restoration of semi-natural grassland, combined with the installation of early warning systems in these impacted areas will help reduce flood risk during extreme rain under climate change.
Rajat Ramakant Nayak, Jagdish Krishnaswamy, Srinivas Vaidyanathan, Nick A. Chappell, Ravinder Singh Bhalla,
Invasion of natural grasslands by exotic trees increases flood risks in mountainous landscapes in South India,
Journal of Hydrology, Volume 617, Part A, 2023, 128944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128944
Invasion of natural grasslands by exotic trees increases flood risks in mountainous landscapes in South India
Abstract
Invasive trees in catchments around the world are a source of concern due to their hydrological and ecological impacts. A large number of studies have focused on their impact on dry-season stream discharge due to enhanced transpiration. The impact of invasive trees on stream discharge and flood risk during extreme rain events, which are becoming more frequent due to climate change, has not been addressed adequately. We examined the influence of land-cover, canopy cover, and other catchment morphological characteristics on stream discharges in hilly catchments during light, heavy, and extreme rain events. Three years of rainfall-runoff observations, between January 2014 and December 2016, were collected in eleven neighbouring mountainous catchments in Nilgiris, South India. Each catchment had a distinct land cover, namely shola forests, montane grasslands, and catchments invaded by wattle (Acacia mearnsii). Hourly rain intensities between the percentiles 25–90, 90–95 and over 95 were categorised as light, heavy and extreme respectively, and were used to study hourly peak stream discharge responses. We compared discharge between native grassland catchments and grassland catchments invaded by wattle. Discharge rates were corrected for the catchment area. We found that land cover and canopy-cover influenced the hydrologic response to extreme rain events. Regression models with flood event as the response variable suggested an increase in rainfall-runoff response with an increase in canopy cover. The maximum hourly discharge observed in the reference grassland catchment (0.00098 mm s−1) was lower than the maximum discharge observed in low density (0.00529 mm s−1) and high density (0.00497 mm s−1) wattle catchments. At higher discharges, the flood magnitude in wattle invaded catchments was much greater than that in the grassland catchment for a given flood frequency – indicating a higher risk of severe flooding in wattle-dominated catchments. We attribute the enhanced flood discharges to the effects of spreading wattle roots on the enhancement of rapid, shallow sub-surface flows in invaded catchments. Catchments dominated by shallow sub-surface flows are known to have reduced water retention times in response to high rain intensities. Antecedent moisture conditions and drainage density were other factors that influenced the local rainfall-runoff relationships. In the Western Ghats and other parts of India grasslands have been planted with exotic woody trees, and some have become invasive. Our study indicates that replacing grasslands with woody plants at landscape scales, could affect hydrological processes and could increase flood risks during the monsoon, especially in mountainous regions. Management of invaded catchments by regulation of wattle and restoration of semi-natural grassland, combined with the installation of early warning systems in these impacted areas will help reduce flood risk during extreme rain under climate change.
An interesting article and new publication on how fencing can help in passive restoration through natural regeneration of forests in Kashmir.
Passive restoration of Kashmir’s forests has improved soil structure and carbon sink
The full paper can be accessed here:
Passive restoration considerably improved the community structure, soil health and carbon stock in the Pine forests of Kashmir Himalaya, India
Aabid Hussain Mir, Javaid M. Dad, Bikarma Singh, Azra N. Kamili (2022)
Ecological Engineering 176: 106535.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2021.106535.
Abstract: Forest restoration significantly enhances soil quality, carbon stock and improves community characteristics, but reports from temperate coniferous ecosystems are limited. The present research aimed to study the changes in vegetation characteristics, biomass, and soil health after eight years of restoration in coniferous forests of Kashmir Himalaya, India. The studied forest stands include the sites before restoration (IN), restored forests (RT) and non-restored (NR) control plots. The results exhibited similar soil texture (clay-loam) in both RT and NR, albeit soils under RT had lower acidity (6.03 ± 0.11) and bulk density (1.21 ± 0.07 Mg m−3) than NR. The average total nitrogen, soil organic carbon, and available phosphorus were 13.2, 32.7 and 19.6%, respectively, greater in RT than NR. For vegetation characteristics, the results exhibited little changes in plant species richness (S = 8 and 7 for RT and NR, respectively), while the stand density and basal area enhancement were recorded for RT. The increase in plant species population and improvement in their regeneration status in RT was observed in comparison to NR in the study area. The density-diameter distribution showed that post-restoration, number of individuals in RT increased substantially in lower (10–25 cm), medium (35–55 cm), and highest (>65 cm) diameter classes with the cumulative percentage increase of 12.2, 44.1 and 12.6, respectively in comparison to the diameter classes 25–35 cm and 55–65 cm which recorded the decrease of 9.8% and 18.3%, respectively. In the case of NR, the results exhibited an alarming trend with a substantial decrease of individuals in lower diameter classes, namely, 15–35 cm (−19.7%), and 55–65 cm (−7.6%), thereby, suggesting the higher vulnerability to degradation than RT. The results of biomass and carbon contents indicated the overall biomass (aboveground and belowground) increase of 97.67 Mg ha−1 in RT and a reduction of 17.46 Mg ha−1 in NR, indicating the restoration added enough biomass to cause measurable changes. The results are evidence of the successful passive restoration efforts via fencing on soil and community characteristics across temperate coniferous forests. Restoring the vulnerable coniferous forests in the Himalayas is recommended to regain their vitality and vigour along with safeguarding the local livelihood options.
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A couple of new publications of interest by restoration ecologist Pooja Choksi here:
1. Measuring restoration biodiversity outcomes using soundscapes/acoustics in central India
2. Combining socio-economic and biophysical data to identify people-centric restoration opportunities in India:
Choksi, P., Agrawal, A., Bialy, I. et al. Combining socioeconomic and biophysical data to identify people-centric restoration opportunities. npj biodivers 2, 7 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44185-023-00012-8