The nature and extent of environmental disturbance associated with mining commonly entails completely new and challenging combinations of climate,lithology and landform.Consequently,the outcomes of ecological processe...The nature and extent of environmental disturbance associated with mining commonly entails completely new and challenging combinations of climate,lithology and landform.Consequently,the outcomes of ecological processes associated with the recovery or restoration of ecosystems cannot be predicted reliably from previously known associations between their physical and biological components.For radically disturbed sites,we propose that it is not practicable to aim for the restoration of historical ecosystems.However,hybrid(reversibly different)or novel(irreversibly different)ecosystems comprising new combinations of physical and biological components,including both native and non-native species,could provide levels of stability and functionality acceptable to all stakeholders and within feasible management regimes.We propose that limiting physical conditions of the landscape can be identified and managed,and that alternative species combinations for introduction to these new landscapes may be considered with cautious optimism.展开更多
Introduction:Open-cut coal mining began in central Queensland’s Bowen Basin approximately 50 years ago.Over this period of time,mine rehabilitators have used a variety of tree,shrub,and groundcover species to create...Introduction:Open-cut coal mining began in central Queensland’s Bowen Basin approximately 50 years ago.Over this period of time,mine rehabilitators have used a variety of tree,shrub,and groundcover species to create‘novel ecosystems’to stabilise soils and provide vegetative cover for pre-supposed final end-land uses.We examine post-mining rehabilitation from multiple soil and vegetation monitoring activities in the Bowen Basin to assess the similarity of landforms,plant composition,and trends in plant diversity compared to unmined reference communities.Methods:Rehabilitated spoil dumps and reference sites were assessed using soil and vegetation data contained in compliance monitoring reports from Goonyella Riverside,Moura,Oaky Creek,Rolleston,and Blackwater mines.Slopes,soil chemistry,and plant species mixes of rehabilitation aged from 2 to 22 years were compared to selected reference communities.Results:Mines in this region have generally proposed one of two post-rehabilitation end-land uses:either pasture for cattle grazing or reconstructed native communities which potentially provide native fauna habitat.Landform data from a selection of these mine sites suggest that when their rehabilitation was compared to nearby reference sites median slope values were between 2.5 and 7 times steeper and soil pH,electrical conductivity,and phosphorus levels were significantly higher.The steeply sloped landforms,poor soil characteristics,depauperate native species pool,and uniform presence of exotic pasture grasses in the rehabilitation indicate that most of these newly created ecosystems should not be used for cattle grazing and also have few natural values.Conclusions:Legislative and community expectations have changed progressively over time and,although much of the rehabilitation is currently dominated by an assemblage of exotic buffel grass(Cenchrus ciliaris)and Acacia spp.,recent environmental authorities suggest these‘novel ecosystems’will be judged against native reference sites.Upon completion of mining activities the resilience of these new ecosystems to drought,fire,and grazing will need to be demonstrated prior to lease relinquishment.展开更多
Within the continuum of natural-to-novel ecosystems−i.e.,from the‘pristine’to the greatly intervened−this paper emphasizes the role of design within highly modified ecosystems in areas of urbanization.It is argued t...Within the continuum of natural-to-novel ecosystems−i.e.,from the‘pristine’to the greatly intervened−this paper emphasizes the role of design within highly modified ecosystems in areas of urbanization.It is argued that,as certain landscapes(particularly urbanized ones)can never be restored to original levels of historical ecological fidelity,they should be treated as both cultural and ecological landscapes.It is then proposed that these anthropogenic landscapes would be ready canvases for designed(or planned)novel ecosystems that could be inculcated with ecological function and systems delivery,yet having profound aesthetic manipulation.Based on this landscape architecture perspective,it is suggested that ecologists may not have fully explored cultural interventions in restoring landscapes,especially within the agency of design.A design strategy for the biological hotspot of Perth in southwestern Australia is then provided as a relevant example of how novel ecosystems can be designed.Without an acute and novel approach to modifying current development practices,Perth’s biodiversity is on track for considerable deterioration.From this exploratory backdrop,it is elaborated how neo-baroque design strategies can be used for structuring ecological systems to create resilient and productive novel ecosystems grounded in a critical and autochthonous aesthetic of botanical complexity.展开更多
Introduction:The small archipelago of Tl’chés,in coastal British Columbia,has gone through drastic social-ecological change culminating in the decline of traditional management practices,invasion of exotic plant...Introduction:The small archipelago of Tl’chés,in coastal British Columbia,has gone through drastic social-ecological change culminating in the decline of traditional management practices,invasion of exotic plant species and,in the early 1960s,land abandonment.This is a common trend in cultural landscapes around the world.Cultural landscapes have great social-ecological significance,including cultural safeguarding and renewal,as well as maintenance of biodiversity,ecosystem functions and services,making them objects of special attention in conservation and restoration efforts.This study investigates the relationship between the Lekwungen people and heavily altered ecosystems in the context of ecological restoration for the cultural landscapes of Tl’chés.Methods:In order to thoroughly explore the ecological,social and cultural aspects and processes involved in the restoration of Tl’chés,this study combined different environmental sciences methodologies,including historical and archival research,semi-structured interviews and participatory observation with Lekwungen participants,as well as ecological field assessments and an innovative mapping approach termed Terrestrial Cultural Ecosystem Mapping(TCEM).Results:This study generated historical and spatial references for ecosystem and land use change in West Chatham Island,as well as cultural and ecological understandings to support restoration.Although important native species such as Camassia spp.are still thriving,present-day ecosystems on this island are heavily altered from the natural Garry oak ecosystem reference sites and are largely dominated by exotic invasive shrubs and graminoid species.This investigation indicates that the Lekwungen value both the historical ecological conditions of the island and particular types of the present-day novel or hybrid ecological states,such as the overgrown heritage orchard and nonnative berries found on the islands.Conclusions:Present-day ecosystems of Tl’chés are a result of a hybrid management system(traditional and conventional),coupled with land abandonment for many decades.Restoration of Tl’chés must involve both ecological and cultural components.Therefore,intervention strategies should consider the incorporation of novel and hybrid ecosystems(i.e.naturalized exotic species)into a restoration plan for ecological,cultural,historical,and subsistence values.展开更多
Restoration ecologists recognize the need for restoring ecosystem services in sustainable ways that meet societal needs.In the UK,Ireland,Australia,and some US states the goal is restoring native oyster reefs.In other...Restoration ecologists recognize the need for restoring ecosystem services in sustainable ways that meet societal needs.In the UK,Ireland,Australia,and some US states the goal is restoring native oyster reefs.In other states,failures at restoration due to poor water quality and predation have focused restoration activities on techniques that work,restoring intertidal reefs and generating living shorelines that reduce or reverse erosion.In the United States,restoring water quality and reducing or reversing erosion are societally accepted entry points for repairing estuarine ecosystems.This study is an overview of the current status of oyster reef restoration and provide a novel approach called“oyster reef in a bag”.Combining oyster reef restoration efforts with existing floating oyster aquaculture technology generates novel ecosystems that are a combination of biofouling and oyster reef communities.These novel ecosystems could be a practical beginning to improve water quality,mitigate erosion and restore higher trophic level ecosystem services.展开更多
Aims Despite acknowledgement that interactions among native and exotic species are important for determining the structure and diversity of novel communities,directed experiments using mul-tiple exotics from the same ...Aims Despite acknowledgement that interactions among native and exotic species are important for determining the structure and diversity of novel communities,directed experiments using mul-tiple exotics from the same system are rare.Recent observational studies have highlighted distinct ways that exotic species interface with resident natives across invaded communities.The correlative nature of these studies,however,has provided few details about the mechanisms driving distinct interaction outcomes within the same communities.Our aim was to determine how three exotic annual plant species with distinct relationships with local plant diversity impact the performance of a co-occurring native annual in the York gum-jam woodlands of Western Australia.Methods We grew species in experimental communities in growth chambers at varying total planting densities to assess how interaction out-comes varied among natives and exotics across a gradient of com-petition intensity.We measured a variety of performance responses,including survival,biomass and population-level and individual-level reproductive investment.Important Findings Overall,the effects of interspecific versus intraspecific competi-tion on performance varied with the identity and density of exotic competitors.The exploitative exotic grass Bromus madritensis was dominant in polyculture,whereas the diminutive grass Pentameris airoides conferred weak intraspecific competition and interspe-cific facilitation on native Waitzia nitida.The exotic broadleaf forb,Hypochaeris glabra,suppressed growth and survival of W.nitida,while W.nitida had weakly negative,neutral or positive effects on all exotics.These outcomes highlight the complexity of interac-tions impacting the diversity,stability and structure of novel plant communities.As few of these communities contain a single exotic species,understanding the competitive dynamics occurring in diverse novel communities is critical for their conservation and restoration.展开更多
Aims community assembly links plant traits to particular environmental conditions.Numerous studies have adopted a trait-based approach to understand both community assembly processes and changes in plant functional tr...Aims community assembly links plant traits to particular environmental conditions.Numerous studies have adopted a trait-based approach to understand both community assembly processes and changes in plant functional traits along environmental gradients.In most cases these are long-established,natural or semi-natural environments.However,increasingly human activity has created,and continues to create,a range of new environmental conditions,and under-standing community assembly in these‘novel environments’will be increasingly important.Methods Built in 2006,the three Gorges Dam,largest hydraulic project in china,created a new riparian area of 384 km^(2),with massively al-tered hydrology.this large,newly created ecosystem is an ideal platform for understanding community assembly in a novel environment.We sampled environment variables and plant communities within 103 plots located in both the reservoir riparian zone(RRZ)and adjacent non-flooded and semi-natural upland(Upland)at the three Gorges Reservoir Area.We measured six traits from 168 plant species in order to calculate community-level distribution of trait values.We expected that the altered hydrology in RRZ would have a profound effect on the community assembly process for the local plants.Important Findingsconsistent with previous work on community assembly,the dis-tribution of trait values(range,variance,kurtosis and the standard deviation of the distribution neighbor distances)within all plots was significantly lower than those from random distributions,indicat-ing that both habitat filtering and limiting similarity simultaneously shaped the distributions of traits and the assembly of plant commu-nities.considering the newly created RRZ relative to nearby sites,community assembly was different in two main ways.First,there was a large shift in the mean trait values.compared to Upland commu-nities,plant communities in the RRZ had higher mean specific leaf area(SLA),higher nitrogen per unit leaf mass(Nmass),and lower max-imum height(MH).Second,in the RRZ compared to the Upland,for the percentage of individual plots whose characteristic of trait values was lower than null distributions,the reductions in the community-level range for SLA,Nmass,nitrogen per unit leaf area(Narea)and phos-phorus per unit leaf area(Parea)were much larger,suggesting that the habitat filter in this newly created riparian zone was much stronger compared to longer established semi-natural upland vegetation.this stronger filter,and the restriction to a subset of plants with very similar trait values,has implications for predicting riparian ecosystems’responses to the hydrological alterations and further understanding for human’s effect on plant diversity and plant floras.展开更多
基金the two anonymous reviewers and Guest-Editor(M Perring)for their beneficial commentary which contributed highly to improving this manuscript for publication.Special thanks are also extended to M Perring and RJ Hobbs for providing early access to the compilation book Novel ecosystems:Intervening in the new ecological world order by RJ Hobbs,ES Higgs and CM Hall(eds).This study was made possible by funding to P.Audet from The University of Queensland and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council(NSERC)of Canada.
文摘The nature and extent of environmental disturbance associated with mining commonly entails completely new and challenging combinations of climate,lithology and landform.Consequently,the outcomes of ecological processes associated with the recovery or restoration of ecosystems cannot be predicted reliably from previously known associations between their physical and biological components.For radically disturbed sites,we propose that it is not practicable to aim for the restoration of historical ecosystems.However,hybrid(reversibly different)or novel(irreversibly different)ecosystems comprising new combinations of physical and biological components,including both native and non-native species,could provide levels of stability and functionality acceptable to all stakeholders and within feasible management regimes.We propose that limiting physical conditions of the landscape can be identified and managed,and that alternative species combinations for introduction to these new landscapes may be considered with cautious optimism.
基金The authors would like to thank the monitoring teams that collect annual data on rehabilitated coal mines,as it is often treacherous work that requires active avoidance of hidden sink holes and gulley erosion.The authors would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers and the‘Novel Ecosystem’special issue editors for improving this manuscript.
文摘Introduction:Open-cut coal mining began in central Queensland’s Bowen Basin approximately 50 years ago.Over this period of time,mine rehabilitators have used a variety of tree,shrub,and groundcover species to create‘novel ecosystems’to stabilise soils and provide vegetative cover for pre-supposed final end-land uses.We examine post-mining rehabilitation from multiple soil and vegetation monitoring activities in the Bowen Basin to assess the similarity of landforms,plant composition,and trends in plant diversity compared to unmined reference communities.Methods:Rehabilitated spoil dumps and reference sites were assessed using soil and vegetation data contained in compliance monitoring reports from Goonyella Riverside,Moura,Oaky Creek,Rolleston,and Blackwater mines.Slopes,soil chemistry,and plant species mixes of rehabilitation aged from 2 to 22 years were compared to selected reference communities.Results:Mines in this region have generally proposed one of two post-rehabilitation end-land uses:either pasture for cattle grazing or reconstructed native communities which potentially provide native fauna habitat.Landform data from a selection of these mine sites suggest that when their rehabilitation was compared to nearby reference sites median slope values were between 2.5 and 7 times steeper and soil pH,electrical conductivity,and phosphorus levels were significantly higher.The steeply sloped landforms,poor soil characteristics,depauperate native species pool,and uniform presence of exotic pasture grasses in the rehabilitation indicate that most of these newly created ecosystems should not be used for cattle grazing and also have few natural values.Conclusions:Legislative and community expectations have changed progressively over time and,although much of the rehabilitation is currently dominated by an assemblage of exotic buffel grass(Cenchrus ciliaris)and Acacia spp.,recent environmental authorities suggest these‘novel ecosystems’will be judged against native reference sites.Upon completion of mining activities the resilience of these new ecosystems to drought,fire,and grazing will need to be demonstrated prior to lease relinquishment.
基金This title pays homage to Rosalind Krauss’seminal essay‘Sculpture in an Expanded Field’(Krauss 1979).As sculpture moved away from being solely three-dimensional works in a gallery,Krauss expressed the expanded field as lying between–‘not landscape’and‘not architecture’.I would like to acknowledge the open and generous discourse of the editors of this journal,Patrick Audet and Michael Perring.What merits they have found in this cross-disciplinary strategy,they have graciously underpinned with scientific enthusiasm and precision.
文摘Within the continuum of natural-to-novel ecosystems−i.e.,from the‘pristine’to the greatly intervened−this paper emphasizes the role of design within highly modified ecosystems in areas of urbanization.It is argued that,as certain landscapes(particularly urbanized ones)can never be restored to original levels of historical ecological fidelity,they should be treated as both cultural and ecological landscapes.It is then proposed that these anthropogenic landscapes would be ready canvases for designed(or planned)novel ecosystems that could be inculcated with ecological function and systems delivery,yet having profound aesthetic manipulation.Based on this landscape architecture perspective,it is suggested that ecologists may not have fully explored cultural interventions in restoring landscapes,especially within the agency of design.A design strategy for the biological hotspot of Perth in southwestern Australia is then provided as a relevant example of how novel ecosystems can be designed.Without an acute and novel approach to modifying current development practices,Perth’s biodiversity is on track for considerable deterioration.From this exploratory backdrop,it is elaborated how neo-baroque design strategies can be used for structuring ecological systems to create resilient and productive novel ecosystems grounded in a critical and autochthonous aesthetic of botanical complexity.
基金I would like to thank Lekwungen elder Joan Morris,Sellemah,for sharing her vision for Tl’chés and her life experiences,and Dr.Nancy Turner and Dr.Eric Higgs from the School of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria for exceptional supervision during this research project.I would also like to thank Andra Forney for assisting with language edits.And finally,thanks to the Sarah Spencer Research Foundation(SPRF)and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council(SSHRC)for funding this project.
文摘Introduction:The small archipelago of Tl’chés,in coastal British Columbia,has gone through drastic social-ecological change culminating in the decline of traditional management practices,invasion of exotic plant species and,in the early 1960s,land abandonment.This is a common trend in cultural landscapes around the world.Cultural landscapes have great social-ecological significance,including cultural safeguarding and renewal,as well as maintenance of biodiversity,ecosystem functions and services,making them objects of special attention in conservation and restoration efforts.This study investigates the relationship between the Lekwungen people and heavily altered ecosystems in the context of ecological restoration for the cultural landscapes of Tl’chés.Methods:In order to thoroughly explore the ecological,social and cultural aspects and processes involved in the restoration of Tl’chés,this study combined different environmental sciences methodologies,including historical and archival research,semi-structured interviews and participatory observation with Lekwungen participants,as well as ecological field assessments and an innovative mapping approach termed Terrestrial Cultural Ecosystem Mapping(TCEM).Results:This study generated historical and spatial references for ecosystem and land use change in West Chatham Island,as well as cultural and ecological understandings to support restoration.Although important native species such as Camassia spp.are still thriving,present-day ecosystems on this island are heavily altered from the natural Garry oak ecosystem reference sites and are largely dominated by exotic invasive shrubs and graminoid species.This investigation indicates that the Lekwungen value both the historical ecological conditions of the island and particular types of the present-day novel or hybrid ecological states,such as the overgrown heritage orchard and nonnative berries found on the islands.Conclusions:Present-day ecosystems of Tl’chés are a result of a hybrid management system(traditional and conventional),coupled with land abandonment for many decades.Restoration of Tl’chés must involve both ecological and cultural components.Therefore,intervention strategies should consider the incorporation of novel and hybrid ecosystems(i.e.naturalized exotic species)into a restoration plan for ecological,cultural,historical,and subsistence values.
文摘Restoration ecologists recognize the need for restoring ecosystem services in sustainable ways that meet societal needs.In the UK,Ireland,Australia,and some US states the goal is restoring native oyster reefs.In other states,failures at restoration due to poor water quality and predation have focused restoration activities on techniques that work,restoring intertidal reefs and generating living shorelines that reduce or reverse erosion.In the United States,restoring water quality and reducing or reversing erosion are societally accepted entry points for repairing estuarine ecosystems.This study is an overview of the current status of oyster reef restoration and provide a novel approach called“oyster reef in a bag”.Combining oyster reef restoration efforts with existing floating oyster aquaculture technology generates novel ecosystems that are a combination of biofouling and oyster reef communities.These novel ecosystems could be a practical beginning to improve water quality,mitigate erosion and restore higher trophic level ecosystem services.
基金This work was supported by a grant from the Australian Research Council[DP1094413]awarded to M.M.M.and R.J.H.
文摘Aims Despite acknowledgement that interactions among native and exotic species are important for determining the structure and diversity of novel communities,directed experiments using mul-tiple exotics from the same system are rare.Recent observational studies have highlighted distinct ways that exotic species interface with resident natives across invaded communities.The correlative nature of these studies,however,has provided few details about the mechanisms driving distinct interaction outcomes within the same communities.Our aim was to determine how three exotic annual plant species with distinct relationships with local plant diversity impact the performance of a co-occurring native annual in the York gum-jam woodlands of Western Australia.Methods We grew species in experimental communities in growth chambers at varying total planting densities to assess how interaction out-comes varied among natives and exotics across a gradient of com-petition intensity.We measured a variety of performance responses,including survival,biomass and population-level and individual-level reproductive investment.Important Findings Overall,the effects of interspecific versus intraspecific competi-tion on performance varied with the identity and density of exotic competitors.The exploitative exotic grass Bromus madritensis was dominant in polyculture,whereas the diminutive grass Pentameris airoides conferred weak intraspecific competition and interspe-cific facilitation on native Waitzia nitida.The exotic broadleaf forb,Hypochaeris glabra,suppressed growth and survival of W.nitida,while W.nitida had weakly negative,neutral or positive effects on all exotics.These outcomes highlight the complexity of interac-tions impacting the diversity,stability and structure of novel plant communities.As few of these communities contain a single exotic species,understanding the competitive dynamics occurring in diverse novel communities is critical for their conservation and restoration.
文摘Aims community assembly links plant traits to particular environmental conditions.Numerous studies have adopted a trait-based approach to understand both community assembly processes and changes in plant functional traits along environmental gradients.In most cases these are long-established,natural or semi-natural environments.However,increasingly human activity has created,and continues to create,a range of new environmental conditions,and under-standing community assembly in these‘novel environments’will be increasingly important.Methods Built in 2006,the three Gorges Dam,largest hydraulic project in china,created a new riparian area of 384 km^(2),with massively al-tered hydrology.this large,newly created ecosystem is an ideal platform for understanding community assembly in a novel environment.We sampled environment variables and plant communities within 103 plots located in both the reservoir riparian zone(RRZ)and adjacent non-flooded and semi-natural upland(Upland)at the three Gorges Reservoir Area.We measured six traits from 168 plant species in order to calculate community-level distribution of trait values.We expected that the altered hydrology in RRZ would have a profound effect on the community assembly process for the local plants.Important Findingsconsistent with previous work on community assembly,the dis-tribution of trait values(range,variance,kurtosis and the standard deviation of the distribution neighbor distances)within all plots was significantly lower than those from random distributions,indicat-ing that both habitat filtering and limiting similarity simultaneously shaped the distributions of traits and the assembly of plant commu-nities.considering the newly created RRZ relative to nearby sites,community assembly was different in two main ways.First,there was a large shift in the mean trait values.compared to Upland commu-nities,plant communities in the RRZ had higher mean specific leaf area(SLA),higher nitrogen per unit leaf mass(Nmass),and lower max-imum height(MH).Second,in the RRZ compared to the Upland,for the percentage of individual plots whose characteristic of trait values was lower than null distributions,the reductions in the community-level range for SLA,Nmass,nitrogen per unit leaf area(Narea)and phos-phorus per unit leaf area(Parea)were much larger,suggesting that the habitat filter in this newly created riparian zone was much stronger compared to longer established semi-natural upland vegetation.this stronger filter,and the restriction to a subset of plants with very similar trait values,has implications for predicting riparian ecosystems’responses to the hydrological alterations and further understanding for human’s effect on plant diversity and plant floras.
