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Volume 27 Number 3 September 2009

University of Wisconsin Arboretum

Practicing Ecological Restoration: Climate Change in Context by Mrill Ingram

Society for Ecological Restoration International

Restoration in a Changing Climate by Jim Harris

Observation

Restoration Geographies by David G. Havlick and Martin W. Doyle

Perspective

Guidelines for Reference Model Preparation by Andre Clewell

Restoration Notes

Obituary for Flomaton: One Less Virgin Longleaf Stand (Alabama) by John S. Kush

Participatory Planning for Outcomes-Based Wetlands Restoration (Minnesota) by Elizabeth P. Carlson

Converting Pasture Land to Native-Plant-Dominated Grassland: A Case Study (Montana) by Monica L. Pokorny and Jane M. Mangold

Genetic Considerations in Ecological Restoration: An Annotated Bibliography by Anna W. Strong and Kathryn L. Kennedy

Native American Burial Mounds: Living Landscapes at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum by Fawn. L. YoungBear-Tibbetts

A GIS Analysis of Climate Change and Snowpack on Columbia Basin Tribal Lands by David Graves

Restoration in the Face of Climate Change: A Case Study from the Dorset Heaths by Anita Diaz, Iain Green and Sally Keith

Atlases of Tree and Bird Species Habitats for Current and Future Climates by Anantha Prasad, Louis Iverson, Stephen Matthews and Matt Peters

Tribal Salmon Restoration and Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest by Laura Gephart

Is Nut Cold Tolerance a Limitation to the Restoration of American Chestnut in the Northeastern United States? by Paul G. Schaberg, Kendra M. Gurney, Benjamin R. Janes, Joshua M. Halman and Gary J. Hawley

Articles

Ecology and Conservation of Purple Milkweed by Thomas D. Brock

Purple milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens) is endangered in Wisconsin. At Pleasant Valley Conservancy, the plant was first seen in a white oak savanna after removal of shrubs and small trees followed by two controlled burns. As restoration work expanded, purple milkweed appeared at a number of other sites on the Preserve. This handsome species has been the subject of conservation efforts in several states. Photo by Kathie Brock

Purple milkweed (Asclepias purpurascens) is a relatively rare member of the flora of oak savannas and open oak woodlands. It is endangered in several states and has been the subject of special conservation efforts. A number of native populations of this species arose spontaneously at Pleasant Valley Conservancy State Natural Area in south-central Wisconsin after oak savanna restoration was initiated in 1997. Ecological observations of permanently marked stands made over a ten-year period have shown that growth is highly variable from year to year, and flowering and seed set are sporadic and unpredictable. Germination studies have determined that seed viability is very high. Greenhouse-raised plants have been successfully transplanted to the field and followed for three years. Transplants have also been used in a forbs garden, where plants could be monitored more effectively. Pod formation and seed set are highly variable, both in the field and in the forbs garden, and may partly explain the rarity of this species.

Wetland Cover Types and Plant Community Changes in Response to Cattail-Control Activities in the Palo Verde Marsh, Costa Rica by Florencia A. Trama, Federico L. Rizo-Patrón, Anjali Kumar, Eugenio González, Daniel Somma and Michael B. McCoy C.

The Palo Verde marsh restoration was performed in Costa Rica to reduce invasive Typha domingensis stands. The invasion of this cattail in the 1980s decreased the habitat quality, and thousands of waterbirds that used this seasonal marsh were not returning. In 2002, the Organization for Tropical Studies decided to manage the marsh using a tractor with angle-ironpaddle wheels to crush cattail. We evaluated the land cover changes in response to the prescribed management activities through GIS and vegetation-assessment analysis. Crushing activities started in July 2002. We defined three management plots: A and B) with crushing activities for different lengths of time and C) the control plot with passive management. We evaluated wetland cover changes, richness, and dominance of plant species in the three plots. We found that owing to management activities 1) cattail cover area decreased from 35% to 9% (Plot A) and from 62% to 7% (Plot B), while in Plot C it remained almost constant (always greater than 60%); 2) the area of total live vegetation including cattail decreased, giving way to open water and bare ground; 3) plant species richness was higher in the crushed plots than in the control plot; 4) cattail dominance decreased and more species were sharing the marsh area in managed plots than in the control plot; and 5) cattail cover was negatively related to species richness. We recommend continuing the control of cattail by crushing in order to rehabilitate the marsh and conserve its biodiversity.

Planting Trials in Northern Arizona Ponderosa Pine Forests by Scott R. Abella and Judith D. Springer

Mechanical tree thinning and prescribed fire have been widely proposed for restoring ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests in the southwestern United States. However, these restoration activities often result in intensely disturbed sites, such as landings for equipment and temporary roads, which managers may need to revegetate. Managers may also wish to augment the forest understory through revegetation after thinning and burning treatments. We present five planting trials conducted as part of restoration projects in northern Arizona ponderosa pine forests in order to assess survival of 11 species and the influence of various microsites created by restoration activities. In one trial, five-year survival of four transplanted graminoid species ranged from 1% to 23% among species and from 0% (unthinned forest) to 22% (unburned slash) among microsites. Also illustrating microsite effects, over three times more Fendler's meadow-rue (Thalictrum fendleri) survived when outplanted below Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) than in openings created by restoration pine thinning. Only 4% of purple locoweed (Oxytropis lambertii) survived in an unsuccessful attempt at revegetating a decommissioned road on dry cinder soils. Conversely, two years after outplanting on a different road on moister soil, mountain muhly (Muhlenbergia montana) survival was 72% (89% of which were fruiting), and 40% of plants of the biennial ragleaf bahia (Bahia dissecta) were surrounded by new seedlings. Results illustrate that successes occurred without supplemental watering even in dry years; outcomes hinged on species or planting microsite; and heavy mortality occurred in some contexts. Owing to financial costs and logistical constraints, revegetation may be most suited for localized disturbances caused by restoration activities or for creating revegetated islands for understory augmentation.

Broadcast Seeding as a Potential Tool to Reestablish Native Species in Degraded Dry Forest Ecosystems in Hawaii by Samuel Brooks, Susan Cordell and Lyman Perry

Hawaiian dry forests currently occupy a small fraction of their former range, and worldwide tropical dry forests are one of the most human-altered systems. Many small-scale projects have been successful in restoring native dry forests in abandoned pastures and degraded woodlands by outplanting after invasive species removal, but this is a costly approach. In this project, we tested forest restoration techniques involving broadcasting seeds pretreated to enhance germination and applying herbicide to reduce non-native grass competition. We compared three treatments: broadcast seeding, herbicide, and broadcast seeding combined with herbicide. After two years our study results suggest that broadcast seeding and the favorable microclimate created by eliminating invasive grasses through herbicide application may increase native seed germination and survival and promote higher species diversity.

Ecological and Cultural Significance of Burning Beargrass Habitat on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington by Daniela Joy Shebitz, Sarah Hayden Reichard and Peter W. Dunwiddie

To conserve or restore culturally significant plants, one must consider the important role that indigenous land management techniques have played in maintaining habitats of those species. Beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax) is a basketry plant used by Native Americans and is reportedly declining in traditional gathering sites. Many low-elevation beargrass sites on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington were maintained as savannas and wetland prairies through anthropogenic burning prior to European settlement. This study measures short-term (1 and 2 y) effects of reintroducing prescribed burning (both low and high severity) and manual clearing on beargrass growth and reproductive success- flowering, vegetative reproduction, and seedling establishment. High-severity fire led to a significant increase in beargrass seedling establishment and vegetative reproduction over two years but a decline in beargrass cover. Low-severity fire also decreased beargrass cover, but did not significantly affect shoot production or seedling establishment. In areas where vegetation and coarse woody debris were manually cleared, beargrass cover decreased, while shoot production and flowering increased. Neither low-severity fires nor clearing plots affected beargrass seedling establishment. Results indicate that fire is a useful tool for enhancing low-elevation beargrass populations in this region.

Special Theme: Climate Change and Ecological Restoration

Rethinking Conservation Practice in Light of Climate Change by Peter W. Dunwiddie, Sonia A. Hall, Molly W. Ingraham, Jonathan D. Bakker, Kara S. Nelson, Roger Fuller and Elizabeth Gray

Predicted changes in climate present unusual challenges to conservation planners, land managers, and restoration efforts directed toward preserving biodiversity. Successful organisms will respond to these changes by persisting in suitable microsites, adapting to novel conditions, or dispersing to new sites. We describe three general categories of strategies for restoring and managing natural systems in light of likely changes in future climate, that collectively embrace many of the approaches that The Nature Conservancy is applying or considering in the state of Washington. Component redundancy suggests that in natural systems greater ecosystem resilience, despite changing climates, may be achieved by increasing species and community redundancy. Functional redundancy is the idea that different components of a system can fulfill the same functions, thereby producing the same result. Restoration projects and managers of natural systems can introduce ecologically equivalent species or novel associations of species, which may help avoid losses in biodiversity. Increased connectivity suggests that success is achieved by ensuring that suitable habitats are always within easy reach of one another. This includes conservation approaches that provide linkages, corridors, or other mechanisms to facilitate the movement of organisms as they respond to climate changes. We acknowledge that these approaches are not without risk, nor do they necessarily ensure success. However, we propose them as potential solutions among a growing suite of alternative strategies for incorporating climate change into conservation actions.

Why Climate Change Makes Riparian Restoration More Important than Ever: Recommendations for Practice and Research by Nathaniel E. Seavy, Thomas Gardali, Gregory H. Golet, F. Thomas Griggs, Christine A. Howell, Rodd Kelsey, Stacy L. Small, Joshua H. Viers and James F. Weigand

Over the next century, climate change will dramatically alter natural resource management. Specifically, historical reference conditions may no longer serve as benchmarks for restoration, which may foster a "why bother?" attitude toward ecological restoration. We review the potential role for riparian restoration to prepare ecological systems for the threats posed by climate change. Riparian ecosystems are naturally resilient, provide linear habitat connectivity, link aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and create thermal refugia for wildlife: all characteristics that can contribute to ecological adaptation to climate change. Because riparian systems and the projected impacts of climate change are highly variable geographically, there is a pressing need to develop a place-based understanding of climate change threats to riparian ecosystems. Restoration practitioners should consider how they can modify practices to enhance the resilience of riparian ecosystems to climate change. Such modifications may include accelerating the restoration of private lands, participating in water management decisions, and putting the emerging field of restoration genetics into practice.

Neighborhood Levee by James Barilla

A storm-ravaged house and car in St. Bernard Parish, New Orleans, about six months after Hurricane Katrina hit the city. A levee rises steeply in the background. Photo by Jim Barilla

Old Nature, New Nature: Global Warming and Restoration by Thomas B. Simpson

Climate Change and Ecological Restoration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum by Stephen B. Glass, Bradley M. Herrick and Christopher J. Kucharik

We consider potential impacts of global climate change for restoration practitioners in Wisconsin through a discussion of restoration and land management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. Created to provide an outdoor research and teaching laboratory for university faculty, staff, and students, the Arboretum has been restoring and managing dynamic examples of the native plant communities of Wisconsin for 75 years. We discuss how climate change might influence historical restoration goals, as well as contemporary issues such as stormwater, extreme precipitation events, and changes in the effectiveness of restoration techniques.

Book Reviews

reWealth!: Stake Your Claim in the $2 Trillion Redevelopment Trend That's Renewing the Planet. Storm Cunningham. 2008. Chicago: McGraw-Hill. Cloth, $29.95. ISBN: 978-0-07-148-982-9. 352 pages. Reviewed by Kingsley Dixon

The California Deserts: An Ecological Discovery. Bruce M. Pavlik. 2008. Berkeley: University of California Press. Cloth, $60.00. ISBN: 978-0-520-25140-3. Paper, $27.50. ISBN: 978-0-520-25145-8. 384 pages. Reviewed by Rachel D. Shaw

The Wilderness Debate Rages On: Continuing the Great New Wilderness Debate. Michael P. Nelson and J. Baird Callicott, editors. 2008. Athens: University of Georgia Press. Paper, $34.95. ISBN: 978-0-8203-3171-3. 704 pages. Reviewed by Peter Landres