Climax and "Original Capacity": The Science and Aesthetics of Ecological Restoration in the Southwestern USA by Nathan F. Sayre
This paper examines the historical origins of ecological restoration in the arid and semiarid deserts of the southwestern
USA. Scientific knowledge and aesthetic valuations both emerged during a period of acute environmental degradation
between 1893 and 1905, strongly influencing subsequent debates and practices. In science and aesthetics alike, the historical
nature of southwestern landscapes was occluded: Clementsian ecology and range science posited a climax condition
and an "original capacity" for livestock, while aesthetic treatments such as those of John Van Dyke saw transcendent and
timeless beauty in the dramatic dynamics of actively degrading landscapes. In recent decades, Southwestern ecologists
have renounced Clementsian ecology and its implied telos of "pristine" presettlement conditions. But aesthetic ideals
continue to influence broader debates and practices of ecological restoration in the region, specifically with regard to
grasslands, riparian areas, livestock grazing, and fire.
Florida's Approach to Natural Resource Damage Assessment: A Short, Sweet Model for States Seeking Compensation by Josephine Faass
A recent survey of state environmental regulators revealed that natural resource injuries caused by oil pollution are a
major concern, yet few respondents reported pursuing compensation for damages on a regular basis. It appears that their
reluctance is due to the fact that many view natural resource damage assessments (NRDA) as a costly, time-consuming
and legally risky undertaking. This article presents a case study of Florida's approach to this type of regulation, which
relies on the combination of a standardized arithmetic formula and an interactive GIS. Once compensation is obtained,
dollars enter a trust fund from which withdrawals can be made when the balance is sufficient to conduct needed restorations.
This approach is suggested as a model for jurisdictions interested in pursuing damages for natural resource injuries
because it has proven to be a quick, inexpensive, and defensible mechanism for generating damage estimates, even for
small spills. Like any real-world application, Florida's methodology is not perfect, but shortcomings are discussed here
in depth and potential solutions presented.
Burning and Grazing to Promote Persistence of Warm-Season Grasses Sown into a Cool-Season Pasture by Emma L. Bouressa, Julie E. Doll, Richard L. Cates Jr. and Randall D. Jackson
We combined burning and rotational grazing in an effort to promote persistence of recently established native grasses.
The experiment took place on a farm in south-central Wisconsin on a cool-season grass pasture that was drill seeded
with native warm-season grasses: big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans), and switchgrass
(Panicum virgatum). We used a split-plot experimental design to assess native grass persistence under varying disturbance
treatments (burned, burned-grazed, and grazed). We used a paired t-test to determine if the difference between 2006
and 2007 native grass density was significantly different from zero. Native grass tiller density increased under the burned
(202%) and grazed (186%) treatments, but not the burned-grazed (29%) treatment. However, the actual native grass
tiller numbers in 2007 were much higher in the burned-only than the grazed-only treatment (80 ± 10 tillers/m2 and 2
± 1 tillers/m2, respectively). We found no loss to native grass tiller density when rotational grazing was applied to plots
in the first year after two years of grazing exclusion with burning. In addition, we found that native grass cover was
greatest in the burned treatment but not significantly different in the burned-grazed and grazed treatments. Our results
suggest that the combined use of burning and grazing as a management tool for native grass persistence in pastures
may be possible with deferred grazing during the establishment phase, but alternative timing, intensity, and types of
grazing animals should be tested.
A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Watershed Rehabilitation: A Case Study in Farta Woreda, South Gondar, Ethiopia by Yitbarek Tibebe Weldesemaet, Satishkumar Bellietahtahan and Masresha Fetene
In addressing land degradation, a number of watershed rehabilitation programs have been carried out in Ethiopia. This
study aims to financially quantify watershed rehabilitation in a way that incorporates major costs and returns. We also
construct scenarios to portray cost-benefit information about the future. The data were obtained from a physical survey
and supplemented with secondary sources. Total cost and return values for the watersheds were compared monetarily
through cost-benefit analysis and these values were extrapolated to the future. The results indicate that the benefit was
Ethiopian Birr 918,049 and 4,651,167 (US$73,821 and US$374,008) for the smallest and largest of the rehabilitated
watersheds, respectively, while the expenditure was Birr 154,178 and 205,712 (US$17,701 and US$23,620). Under
optimal management in the future, these benefits can reach up to Birr 19,334,643 and 76,699,254 (US$2,219,821 and
US$8,805,884), while the costs remain the same. The results clearly indicate that investment in watershed rehabilitation
may be an economically viable short-term and long-term proposition. Hence there is a strong case for sustainable
management of rehabilitated watersheds in view of the very high economic benefits from the rehabilitation.
Restoring Whitebark Pine Forests of the Northern Rocky Mountains, USA by Robert E. Keane and Russell A. Parsons
Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) has been declining across much of its range in North America because of the combined
effects of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) epidemics, fire exclusion policies, and widespread exotic blister
rust infections. Whitebark pine seed is dispersed by a bird, the Clark's nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana), which prefers to
cache in open, pattern-rich landscapes created by fire. This study was initiated in 1993 to investigate the effects of various
restoration treatments on tree populations, fuel dynamics, and vascular plant cover on five sites in the U.S. northern
Rocky Mountains. The objective of this study was to restore whitebark pine ecosystems using treatments that emulate
the native fire regime-primarily combinations of prescribed fire, silvicultural cuttings, and fuel enhancement cuttings.
The main effects assessed included tree mortality, fuel consumption, and vegetation response measured just prior to the
treatment, one year after the treatment(s), and five years posttreatment. While all treatments that included prescribed
fire created suitable nutcracker caching habitat, with many birds observed caching seed in the burned areas, there has
yet to be significant regeneration in whitebark pine. All burn treatments resulted in high mortality in both whitebark
pine and subalpine fir (> 40%). Fine woody fuel loadings marginally decreased after fire, but coarse woody debris more
than doubled because of falling snags. Vascular species decreased in cover by 20% to 80% and remained low for five
years. While the treatments were successful in creating conditions that favor whitebark pine regeneration, the high level
of blister rust mortality in surrounding seed sources has reduced available seed, which then forced the nutcracker to
reclaim most of the cached seed. Manual planting of whitebark pine seedlings is required to adequately restore these
sites. A set of management guidelines is presented to guide restoration efforts.
An Assessment of Urban Lakeshore Restorations in Minnesota by Dana A. Vanderbosch and Susan M. Galatowitsch
As our understanding of the importance of natural lakeshores in providing wildlife habitat and water quality protection
has grown, so too has interest in restoring degraded lakeshore. Advances in lakeshore restoration practice have been
hindered by a lack of field-based evaluations to guide decisionmaking and by gaps in our knowledge of how to revegetate
littoral and shoreline areas. To understand how the choices practitioners are making affect restoration outcomes, we
surveyed 22 lakeshore restoration projects in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota (USA), metropolitan area that ranged
in age from 1 to 6 years. We conducted comprehensive, floristic surveys of the vegetation found on each site and investigated
site maintenance practices. We found that 29% of species planted in the upland zone of the lakeshore reliably
established; long-term protection of the site from adjacent land uses improved the likelihood that planted vegetation
would endure. The greatest revegetation failure occurred along the shoreline; 44% of species planted did not establish
at this land-water transitional zone. Approximately 30% of the aquatic zone restorations did not contain any planted
vegetation, although ten aquatic plant species were found to establish dependably on at least some of the remaining
sites. In aquatic and transition zones, vegetative composition was most clearly related to exposure to wave activity. This
survey suggests two restoration practices that should be improved to increase the likelihood of lakeshore restoration
success: 1) choosing plants so they match the prevailing light and flooding conditions within sites; and 2) providing
both upland and aquatic protection.
Restoration of a Tropical Forest: The Orchid and Botanical Garden of Puyo, Ecuador by Matthew Bare and Omar Tello
Almost one-quarter of Ecuador's plant species are orchids (Epidendrum macrocarpum pictured here), and the Orchid Botanical Garden in Puyo Ecuador harbors many species. Orchids attract many visitors to the reserve, who are then introduced to many other plants as well as to the importance of rainforest conservation. Photo by Omar Tello
