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Xu C, Silliman BR, Chen J, Li X, Thomsen MS, Zhang Q, Lee J, Lefcheck JS, Daleo P, Hughes BB, Jones HP, Wang R, Wang S, Smith CS, Xi X, Altieri AH, van de Koppel J, Palmer TM, Liu L, Wu J, Li B, He Q. Herbivory limits success of vegetation restoration globally. Science 2023; 382:589-594. [PMID: 37917679 DOI: 10.1126/science.add2814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
Restoring vegetation in degraded ecosystems is an increasingly common practice for promoting biodiversity and ecological function, but successful implementation is hampered by an incomplete understanding of the processes that limit restoration success. By synthesizing terrestrial and aquatic studies globally (2594 experimental tests from 610 articles), we reveal substantial herbivore control of vegetation under restoration. Herbivores at restoration sites reduced vegetation abundance more strongly (by 89%, on average) than those at relatively undegraded sites and suppressed, rather than fostered, plant diversity. These effects were particularly pronounced in regions with higher temperatures and lower precipitation. Excluding targeted herbivores temporarily or introducing their predators improved restoration by magnitudes similar to or greater than those achieved by managing plant competition or facilitation. Thus, managing herbivory is a promising strategy for enhancing vegetation restoration efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changlin Xu
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Brian R Silliman
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC, USA
| | - Jianshe Chen
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xincheng Li
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Mads S Thomsen
- Marine Ecology Research Group and Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Qun Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Juhyung Lee
- Marine Science Center, Northeastern University, Nahant, MA, USA
- Department of Oceanography and Marine Research Institute, Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Jonathan S Lefcheck
- Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network and MarineGEO Program, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, USA
- University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge, MD, USA
| | - Pedro Daleo
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), UNMdP, CONICETC, Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Brent B Hughes
- Department of Biology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, USA
| | - Holly P Jones
- Department of Biological Sciences and Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability, and Energy, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA
| | - Rong Wang
- School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shaopeng Wang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Carter S Smith
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC, USA
| | - Xinqiang Xi
- Department of Ecology, School of Life Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Andrew H Altieri
- Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Johan van de Koppel
- Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Yerseke, Netherlands
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Todd M Palmer
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Lingli Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Jihua Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, and College of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China
| | - Bo Li
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology and Centre for Invasion Biology, Institute of Biodiversity, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Qiang He
- MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observations and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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Acosta AL, d'Albertas F, de Souza Leite M, Saraiva AM, Walter Metzger JP. Gaps and limitations in the use of restoration scenarios: a review. Restor Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.12882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andre L. Acosta
- Department of Ecology, Biosciences Institute; Universidade de São Paulo - Rua do Matão; Travessa 14, No. 321, 05508-090, São Paulo SP Brazil
- Research Center on Biodiversity and Computing; Universidade de São Paulo - Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto; Travessa 3, No. 158, 05508-900, São Paulo SP Brazil
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Scenarios Network (ScenNet-FAPESP and Belmont Forum); Brazil Headquarter: Biosciences Institute, Universidade de São Paulo - Rua do Matão; Travessa 14, No. 321, 05508-090, São Paulo SP Brazil
| | - Francisco d'Albertas
- Department of Ecology, Biosciences Institute; Universidade de São Paulo - Rua do Matão; Travessa 14, No. 321, 05508-090, São Paulo SP Brazil
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Scenarios Network (ScenNet-FAPESP and Belmont Forum); Brazil Headquarter: Biosciences Institute, Universidade de São Paulo - Rua do Matão; Travessa 14, No. 321, 05508-090, São Paulo SP Brazil
| | - Melina de Souza Leite
- Department of Ecology, Biosciences Institute; Universidade de São Paulo - Rua do Matão; Travessa 14, No. 321, 05508-090, São Paulo SP Brazil
| | - Antonio M. Saraiva
- Research Center on Biodiversity and Computing; Universidade de São Paulo - Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto; Travessa 3, No. 158, 05508-900, São Paulo SP Brazil
- Department of Computing and Digital Systems Engineering; Polytechnic School, Universidade de São Paulo - Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto; No. 380, 05508-970, São Paulo SP Brazil
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Scenarios Network (ScenNet-FAPESP and Belmont Forum); Brazil Headquarter: Biosciences Institute, Universidade de São Paulo - Rua do Matão; Travessa 14, No. 321, 05508-090, São Paulo SP Brazil
| | - Jean P. Walter Metzger
- Department of Ecology, Biosciences Institute; Universidade de São Paulo - Rua do Matão; Travessa 14, No. 321, 05508-090, São Paulo SP Brazil
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Scenarios Network (ScenNet-FAPESP and Belmont Forum); Brazil Headquarter: Biosciences Institute, Universidade de São Paulo - Rua do Matão; Travessa 14, No. 321, 05508-090, São Paulo SP Brazil
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Rinella MJ, Mangold JM, Espeland EK, Sheley RL, Jacobs JS. Long-term population dynamics of seeded plants in invaded grasslands. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2012; 22:1320-1329. [PMID: 22827138 DOI: 10.1890/11-1103.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
In recent decades, dozens of studies have involved attempts to introduce native and desirable nonnative plant species into grasslands dominated by invasive weeds. The newly introduced plants have proved capable of establishing, but because they are rarely monitored for more than four years, it is unknown if they have a high likelihood of persisting and suppressing invaders for the long-term. Beyond invaded grasslands, this lack of long-term monitoring is a general problem plaguing efforts to reintroduce a range of taxa into a range of ecosystems. We introduced species from seed and then periodically measured plant abundances for nine years at one site and 15 years at a second site. To our knowledge, our 15-year data are the longest to date from a seeding experiment in invaded, never-cultivated grassland. At one site, three seeded grasses maintained high densities for three or more years, but then all or nearly all individuals died. At the second site, one grass performed similarly, but two other grasses proliferated and at least one greatly suppressed the dominant invader (Centaurea maculosa). In one study, our point estimate suggests that the seeded grass Thinopyrum intermedium reduced C. maculosa biomass by 93% 15 years after seeding. In some cases, data from three and fewer years after seeding falsely suggested that seeded species were capable of persisting within the invaded grassland. In other cases, data from as late as nine years after seeding falsely suggested seeded populations would not become large enough to suppress the invader. These results show that seeded species sometimes persist and suppress invaders for long periods, but short-term data cannot predict if, when, or where this will occur. Because short-term data are not predictive of long-term seeded species performances, additional long-term data are needed to identify effective practices, traits, and species for revegetating invaded grasslands.
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