Hot off the presses! Jan 01 Ecological Restoration

The Jan 01 issue of the Ecological Restoration is now up on Pubget (About Ecological Restoration): if you're at a subscribing institution, just click the link in the latest link at the home page. (Note you'll only be able to get all the PDFs in the issue if your institution subscribes to Pubget.)

Latest Articles Include:

• Seabird Habitat Restoration on Praia Islet, Azores Archipelago
  - Ecological Restoration 27(1):27-36 (2009)
  As on many other islands, most of the seabird species breeding in Portugal's Azores archipelago are now restricted to tiny remnants of their former nesting range, owing in large part to the introduction of mammals by humans. Praia Islet, 0.12 km2 in size, is home to five seabird species, four of which fall under the European listing of "conservation concern." Introduced rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) on Praia had accelerated soil erosion through overgrazing, destroyed seabird nests, and competed for burrows with petrels. Restoration of seabird habitat on the islet began in 1995 and involved rabbit eradication, control of soil erosion, native plant reintroduction, and installation of artificial nests for common terns (Sterna hirundo), roseate terns (Sterna dougallii), and Madeiran storm-petrels (Oceanodroma castro). Rabbits were eradicated in 1997 using broadcast pellets containing poison. Since then, soil erosion has decreased, many of the reintroduced native plants h! ave started to spread, and tern and Madeiran storm-petrel breeding numbers on the islet have increased by 1,548% and 43%, respectively. However, Praia Islet seabirds remain vulnerable owing to human recreational activities. This case study highlights the need to consider local conditions carefully when assessing restoration options to effect rapid mammal eradication. It also confirms the value of combining measures aimed at restoring native vegetation and improving seabird habitat quality with alien herbivore eradication.
• Cheatgrass Encroachment on a Ponderosa Pine Forest Ecological Restoration Project in Northern Arizona
  - Ecological Restoration 27(1):37-46 (2009)
  Land managers frequently thin small-diameter trees and apply prescribed fire to reduce fuel loads and restore ecosystem structure, function, and process in forested areas. There is increasing concern that disturbances associated with these management practices can facilitate non-native plant invasions. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), an annual grass from the Mediterranean, has invaded large areas of the interior West and has become the dominant species in many of these areas. In 2003, a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) ecological restoration site on Mount Trumbull in the Uinkaret Mountains of northern Arizona experienced a large increase in cheatgrass. Thinning and burning projects had been conducted on this site since 1996. Cheatgrass cover increased 90-fold on the thinned and burned plots between 1996 and 2003. While cheatgrass also increased on thinned plots that were not burned and the untreated control plots, the cover of cheatgrass remained low. There were two addi! tional factors that may have influenced the cheatgrass invasion. In 2002, the region experienced the most extreme drought recorded in the past 100 years. Substantial rainfall returned to the area in September 2002, coincident with the timing of cheatgrass germination. Additionally, cattle were reintroduced to the study area in August 2002 after a four-year hiatus in grazing. We present data suggesting that the interaction of prescribed fire and small-diameter tree thinning, potentially exacerbated by cattle grazing and drought, was the primary cause of the spread of cheatgrass. Furthermore, we offer management recommendations for reducing the risk of non-native plant invasion on ecological restoration projects.
• The Importance of Genetic Considerations for Planning Translocations of the Rare Coastal Heath Species Boronia rivularis (Rutaceae) in Queensland
  - Ecological Restoration 27(1):47-57 (2009)
  The Sunshine Coast of Queensland, Australia, is facing increasing pressure from rapid urban expansion. Because of the area's high biodiversity, developers are facing pressure to translocate rare, endangered, and vulnerable plants to more protected areas. Translocation of turves, comprising sections of soil and intact aboveground vegetation, has been used as a strategy for reintroducing understory species where establishment from seed is difficult. Moving populations spatially can change levels and direction of gene flow. In what appears to be one of the largest reported translocations of a rare species, this study uses allozymes, which are variant forms of enzymes, to investigate the genetics of a population of the rare heath species Boronia rivularis, which is to be translocated to compensate for an urban development. The population on the development site was found to be significant due to its large size and high genetic diversity and distinctiveness. Diversity and i! nbreeding levels were not evenly distributed across the development site; inbreeding was highest where density was highest. It was found that retention of a significant portion of the population on the development site reduced the potential loss of connectivity. However, we found that ecological assessments based on density could have led to the loss of the most genetically diverse and least inbred parts of the population.
• An Emerging Crisis across Northern Prairie Refuges: Prevalence of Invasive Plants and a Plan for Adaptive Management
  - Ecological Restoration 27(1):58-65 (2009)
  In the northern Great Plains, native prairies managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) can be pivotal in conservation of North America's biological diversity. From 2002 to 2006, we surveyed 7,338 belt transects to assess the general composition of mixed-grass and tallgrass prairie vegetation across five "complexes" (i.e., administrative groupings) of national wildlife refuges managed by the Service in North Dakota and South Dakota. Native grasses and forbs were common (mean frequency of occurrence 47%-54%) on two complexes but uncommon (4%-13%) on two others. Conversely, an introduced species of grass, smooth brome (Bromus inermis), accounted for 45% to 49% of vegetation on two complexes and another species, Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) accounted for 27% to 36% of the vegetation on three of the complexes. Our data confirm prior suspicions of widespread invasion by introduced species of plants on Service-owned tracts of native prairie, changes that ! likely stem in part from a common management history of little or no disturbance (e.g., defoliation by grazing or fire). However, variability in the degree and type of invasion among prairie tracts suggests that knowledge of underlying causes (e.g., edaphic or climatic factors, management histories) could help managers more effectively restore prairies. We describe an adaptive management approach to acquire such knowledge while progressing with restoration. More specifically, we propose to use data from inventories of plant communities on Service-owned prairies to design and implement, as experiments, optimal restoration strategies. We will then monitor these experiments and use the results to refine future strategies. This comprehensive, process-oriented approach should yield reliable and robust recommendations for restoration and maintenance of native prairies in the northern Great Plains.
• Seed Harvesting for Ecological Restoration: Efficiency of Haymaking and Seed-Stripping on Different Grassland Types in the Eastern Italian Alps
  - Ecological Restoration 27(1):66-75 (2009)
  Haymaking and seed-stripping are frequently utilized methods of obtaining seeds for use in ecological restoration. We sought to measure the efficiency of these two techniques in different grassland types in terms of the seed mix obtained compared to the seed present in the vegetation. Haymaking and harvesting with a pull-type seed stripper were compared in two different types of eastern Italian Alp meadows: a tall oats (Arrhenatherum elatius) meadow (grass height 70-100 cm) and a low fescue-bentgrass (Festuca nigrescens--Agrostis capillaris) meadow (grass height 35-65 cm). The percentage of seed obtained from haymaking was similar to that obtained from seed-stripping (about 50% of the seed in the standing vegetation). Nevertheless, haymaking efficiency differed less among the two grassland types (with reference to the harvested seeds number per fertile stem, 39% in the tallgrass and 60% in the shortgrass vegetation) compared to the efficiency of seed-stripping (20% and! 73%, respectively). With haymaking, the seed mix obtained in both meadows was similar to that present in the standing vegetation before harvesting. With seed-stripping, the similarity was high only in the shortgrass meadow, where the stripping action of the brush affected the whole herbaceous layer, and the downward motion of the brush allowed for effective harvesting. Both techniques were more efficient in the shortgrass meadow than in the tallgrass vegetation.
• Responses of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates to Stream Channel Reconstruction in a Degraded Rangeland Creek in the Sierra Nevada
  - Ecological Restoration 27(1):76-88 (2009)
  Streams on western rangelands are sometimes degraded to the point that reestablishing lost ecological values requires rebuilding their physical structure, shape, and form. We evaluated the biological response to reconstruction of a small rangeland stream channel through comparisons of aquatic invertebrate communities before and after engineering activities and in relation to local and regional reference stream conditions. We measured geomorphic and riparian habitat features along with benthic macroinvertebrates for two years prior to restoration actions and for two years afterward. Stream restoration activities included the construction of a new channel to replace an incised meadow stream reach (including addition of coarse rock substrate, erosion control fabric, and willow planting) and the rehabilitation of gullies and roads in the meadow and its watershed. In postproject monitoring, we found statistically significant changes in the macroinvertebrate community and tr! ophic structure at the restored site. These were exhibited as increases in EPT taxa (mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies) and the proportion and diversity of sensitive taxa, decreased tolerant taxa, and an increase in consumers of riparian organic matter (shredders) and decrease in fine organic particle filter-feeders. A site monitored downstream of the restoration activities exhibited increased deposition of fines and sand one year after project construction, but was similar to preproject conditions in the second year, and the macroinvertebrate community was unchanged. Improved biological integrity at the restored site showed that rapid recovery can occur in rebuilt streams within rehabilitated watersheds, but neither degraded nor enhanced conditions were transferred to downstream habitat, at least over the initial postproject period.