Applying cumulative effects to strategically advance large-scale ecosystem restoration

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Authors

Heida L. Diefenderfer, University of Washington
Gregory D. Steyer, US Geological Survey
Matthew C. Harwell, US Environmental Protection Agency
Andrew J. LoSchiavo, US Army Corps of Engineers
Hilary A. Neckles, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
David M. Burdick, University of New HampshireFollow
Gary E. Johnson, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Kate E. Buenau, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Elene Trujillo, Puget Sound Partnership
John C. Callaway, Delta Stewardship Council
Ronald M. Thom, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Neil K. Ganju, Coastal and Marine Geology, USGS
Robert R. Twilley, Louisiana State University

Abstract

International efforts to restore degraded ecosystems will continue to expand over the coming decades, yet the factors contributing to the effectiveness of long-term restoration across large areas remain largely unexplored. At large scales, outcomes are more complex and synergistic than the additive impacts of individual restoration projects. Here, we propose a cumulative-effects conceptual framework to inform restoration design and implementation and to comprehensively measure ecological outcomes. To evaluate and illustrate this approach, we reviewed long-term restoration in several large coastal and riverine areas across the US: the greater Florida Everglades; Gulf of Mexico coast; lower Columbia River and estuary; Puget Sound; San Francisco Bay and Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta; Missouri River; and northeastern coastal states. Evidence supported eight modes of cumulative effects of interacting restoration projects, which improved outcomes for species and ecosystems at landscape and regional scales. We conclude that cumulative effects, usually measured for ecosystem degradation, are also measurable for ecosystem restoration. The consideration of evidence-based cumulative effects will help managers of large-scale restoration capitalize on positive feedback and reduce countervailing effects.

Publication Date

10-29-2020

Journal Title

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment

Publisher

Ecological Society of America

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/fee.2274

Document Type

Article

Recommended Citation

Diefenderfer, H. G. Steyer, M. Harwell, A. LoSchiavo, H. Neckles, D. Burdick, G. Johnson, K. Buenau, E. Trujillo, J. Callaway, R. Thom, N. Ganju, R. Twilley. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (2020) 19: 108–117, doi:10.1002/fee.2274. Applying cumulative effects to strategically advance large-scale ecosystem restoration.

Comments

This is an Open Access article published by the Ecological Society of America in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, in 2020, available online: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/fee.2274