Wetland restoration: The potential for assembly rules in the service of conservation

摘要: One of the pressing problems for applied ecologists is efficeint restoration structure and function to degraded ecosystems. Where some other conservation activities, such as protection existing wilderness, continue require making best increasingly bad situations, goal raises pleasing prospect measurable improvement in landscapes. Restoration simultaneously provides ultimate test discipline community ecology: should be able build an ecosystem same way engineer builds a bridge, with list parts connected specified ways leading certain reliable outcomes. Failures would reveal that scientists do not adequately understand system. Practical considerations suggest application tools already exist rather than invention new ones. The objective this paper two valuable may exist, provide intellectual foundation ecology. Such necessary because there has been tendency ecology represent haphazard collection individual cases well-defined repeatable methods. possible scheme unifying studies provided by assembly rules, where predictions are based upon key environmental factors responses species those factors. potential rules introduced using three examples: fish wetlands, plants salt marshes, prairie potholes. I then describe experiment standard pool wetland was sown into twenty-four different sets conditions, illustrating how landscapes can select communities out larger pools. A second tool indicators integrity. These measure whether project actually works. Clear discrimination between success failure improve procedures accelerating evolution management principles techniques; Holling called process ‘adaptive assessment.’ conclude optimistic view continued progress; what needed primarily their intelligent application. That is, ending typically academic plea more research, (for change) only discriminating exist.