Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
greenhouse effects) from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere (
van Groenigen et al.
2011
). Examples such as these highlight that although it is clear that global change will
alter how the biosphere influences climate, and vice versa, it is still unclear if these
complex biota-climate interactions, overall, will dampen or amplify anthropogenic global
change. Further interdisciplinary research will be necessary to reduce these uncertainties
and better identify and understand the role of the biotic feedbacks on global change
(
Bonan 2008
).
Finally, environmental issues related to global change will be difficult to understand
because they involve large scales of time and/or space (e.g., climate change, nitrogen depo-
sition, and changes in land use). To complicate matters, these environmental changes can
interact, which may generate nonadditive or synergistic effects that cannot easily be pre-
dicted from single-factor studies. Experimental ecosystem science is already moving toward
new experimental approaches, such as research across larger geographic and temporal
expanses, which will allow scientists to improve their understanding of mechanisms of
different processes at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Ecosystem scientists will also
have to work together to develop research that takes advantage of new and existing facilities
and technologies. Use of the sensor and human networks that underpin initiatives such
as the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON;
http://www.neoninc.org/
),
the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON;
http://www.gleon.org/
), and
the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI;
http://www.oceanobservatories.org/
)willbecome
increasingly necessary to accomplish that crucial goal.
Restoration Ecology
Humans have long sought measures to mitigate or reverse ecosystem degradation.
Ecological restoration is the practice of applying management techniques often with the
goal of restoring the structure and function of a predisturbance ecosystem (
National
Research Council 1992
), but the term has come to encompass a broader array of manage-
ment interventions to improve ecosystem function, especially when predisturbance
conditions are unattainable (
Hobbs et al. 2011
). One of the earliest ecological restoration
projects that incorporated research was conducted by scientists at the University
of Wisconsin Arboretum beginning in 1933 (
Blewett and Cottam 1984
). The aim was to
conduct ecological experiments to compare techniques for restoring native prairie ecosys-
tems. The resulting Curtis Prairie has become well known as a foundational study site
in restoration ecology (
Jordan 2010
).
Restoration ecology provides exciting and important opportunities to use ecosystem
restoration projects to test and revise ecological theory and engage with practitioners
and decision-makers. Ecosystem scientists have contributed to the practice of ecological
restoration by evaluating contrasting methods of restoration and their effect on system
function. By monitoring the trajectories of restoration projects, ecosystem scientists have
also assessed time frames for structural and functional recovery of ecosystem properties
(
Figure 17.1
;
Moreno-Mateos et al. 2012
), which could be used by practitioners and reg-
ulators to set reasonable goals for these projects. Engineers and policy experts are
increasingly interested in restoration asameanstorepairecologica lydegraded
