TY - JOUR
T1 - Restoration of biogeomorphic systems by creating windows of opportunity to support natural establishment processes
AU - Fivash, Gregory S.
AU - Temmink, Ralph J.M.
AU - D’Angelo, Manuel
AU - van Dalen, Jeroen
AU - Lengkeek, Wouter
AU - Didderen, Karin
AU - Ballio, Francesco
AU - van der Heide, Tjisse
AU - Bouma, Tjeerd J.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO)/Toegepaste en Technische Wetenschappen (TTW)‐Open Technologieprogramma (OTP) grant 14424, in collaboration with private and public partners: Natuurmonumenten, STOWA, Rijkswaterstaat, Van Oord, Bureau Waardenburg, Enexio and Rodenburg Biopolymers. We would like to thank Natuurmonumenten for granting us access to and permission to perform experiments on both sites appearing in this study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Ecological Applications published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Ecological Society of America.
PY - 2021/7
Y1 - 2021/7
N2 - In degraded landscapes, recolonization by pioneer vegetation is often halted by the presence of persistent environmental stress. When natural expansion does occur, it is commonly due to the momentary alleviation of a key environmental variable previously limiting new growth. Thus, studying the circumstances in which expansion occurs can inspire new restoration techniques, wherein vegetation establishment is provoked by emulating natural events through artificial means. Using the salt-marsh pioneer zone on tidal flats as a biogeomorphic model system, we explore how locally raised sediment bed forms, which are the result of natural (bio)geomorphic processes, enhance seedling establishment in an observational study. We then conduct a manipulative experiment designed to emulate these facilitative conditions in order to enable establishment on an uncolonized tidal flat. Here, we attempt to generate raised growth-promoting sediment bed forms using porous artificial structures. Flume experiments demonstrate how these structures produce a sheltered hydrodynamic environment in which suspended sediment and seeds preferentially settle. The application of these structures in the field led to the formation of stable, raised sediment platforms and the spontaneous recruitment of salt-marsh pioneers in the following growing season. These recruits were composed primarily of the annual pioneering Salicornia genus, with densities of up to 140 individuals/m2 within the structures, a 60-fold increase over ambient densities. Lower abundances of five other perennial species were found within structures that did not appear elsewhere in the pioneer zone. Furthermore, recruits grew to be on average three times greater in mass inside of the structures than in the neighboring ambient environment. The success of this restoration design may be attributed to the combination of three factors: (1) enhanced seed retention, (2) suppressed mortality, and (3) accelerated growth rates on the elevated surfaces generated by the artificial structures. We argue that restoration approaches similar to the one shown here, wherein the conditions for natural establishment are actively mimicked to promote vegetation development, may serve as promising tools in many biogeomorphic ecosystems, ranging from coastal to arid ecosystems.
AB - In degraded landscapes, recolonization by pioneer vegetation is often halted by the presence of persistent environmental stress. When natural expansion does occur, it is commonly due to the momentary alleviation of a key environmental variable previously limiting new growth. Thus, studying the circumstances in which expansion occurs can inspire new restoration techniques, wherein vegetation establishment is provoked by emulating natural events through artificial means. Using the salt-marsh pioneer zone on tidal flats as a biogeomorphic model system, we explore how locally raised sediment bed forms, which are the result of natural (bio)geomorphic processes, enhance seedling establishment in an observational study. We then conduct a manipulative experiment designed to emulate these facilitative conditions in order to enable establishment on an uncolonized tidal flat. Here, we attempt to generate raised growth-promoting sediment bed forms using porous artificial structures. Flume experiments demonstrate how these structures produce a sheltered hydrodynamic environment in which suspended sediment and seeds preferentially settle. The application of these structures in the field led to the formation of stable, raised sediment platforms and the spontaneous recruitment of salt-marsh pioneers in the following growing season. These recruits were composed primarily of the annual pioneering Salicornia genus, with densities of up to 140 individuals/m2 within the structures, a 60-fold increase over ambient densities. Lower abundances of five other perennial species were found within structures that did not appear elsewhere in the pioneer zone. Furthermore, recruits grew to be on average three times greater in mass inside of the structures than in the neighboring ambient environment. The success of this restoration design may be attributed to the combination of three factors: (1) enhanced seed retention, (2) suppressed mortality, and (3) accelerated growth rates on the elevated surfaces generated by the artificial structures. We argue that restoration approaches similar to the one shown here, wherein the conditions for natural establishment are actively mimicked to promote vegetation development, may serve as promising tools in many biogeomorphic ecosystems, ranging from coastal to arid ecosystems.
KW - biogeomorphic systems
KW - microtopography
KW - natural establishment
KW - restoration
KW - salt marshes
KW - windows of opportunity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85104985612&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/eap.2333
DO - 10.1002/eap.2333
M3 - Article
C2 - 33768651
AN - SCOPUS:85104985612
SN - 1051-0761
VL - 31
JO - Ecological Applications
JF - Ecological Applications
IS - 5
M1 - e02333
ER -