Browsing by Subject "wetland"

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    Ecological restoration of rich fens in Europe and North America: from trial and error to an evidence-based approach.
    (Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc, 2015-02) Lamers, Leon PM; Vile, Melanie A; Grootjans, Ab P; Acreman, Mike C; van Diggelen, Rudy; Evans, Martin G; Richardson, Curtis J; Rochefort, Line; Kooijman, Annemieke M; Roelofs, Jan GM; Smolders, Alfons JP
    Fens represent a large array of ecosystem services, including the highest biodiversity found among wetlands, hydrological services, water purification and carbon sequestration. Land-use change and drainage has severely damaged or annihilated these services in many parts of North America and Europe; restoration plans are urgently needed at the landscape level. We review the major constraints on the restoration of rich fens and fen water bodies in agricultural areas in Europe and disturbed landscapes in North America: (i) habitat quality problems: drought, eutrophication, acidification, and toxicity, and (ii) recolonization problems: species pools, ecosystem fragmentation and connectivity, genetic variability, and invasive species; and here provide possible solutions. We discuss both positive and negative consequences of restoration measures, and their causes. The restoration of wetland ecosystem functioning and services has, for a long time, been based on a trial-and-error approach. By presenting research and practice on the restoration of rich fen ecosystems within agricultural areas, we demonstrate the importance of biogeochemical and ecological knowledge at different spatial scales for the management and restoration of biodiversity, water quality, carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services, especially in a changing climate. We define target processes that enable scientists, nature managers, water managers and policy makers to choose between different measures and to predict restoration prospects for different types of deteriorated fens and their starting conditions.
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    State of the Coast: A Review of Coastal Management Policies for Six States
    (2023-01-17) Karasik, Rachel; Pickle, Amy; O’Shea, Maggie; Reilly, Kelly; Bruce, Molly; Earnhardt, Rachel; Ahmed, Iqra
    This analysis of coastal habitat policy in six US states—California, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington—aims to identify promising policy approaches for improved protection and restoration of oyster reefs, mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrass.   Coastal habitats provide critical environmental, economic, and recreational services valued at billions of dollars in the United States alone. However, the quantity and quality of most coastal habitats have been under decline for centuries due to a variety of threats. Coordinated policy responses across levels of government are required for protection and restoration of coastal habitats because they do not have discrete jurisdictional boundaries and are often harmed by distant anthropogenic activities.   The analysis finds that state-level management is principally guided by federal coastal protection and management statutes, namely the Clean Water Act and Coastal Zone Management Act. State and federal policies are rarely habitat-specific and do not comprehensively address threats, which can result in a fragmented policy landscape that struggles to meet habitat protection and restoration goals. With limited long-term monitoring data and few effectiveness studies, our ability to understand which policy levers work and the extent to which they can be replicated in other states is limited.   A successful path forward may be found through local initiatives tailored and designed for their local context that have effectively restored degraded habitats and employed innovative regulatory mechanisms intended to streamline the permitting process for restoration. Dedicated funding for sustained, long-term monitoring to best understand the effects and outcomes of habitat protection and restoration policy efforts will also be critical to identify enabling conditions and replicate effective measures in similar contexts.   The Pew Charitable Trusts supported the development of this report. Pew is not responsible for any inaccuracies and does not necessarily endorse the findings.