Harnessing ecological theory to enhance ecosystem restoration

Brian R Silliman; Marc J S Hensel; Jean P Gibert; Pedro Daleo; Carter S Smith; Daniel J Wieczynski; Christine Angelini; Avery B Paxton; Alyssa M Adler; Y Stacy Zhang; Andrew H Altieri; Todd M Palmer; Holly P Jones; Rachel K Gittman; John N Griffin; Mary I O'Connor; Johan van de Koppel; John R Poulsen; Max Rietkerk; Qiang He; Mark D Bertness; Tjisse van der Heide; Stephanie R Valdez

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.043

Harnessing ecological theory to enhance ecosystem restoration

Curr Biol. 2024 May 6;34(9):R418-R434. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.043.

Authors

Brian R Silliman¹, Marc J S Hensel², Jean P Gibert³, Pedro Daleo⁴, Carter S Smith⁵, Daniel J Wieczynski³, Christine Angelini⁶, Avery B Paxton⁷, Alyssa M Adler⁵, Y Stacy Zhang⁸, Andrew H Altieri⁶, Todd M Palmer⁹, Holly P Jones¹⁰, Rachel K Gittman¹¹, John N Griffin¹², Mary I O'Connor¹³, Johan van de Koppel¹⁴, John R Poulsen¹⁵, Max Rietkerk¹⁶, Qiang He¹⁷, Mark D Bertness¹⁸, Tjisse van der Heide¹⁹, Stephanie R Valdez⁵

Affiliations

¹ Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA. Electronic address: brian.silliman@duke.edu.
² Biological Sciences Department, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA; Nature Coast Biological Station, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Cedar Key, FL 32625, USA.
³ Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
⁴ Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), FCEyN, UNMdP-CONICET, CC 1260 Correo Central, B7600WAG, Mar del Plata, Argentina.
⁵ Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA.
⁶ Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
⁷ National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 101 Pivers Island Road, Beaufort, NC 28516, USA.
⁸ Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
⁹ Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Biological Sciences and Institute for the Study of the Environment, Sustainability, and Energy, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115, USA.
¹¹ Department of Biology and Coastal Studies Institute, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA.
¹² Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UK.
¹³ Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6R 1W4, Canada.
¹⁴ Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Yerseke, The Netherlands; Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
¹⁵ The Nature Conservancy, 2424 Spruce Street, Boulder, CO 80302, USA; Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, PO Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
¹⁶ Department Environmental Sciences, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
¹⁷ Coastal Ecology Lab, MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China.
¹⁸ Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, 90 Witman Street, Providence, RI, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Coastal Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Den Burg, The Netherlands; Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.

PMID: 38714175
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.043

Abstract

Ecosystem restoration can increase the health and resilience of nature and humanity. As a result, the international community is championing habitat restoration as a primary solution to address the dual climate and biodiversity crises. Yet most ecosystem restoration efforts to date have underperformed, failed, or been burdened by high costs that prevent upscaling. To become a primary, scalable conservation strategy, restoration efficiency and success must increase dramatically. Here, we outline how integrating ten foundational ecological theories that have not previously received much attention - from hierarchical facilitation to macroecology - into ecosystem restoration planning and management can markedly enhance restoration success. We propose a simple, systematic approach to determining which theories best align with restoration goals and are most likely to bolster their success. Armed with a century of advances in ecological theory, restoration practitioners will be better positioned to more cost-efficiently and effectively rebuild the world's ecosystems and support the resilience of our natural resources.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Biodiversity
Climate Change
Conservation of Natural Resources* / methods
Ecology / methods
Ecosystem*
Environmental Restoration and Remediation / methods