Restoring Ecosystems
- Human activities, such as deforestation and overharvesting of resources, can destabilise ecosystems
- Conservation efforts at the ecosystem level aim to improve ecosystem stability by restoring natural ecosystem processes
- This type of ecosystem restoration project is sometimes known as rewilding
- Restoration strategies may involve
- Species reintroductions
- Reintroduction of apex predators will control populations of herbivores and allow the restoration of habitat vegetation; this can increase the diversity of plant species, which will in turn boost overall biodiversity
- Reintroduction of keystone species can alter the structure of an ecosystem
- Improving habitat connectivity
- The establishment of wildlife corridors, e.g. by planting hedgerows throughout farmland, can connect small pockets of habitat
- When habitats are connected organisms can roam over larger areas; this gives access to more resources and allows populations to increase in size
- Limiting human influence
- This may involve preventing the harvesting of resources by, e.g. logging, fishing, or agriculture
- Ecological management techniques, e.g. controlled grazing or burning, may be used to restore a habitat
- Species reintroductions
Restoration of Hinewai Reserve, New Zealand
- Hinewai Reserve was once farmland, but is now privately owned, with the aim of restoring the natural ecosystem of the area
- Some initial human intervention was involved, with the removal of non-native species, but the area is now managed with minimal human intervention to allow native communities to be restored by succession
- Human activities are limited in the area, though the public can enjoy walking in the Reserve
CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hinewai Reserve in New Zealand is considered to be a an example of successful rewilding