Landscape‐scale prioritization models are powerful decision‐making tools in ecological restoratio... more Landscape‐scale prioritization models are powerful decision‐making tools in ecological restoration. Yet, they often fail to integrate multi‐stakeholder perspectives and socio‐ecological criteria. We designed a new methodology to identify high‐priority areas for landscape‐scale restoration. This participatory cost‐effectiveness analysis model is based on execution and maintenance costs and the potential increase in the supply of multiple ecosystem services. We tested the model in a 181,000 ha heavily anthropized semi‐arid landscape in southeastern Spain. Restoring the whole area would cost 221 million EUR and enhance the supply of ecosystem services by 39%. The cost‐effectiveness of restoring pine forest and abandoned and irrigated crops were higher than restoring other Landscape Units. Restoring the least degraded sites was more cost‐effective than the most degraded areas or randomly selecting sites, even when potential recovery was incomplete. Synthesis and applications. The cost‐e...
Wildfires have increasingly damaged Andean tropical forests. However, both a poor understanding o... more Wildfires have increasingly damaged Andean tropical forests. However, both a poor understanding of wildfire dynamics and ecosystem response limits awareness about the magnitude of the problem and design management strategies. We estimate the impacts and significant drivers of wildfires by dating and mapping recent wildfires in an Andean tropical forest area, the Iguaque mountains. A large part of Iguaque hosts a population of the only Quercus species in South America, Quercus humboldtii. We used remote-sensing, official reports and social mapping to reconstruct the recent history of wildfires and change in oak forest patches in Iguaque. Between 1990 and 2017, 25 wildfires were recorded, with fire intervals between 4 and 21 years. These events burned 28.4% of the Iguaque mountains and showed a significant increasing trend in extent. Wildfires mostly occurred in the south, during the driest months, and their number and extent showed substantial interannual variations related to El Niñ...
La restauración ecológica tiene un enorme potencial para proteger la biodiversidad, aumentar el s... more La restauración ecológica tiene un enorme potencial para proteger la biodiversidad, aumentar el suministro de servicios ecosistémicos y mejorar el bienestar humano. Para desarrollar plenamente este potencial y hacerlo de una manera eficiente, es necesario diseñar procedimientos operativos que permitan identificar acciones y zonas prioritarias para la restauración. Estos procedimientos, además, deben armonizar los múltiples criterios de priorización y las múltiples expectativas sobre sus resultados. En este estudio hemos diseñado y aplicado un sistema de identificación de zonas de alta prioridad para la restauración de un paisaje semiárido muy antropizado en el sureste de la península ibérica. Nuestra aproximación conjuga los criterios de prioridad identificados y ponderados por una plataforma de partes interesadas, y la efectividad de la restauración, medida como incremento potencial en el suministro de servicios. Las partes interesadas identificaron y ponderaron 33 criterios de pri...
We appreciate funding received from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and Eur... more We appreciate funding received from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and European Regional Development Funds (FEDER), project ‘Tools for planning ecological restoration in the Region of Valencia’ (TERECOVA; CGL2014-52714-C2-1-R).
Ecological restoration is key to counteracting anthropogenic degradation of biodiversity and to r... more Ecological restoration is key to counteracting anthropogenic degradation of biodiversity and to reducing disaster risk. However, there is limited knowledge of barriers hindering the wider implementation of restoration practices, despite high‐level political priority to halt the loss of biodiversity. In Europe, progress on ecological restoration has been slow and insufficient to meet international agreements and comply with European Union Nature Directives. We assessed European restoration experts' perceptions on barriers to restoration in Europe, and their relative importance, through a multiple expert consultation using a Delphi process. We found that experts share a common multi‐dimensional concept of ecological restoration. Experts identified a large number of barriers (33) to the advancement of ecological restoration in Europe. Major barriers pertained to the socio‐economic, not the environmental, domain. The three most important being insufficient funding, conflicting inter...
It is widely acknowledged that ecosystems often cannot be considered as separated from social sys... more It is widely acknowledged that ecosystems often cannot be considered as separated from social systems, but that they should rather be seen as interacting, cross‐scaled, coupled systems operating on multiple temporal and spatial scales. Humans have an increasing impact on ecosystems worldwide, while at the same time ecosystems are of critical importance for the functioning of human systems through ecosystems services. Often the term “social ecological systems” is used in approaches that consider ecological and social systems as integrated systems. This paper aims to contribute to clarification of the different relationships between social and ecological systems. The focus is on the social side of ecological restoration and conservation, in particular on participation, indigenous knowledge, governance, and ethics. It is concluded that in restoration and conservation of social ecological systems more attention should be paid to the role of social systems and conditions on which ecosyst...
The Science of the total environment, Jan 27, 2016
Woody patches in semiarid environments favor the establishment of other plants. Facilitation may ... more Woody patches in semiarid environments favor the establishment of other plants. Facilitation may be favored by an increase in soil fertility. Dissolved organic matter (DOM), is the most active fraction of soil organic matter and may contain compounds affecting plant establishment, as allelochemicals, hormone-like substances and metal carriers. However, information on DOM contents and composition in these environments is scarce. In this paper, we study the impact of woody patches on DOM in Stipa tenacissima L. steppes and discuss its implications for community dynamics. DOM under patch- and inter-patch areas, was analyzed for elemental composition, UV-Vis indices and organic acid content. Element concentration and composition in DOM, and organic acid concentration were similar in patch- and inter-patch areas. Yet, soils under patches were richer in DOC, aromatic species and organic acids (particularly fumaric acid) than soils in inter-patch areas. Dominant species affected organic ma...
Landscape‐scale prioritization models are powerful decision‐making tools in ecological restoratio... more Landscape‐scale prioritization models are powerful decision‐making tools in ecological restoration. Yet, they often fail to integrate multi‐stakeholder perspectives and socio‐ecological criteria. We designed a new methodology to identify high‐priority areas for landscape‐scale restoration. This participatory cost‐effectiveness analysis model is based on execution and maintenance costs and the potential increase in the supply of multiple ecosystem services. We tested the model in a 181,000 ha heavily anthropized semi‐arid landscape in southeastern Spain. Restoring the whole area would cost 221 million EUR and enhance the supply of ecosystem services by 39%. The cost‐effectiveness of restoring pine forest and abandoned and irrigated crops were higher than restoring other Landscape Units. Restoring the least degraded sites was more cost‐effective than the most degraded areas or randomly selecting sites, even when potential recovery was incomplete. Synthesis and applications. The cost‐e...
Wildfires have increasingly damaged Andean tropical forests. However, both a poor understanding o... more Wildfires have increasingly damaged Andean tropical forests. However, both a poor understanding of wildfire dynamics and ecosystem response limits awareness about the magnitude of the problem and design management strategies. We estimate the impacts and significant drivers of wildfires by dating and mapping recent wildfires in an Andean tropical forest area, the Iguaque mountains. A large part of Iguaque hosts a population of the only Quercus species in South America, Quercus humboldtii. We used remote-sensing, official reports and social mapping to reconstruct the recent history of wildfires and change in oak forest patches in Iguaque. Between 1990 and 2017, 25 wildfires were recorded, with fire intervals between 4 and 21 years. These events burned 28.4% of the Iguaque mountains and showed a significant increasing trend in extent. Wildfires mostly occurred in the south, during the driest months, and their number and extent showed substantial interannual variations related to El Niñ...
La restauración ecológica tiene un enorme potencial para proteger la biodiversidad, aumentar el s... more La restauración ecológica tiene un enorme potencial para proteger la biodiversidad, aumentar el suministro de servicios ecosistémicos y mejorar el bienestar humano. Para desarrollar plenamente este potencial y hacerlo de una manera eficiente, es necesario diseñar procedimientos operativos que permitan identificar acciones y zonas prioritarias para la restauración. Estos procedimientos, además, deben armonizar los múltiples criterios de priorización y las múltiples expectativas sobre sus resultados. En este estudio hemos diseñado y aplicado un sistema de identificación de zonas de alta prioridad para la restauración de un paisaje semiárido muy antropizado en el sureste de la península ibérica. Nuestra aproximación conjuga los criterios de prioridad identificados y ponderados por una plataforma de partes interesadas, y la efectividad de la restauración, medida como incremento potencial en el suministro de servicios. Las partes interesadas identificaron y ponderaron 33 criterios de pri...
We appreciate funding received from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and Eur... more We appreciate funding received from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and European Regional Development Funds (FEDER), project ‘Tools for planning ecological restoration in the Region of Valencia’ (TERECOVA; CGL2014-52714-C2-1-R).
Ecological restoration is key to counteracting anthropogenic degradation of biodiversity and to r... more Ecological restoration is key to counteracting anthropogenic degradation of biodiversity and to reducing disaster risk. However, there is limited knowledge of barriers hindering the wider implementation of restoration practices, despite high‐level political priority to halt the loss of biodiversity. In Europe, progress on ecological restoration has been slow and insufficient to meet international agreements and comply with European Union Nature Directives. We assessed European restoration experts' perceptions on barriers to restoration in Europe, and their relative importance, through a multiple expert consultation using a Delphi process. We found that experts share a common multi‐dimensional concept of ecological restoration. Experts identified a large number of barriers (33) to the advancement of ecological restoration in Europe. Major barriers pertained to the socio‐economic, not the environmental, domain. The three most important being insufficient funding, conflicting inter...
It is widely acknowledged that ecosystems often cannot be considered as separated from social sys... more It is widely acknowledged that ecosystems often cannot be considered as separated from social systems, but that they should rather be seen as interacting, cross‐scaled, coupled systems operating on multiple temporal and spatial scales. Humans have an increasing impact on ecosystems worldwide, while at the same time ecosystems are of critical importance for the functioning of human systems through ecosystems services. Often the term “social ecological systems” is used in approaches that consider ecological and social systems as integrated systems. This paper aims to contribute to clarification of the different relationships between social and ecological systems. The focus is on the social side of ecological restoration and conservation, in particular on participation, indigenous knowledge, governance, and ethics. It is concluded that in restoration and conservation of social ecological systems more attention should be paid to the role of social systems and conditions on which ecosyst...
The Science of the total environment, Jan 27, 2016
Woody patches in semiarid environments favor the establishment of other plants. Facilitation may ... more Woody patches in semiarid environments favor the establishment of other plants. Facilitation may be favored by an increase in soil fertility. Dissolved organic matter (DOM), is the most active fraction of soil organic matter and may contain compounds affecting plant establishment, as allelochemicals, hormone-like substances and metal carriers. However, information on DOM contents and composition in these environments is scarce. In this paper, we study the impact of woody patches on DOM in Stipa tenacissima L. steppes and discuss its implications for community dynamics. DOM under patch- and inter-patch areas, was analyzed for elemental composition, UV-Vis indices and organic acid content. Element concentration and composition in DOM, and organic acid concentration were similar in patch- and inter-patch areas. Yet, soils under patches were richer in DOC, aromatic species and organic acids (particularly fumaric acid) than soils in inter-patch areas. Dominant species affected organic ma...
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