The Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land Workbook PDF
Preview The Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land Workbook
society for ecological restoration TheScienceandPracticeofEcologicalRestoration EditorialBoard JamesAronson,editor KarenD.Holl,associateeditor DonaldA.Falk,RichardJ.Hobbs,MargaretA.Palmer Acompletelistoftitlesinthisseriescanbefoundinthebackofthisbook. TheSocietyforEcologicalRestoration(SER)isaninternationalnonprofitorgani- zationwhosemissionistopromoteecologicalrestorationasameansofsustaining the diversity of life on Earth and reestablishing an ecologically healthy relation- ship between nature and culture. Since its incorporation in 1988, SER has been promoting the science and practice of ecological restoration around the world throughitspublications,conferences,andchapters. SER is a rapidly growing community of restoration ecologists and ecological restoration practitioners dedicated to developing science-based restoration prac- tices around the globe. With members in more than fifty countries and all fifty USstates,SERistheworld’sleadingrestorationorganization.Formoreinforma- tion or to become a member, e-mail us at [email protected], or visit our website at www.ser.org. The Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land Workbook Steven I. Apfelbaum and Alan Haney With illustrations by Kirsten R. Vinyeta Washington|Covelo|London Copyright©2012StevenI.ApfelbaumandAlanHaney AllrightsreservedunderInternationalandPan-AmericanCopyrightConventions.Nopartofthis bookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyanymeanswithoutpermissioninwritingfromthe publisher:IslandPress,1718ConnecticutAvenueNW,Suite300,Washington,DC20009 IslandPressisatrademarkofTheCenterforResourceEconomics. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Apfelbaum,StevenI.,1954– Therestoringecologicalhealthtoyourlandworkbook/StevenI.ApfelbaumandAlanHaney. p.cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN-13:978-1-59726-804-2(pbk.:alk.paper) ISBN-10:1-59726-804-6(pbk.:alk.paper) 1. Restorationecology. Apfelbaum,StevenI.,Haney, Alan,II.Title. HQ541.15.R45A642012 333.71′53—dc23 2011031269 Printedonrecycled,acid-freepaper ManufacturedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Keywords:Ecologicalrestoration,landmanagement,adaptivemanagement,ecologicalresilience, restorationpractitioner,invasivespecies,mapping,soilsurvey,landscapechange,restorationplan, ecologicalmonitoring,financingrestoration,budgetingrestoration,ecosystemrestoration,ecosystem monitoring contents preface xi introduction xv Step1. InventoryandMapYourLand 1 Task1.CreateaBasemap 7 Task2.CharacterizeLandUseorCoverTypes 10 Task3.RefineEcologicalUnits 11 Task4.MapCurrentConditionsofEcologicalUnits 15 Task5.ReviewSoilTypeDistributionsandAssessSeedbanks 19 Task6.MapDrainage 23 Task7.MapLocationsofSignificantPopulationsofInvasiveSpecies 26 Task8.AssessandMapStressors 27 Step2. InvestigateHistoricConditions 29 Task9.CompleteHistoricConditionsDataForm 31 Task10.MapSoilsandSurfaceGeology 41 Task11.UnderstandHowYourLandHasChanged 43 Step3. InterpretLandscapeChanges 45 Task12.DevelopWorkingHypotheses 45 Task13.MapEcotonesandGradients 47 Step4 DevelopGoalsandObjectives 53 Task14.DevelopRestorationGoalsandObjectives 53 Task15.ReviewandFirmUpFramingInfrastructure 61 Task16.DevelopaProjectGovernancePlan 61 Task17.PrepareaPreliminaryBudget 64 Task18.RefineGoalsandObjectives 70 Step5. DevelopYourRestorationPlan 73 Task19.DesigntheOutline(Content)ofYourPlan 74 Step6. DevelopaGoodMonitoringProgram 91 Task20.DevelopYourMonitoringProgram 91 Step7. ImplementthePlan 109 Task21.DevelopaTaskListandSchedule 109 Task22.DevelopProjectPhasingPlans 111 Task23.DevelopDetailedSpecifications 114 Task24.DetermineRestorationMethodsandEquipmentNeeds 115 Task25.ProcurePlants,Seeds,andMaterials 115 Task26.CompleteFinalBudget 121 Task27.DevelopLong-termMaintenanceBudgetandEndowment 122 Step8. MaintainGoodRecords 125 Task28.DecideWhatWillBeRecorded 128 Task29.DevelopaRecord-keepingStrategy 129 Step9. ReviewtheProject 131 Task30.ScheduleSemiannualandAnnualReviews 132 Task31.RefinetheRestorationProgramasSuggestedbytheReview 132 Step10. SharetheRestorationProcess 135 Task32.DevelopaPlanforSharingYourExperiences 135 appendix1.dataforms 137 appendix2.equipment,safety,andprotectionforrestorationplanning 163 appendix3.restorationcontracts 165 appendix4.additionalresourcesforreaders 177 preface Itisinman’sheartthatthelifeofnature’sspectacleexists;toseeit,onemustfeelit. Jean-JacquesRousseau This workbook provides detailed information for preparing and implementing an ecological restoration project. It closely follows our previous book, Restoring Eco- logical Health to Your Land1, in which we describe an approach that has been consistently successful in restoring ecosystems. The methodology we describe is pragmatic.Itistheresultofyearsofexperiencewithrestorationofhundredsofeco- systems,includingprairies,forests,deserts,wetlands,andstreamsaroundtheworld. Itisouraiminthisbooktoprovidethebasictoolsandtechniques,withenoughin- struction so that you can tailor them to the specific and unique aspects of your project. Wehaveorganizedthisbookinthesequencethatshouldbefollowedforevery project,beginningwithevaluationoftheland.Weprovideguidanceforeachstep andsourcesforobtainingtheessentialinformationrequiredtoprepareagoodres- torationplan;thenweprogresstoimplementationoftheplan.Monitoringresultsof restorationtreatmentsandgoodrecordkeepingarenecessarytoadaptivelymanage and refine restorations during implementation; we provide guidance for both. We alsohaveincludedinformationonsuchthingsasfinancingandcontractingforser- vicesandstrategiesforreducingcosts. Thislogicalflowofpreparingandimplementingarestorationplanisimportant forthreereasons:itfacilitatescommunicationwithothers,itsupportsyourneedto optimallyutilizeyourinvestmentsoftimeandmoney,anditguidesyouinbuilding theessentialknowledgeandunderstandingoftheecosystemsyouarerestoring.Do notunderestimatetheimportanceofcommunications.Ifthereisamostimportant lesson learned by the authors, it is the importance of developing a simple, under- standable way to share the restoration project with the stakeholders, be they your own family, neighbors, financial partners, or volunteers. We emphasize careful ix x Preface organizationandgoodcommunicationthroughoutthebook,primarilybecausewe haveseengoodprojectsfailforlackofattentiontotheseelementsmorethanforany otherreason. Gettingstartedisthehardestpartofanydifficulttask.Restorationandmanage- ment of ecosystems is complex, with a staggering array of things to consider. It is easy to get discouraged, and even the most experienced of us often feel over- whelmed.Wehavetriedtoidentifythecommonbarriersandstumblingpoints,and provideyouwithanapproachfordealingwiththemthatincreasesyourcomfortand confidence.Theapproachalwaysshouldbeginwithlearningyourland,howithas changed, how it has been impaired, and why and where it is presently being stressed.Startingworkonthelandprematurelywithoutthisknowledge,orwithout theunderstandingofhowtoaddressthestressors,cancostyoutimeandmoney,at best,orincreasetheproblemsontheland,atworst. Finally,weoffersomethinguniqueforourreaders.Tohelpensurethatyouare successful,wehaveestablishedawebsite(www.restoringyourland.com)andoffera one-hour,freeconsultationthatwillhelpyouintoandthroughtherestorationpro- cess.Additionalinformationaboutthewebsite,suchashowtoapplyforassistance, isfoundinappendix4. This book is part of the series The Science and Practice of Ecological Restora- tion, sponsored by the Society for Ecological Restoration and published by Island Press.Otherbooksintheseriesarelistedattheendofthebook.Manyarewrittenby restoration experts for those experienced with at least some aspects of restoration ecology and will provide you with useful references for specific ecosystems like thoseyouareplanningtorestore.Thesebookscontaindetailsnotincludedinthis book; as you gain experience and knowledge about your restoration, this informa- tionwillbecomemoreuseful.Thebookyouareholdinginyourhands,alongwith ourpreviousbook,differsfromothersintheseries,becausewehaveassumedaslit- tleaspossibleaboutyourexperienceorformaltraining.Ifyouarejustgettinginto ecological restoration, we hope that our books will give you the information you needtobegin. Inpreparingbothbooks,wehavedrawnfromourpersonalexperiencesinrestor- ing our own lands, as well as from hundreds of other projects with which we have beeninvolved.Wealsodrewfromtheexperiencesofothersandappliedouraccu- mulated knowledge to lay out an approach to ecological restoration that we have foundtobeconsistentlysuccessful. We think of those engaged in ecological restoration as the “land-connection community.” Thiscommunityincludesprivatelandownersinterestedinconserva- tion,landstewardsworkingforlandtrustsorconservancies(oneofthefastestgrow- ing conservation movements in the world), governmental and nongovernmental personnel engaged in ecosystem restoration and management, personnel working
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