Forward Thinking: Restoration Of Forest

“The Anthropocene is the time in the geological record when humans have moved the planet outside of its natural limits” – Unknown. Today, humans have evolved from participants to a dominant feature, capable of degrading landscapes, controlling species’ populations, and freely destabilizing ecosystems (Stanturf et al). Current, unsustainable rates of global development result in nearly two million hectares of degraded tropical forest each year (Stanturf et al), with an annual overall decrease in forested land base of nearly 13 million hectares (Ciccarese et al). The United Nations estimates that over 1. 6 billion people rely on forest ecosystems as a means of survival, with significant dependence stemming from rural impoverished communities (Dinh Le et al). Anthropogenic climate change is expected to continue impacting the capacity of forests; subsequently reducing species diversity and crippling ecosystem functions, with the potential to trigger a human-caused mass extinction (Braidwood).

Forest restoration - the process of reviving and rehabilitating devastated landscapes (Chokkalingam et al), by re-introducing native tree species to stimulate historical conditions (Dinh Le) - has been proposed as a possible solution to combat climate change and restore biodiversity (Stanturf et al). The aim of this paper is to define restoration, to explain why it’s important, the benefits it can provide and the critical role it will play in climate change mitigation. Repurposing natural landscapes to satisfy global demand has had the most devastating impact on forest ecosystems and biodiversity (Haapalehto). To date, approximately 350 million hectares of tropical landscapes have been completely deforested; leading to significant habitat loss, food shortages, instabilities in ecosystems (Dinh Le et al) and opportunities for restoration.

An additional 500 million hectares of degraded forest have diminished ecosystem capital (population distributions, variety of species), from harmful human intervention (Dinh Le et al). Degradation and deforestation is expected to continue, motivated by the forces of economic, technological, bureaucratic and societal influence (Stanturf et al). In the last decade, developed countries have reported recent increases in overall forest cover but fail to realize significant biodiversity loss, damaged habitats and an overall reduction in the ecosystems’ functional capacity; as a result of abiotic and biotic stresses in the forest environment (Ciccarese et al). In order to neutralize these negative variables, we require sustainable, restoration strategies, which must consider long-term planning and a greater focus on conservation biology (Ciccarese et al). Previously, “revegetation” was the goal of most restoration projects; a process of introducing plant species (exotic or native) to severely damaged landscapes, in an attempt to mitigate soil erosion and filter out artificially introduced toxins (Ex. waste from mining operations) (Stanturf et al. ). However, these processes failed to promote native habitats, ecosystems and species (Haapalehto). To accommodate rapid human development and inevitable climate change (Braidwood), the ideal restoration process takes incremental restorative steps relative to the site being considered. These include ecosystem services provided, significance of degradation to the site, time available and invested capital into the project (Ciccarese et al). Considering these factors can successfully yield a balance between conservation and feasibility (Stanturf, Palik).

Warmer temperatures, higher levels of carbon dioxide, globalization (increased rates of invasive species finding new territory) (Stanturf et al) and a growing human population all suggest a trend of continued degradation (Stanturf et al). In order to accommodate these rapid changes – beyond expanding conservation areas - ecologists must acknowledge that the likelihood of restoring a severely degraded landscape into a pre-anthropogenic; static state is unrealistic (Ciccarese et al). Instead, by focusing on what degree of restoration can be done to a particular site, with the resources available, can lead to successful outcomes (Stanturf). In general, enhancing ecological integrity will be at the forefront of these decisions with special considerations on how the restored site will benefit society (Park et al). Identifying objectives is fundamental to evaluating the success of restoration outcomes (Dinh Le). Undertaking thorough assessments is typically recommended prior to implementation, ensuring completeness and the inclusion of relevant societal, biological and environmental influences (Dinh Le).

Successful restoration requires successive phases; the starting point being the degraded forest (Stanturf et al); followed by regeneration establishment (measured by surviving young trees; assessed after 3 months), forest growth or re-vegetation (health of trees, growth rates, density of forest), environmental capabilities (influence on nutrient cycles, water quality, soil erosion etc. ), and lastly, the overall socio-economic capacity (impact on employment, income, and food sources) of the now developed, diverse forest (Dinh Le). Unlike natural succession, restoration requires active management to ensure all goals are met (Ciccarese et al), with highest levels of intervention occurring during the early stages (Park et al). As global warming intensifies and ecosystems becoming increasingly vulnerable, restoration has been proposed as a means of preemptively creating habitable environments for species that may otherwise go extinct (Stanturf et al. ). In Europe, a significant number of plant species are expected to be at risk by 2080 because of increased warming and other anthropogenic factors (Braidwood). To ensure the conservation of these species, a proposal to artificially migrate the plants, known as translocation, has been suggested (Braidwood).

However, to enhance reliability of successful translocation and ultimately secure funding, further field tests and scientific research must be undertaken (Braidwood). An alternative application of restoration – afforestation, is the process of planting trees in previously nonforested regions (barren agricultural sites), typically to capitalize on the carbon sequestration potential of fast-growing trees (Dominy et al). Findings from the Canadian Forest 2020 Project, where approximately 6000 hectares of trees were planted on afforested land (Dominy et al); demonstrated that hybrid-poplars do have the capacity to store large carbon reserves, but they did not yield enough value (in wood fibre, carbon sequestering potential, biofuel, fuelwood etc. ) to be considered attractive by financial markets or private industry (Dominy et al).

The species yielded a marginal rate of return of less than 15%, and had high establishment and management costs (Dominy et al). From an ecological perspective, plantation-based forestry will rarely produce the quality, diversity, and complexity that would typically be reflective of natural forests (Ciccarese et al). Generally, these stands (plantations) are vulnerable to natural disturbances and disease, having to rely exclusively on a single species rather than a community of species (Ciccarese et al). However, in cases where afforestation occurs on “previously degraded land or in ecosystems largely composed of invasive alien species; include native tree species; consist of diverse, multi-strata canopies; result in minimal disturbance; consider the invasiveness of non- native species; and are strategically located within the landscape to enhance connectivity” (Ciccarese et al. , pg 548); biodiversity, wildlife habitat and productivity may improve in these plantations. But, as demand for the plantations increases and high-quality governance is unable to match the growth, we risk habit loss, a reduction in natural resource quality, lowered GHG absorption rates and potential conflicts with food availability (Dominy et al).

Conservation biologists must demonstrate how the ecological value of diverse forests far outweighs the silvicultural advantages of select, aggressive, rapidly developing exotic species (Stier and Siebert). Currently, this crop-styled approach to forestry is amongst the most utilized and effective methodologies for large-scale restoration efforts, amounting to 7% of global forests and supplying approximately 40% of the global wood demand (Ciccarese et al). While natural forests continue to decrease in area, these forests have increased (Ciccarese et al). Moving forward, regulation and sustainable management policies must be adhered to avoid further ecological devastation and biodiversity loss (Stier and Siebert). Forest restoration techniques have the ability to slow climate change as well as rehabilitate previously degraded or deforested landscapes for ecological and socio-economic benefit.