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Revegetation after management
What areas have been overlooked or under studied?
Environmental factors: Conditions influencing the outcome of planting native
species need further investigation:
• Propagule pressure of invasive species
• Planting density of native species
• Disturbances (wave action, fluctuations, management actions)
• Herbivory
• Water quality
• Sediment suitability
• Interactions among these factors
Identify more species suitable for restoration: Multiple species plantings are
beneficial to ecosystem function and stability, but we lack information on
how some native species respond to environmental conditions that may
interfere with establishment. Resistance to turbidity, herbivory, fluctuating
water levels, and herbicides are important traits to consider for each
species used in restoration.
Revegetation after management
What areas have been overlooked or under studied?
Genetic diversity may be as important as species diversity.
Competition: Mechanisms that allow native species to outcompete invasive
species need to be better understood.
Dispersal: Document factors leading to wide-scale spread of native vegetation
from founder colonies or from natural stands of vegetation.
Seed banks: Develop criteria for evaluating native seed/tuber banks to
ascertain whether or not a system will require revegetation.
Revegetation after management
What areas have been overlooked or under studied?
Founder colony planting strategies: Planting densities, depths, number and
size of founder colonies, etc., require additional research to provide
reasonably consistent results.
Alternatives to founder colonies: Investigate feasibility of large-scale
planting, including use of seeds.
Scaling: Evaluate transfer of successful planting strategies across scales and
across systems.
Propagule types: Evaluate success and cost effectiveness of containerized
plants versus bare root versus seeds, etc.
Propagule availability: Because access to propagules is limited, we need to
develop economically feasible mass-production technologies.
Revegetation after management
What benefit would additional work in these areas provide to
managers?
Increased success in establishment of native vegetation will:
•
In the long run, reduce resources needed for managing invasive species
•
Repair ecosystems damaged by invasions
•
Improve fisheries and wildlife habitat, bringing managers closer to their
management goals
•
Improve ecosystem functioning, which can enhance ecosystem goods and
services (e.g., cleaner water, flood control, erosion control).
Revegetation after management
What are the obstacles to accomplishing this work? (e.g.,
funding, research facilities, interest by students and/or
managers?)
Current funding focuses on on-the-ground restoration, rather than developing
methodologies or understanding the basic ecology of species and how
multiple factors interact.
Lack of information for managers and the general public – because they often
do not see revegetation as a tool for aquatic plant management, they are
unlikely to support its research or implementation.
Revegetation after management
What suggestions would help overcome these obstacles?
Need long-term funding for:
•
Research
•
Technology transfer
• Workshops for managers and agencies
• Demonstrations, especially IPM
•
Environmental education of the general public to gain public support
(financial, volunteers).
Better coordination of research efforts among agencies.