Wetland
Restoration: Accelerating Natural
Ecological Succession
Introduction
Achieving success in ecological restoration requires that we understand the processes that structure ecosystems. Through natural succession, ecological systems develop characteristic attributes, depending on their physical properties and the interaction of the biota with these physical conditions. Through succession, the ecological attributes of young systems change as ecosystems mature and become self-regulating. The time required to achieve sustainability depends on many factors, and is different for different types of natural ecological systems. For example, a marsh, with short-lived species, may reach a state of sustainability within a few decades; a forest may require hundreds of years.
Unfortunately, the regulatory time in which success of ecological restoration is judged is usually much shorter than the time required for the ecosystem to achieve sustainability. Thus, we seek ways in which we can accelerate the process of ecosystem development from the typical successional time frame into a regulatory time frame. The goal is to achieve a high level of ecosystem performance in a shorter time period, without jeopardizing the integrity and sustainability of the ecosystem.
 |
|
Major ecological components that can be manipulated in wetland restoration or creation are the hydrology, the substrate, and the biota. These form the experimental treatments in two case studies. |
