top

Shiro TSUYUZAKI
Plant community ecology / Environmental conservation

Mount Usu / Sarobetsu post-mined peatland
From left: Crater basin in 1986 and 2006. Cottongrass / Daylily

(Update on Jan 18 2005. Revised on March 12 2005)

Restoration ecology

What is "restoration ecology"?

Ecological restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of ecosystems or landscapes that have been damaged by both natural and anthropogenic activities. On plant communities, we often conduct the transplantation and seeding of native species and the removal of non-native species.

Restoration (復元)

  1. Returning a disturbed site to precisely the same state it was prior to the disturbance (sensu strict).
  2. The process of restoring ecosystems as they were before the disturbances.

Rehabilitation (復旧)

  1. The act of returning a disturbed ecosystem to a healthy ecosystem evaluated by function, productivity, and/or stability (based on a predetermined land-use plan).

Reclamation (再生)

  1. Creating an ecosystem that can support population(s) and/or ecosystem(s) in approximately the same sizes after the process is completed as it was before disturbance began.
  2. The process of reconverting disturbed ecosystems to the former (or other) productive uses.
  3. Restoration of an ecosystem to a desired condition to achieve management plans.

Post-mining land use

A prescribed productive use(s) of the land after mining such as grazing, forestry, and/or wildlife habitats.

Compliance

Conducting extraction and reclamation activities in accordance with the requirements of state and federal law.

Criteria of restoration success
  • biodiversity (index)
  • community structure
  • ecosystem function
  • ecosystem stability (resistance and resilience)
  • ecosystem health
Revegetation 植生回復

in the case of restoration ecology

The process of again becoming green and covered with vegetation

  1. Planting reclaimed land.
  2. The reestablishment or improvement of vegetation through various management practices.
  3. To provide a site for vegetation recovery.
  4. Plants or growth, which replaces original ground cover, following ecosystgem disturbances.
References
  • Jordan, W.R., Gilpin, M.E. & Aber, J.D. 1990. Restoration Ecology : A Synthetic Approach to Ecological Research. Cambridge University Press, London. pp. 352

Restoration Ecology published by Society for Ecological Restoration International

TOP

footer