CONCEPTS 10-5A, 10-5B, AND 10-5C 243
- Stop the abuse by eliminating or sharply reducing
these factors. This would include removing toxic
soil pollutants, adding nutrients to depleted soil,
adding new topsoil, preventing fires, and control-
ling or eliminating disruptive nonnative species
(Science Focus, left).- If necessary, reintroduce species—especially pio-
neer, keystone, and foundation species—to help re-
store natural ecological processes, as was done with
wolves in the Yellowstone ecosystem (Core
Case Study).- Protect the area from further degradation (Fig-
ure 10-21, right).
Most of the tall-grass prairies in the United States
have been plowed up and converted to crop fields.
However, these prairies are ideal subjects for ecologi-
cal restoration for three reasons. First, many residual
or transplanted native plant species can be established
within a few years. Second, the technology involved is
similar to that of gardening and agriculture. Third, the
process is well suited for volunteer labor needed to
plant native species and weed out invading species un-
til the natural species can take over. There are a num-
ber of prairie restoration projects in the United States,
a prime example of which is Curtis Prairie in the U. S.
state of Wisconsin (Figure 10-28).
RESEARCH FRONTIER
Exploring ways to improve ecological restoration efforts. See
academic.cengage.com/biology/miller.Will Restoration Encourage
Further Destruction?
Some analysts worry that ecological restoration could
encourage continuing environmental destruction and
degradation by suggesting that any ecological harm we
do can be undone. Restoration ecologists disagree with
that suggestion. They point out that preventing eco-
system damage in the first place is cheaper and more
effective than any form of ecological restoration. But
they agree that restoration should not be used as an
excuse for environmental destruction.
Restoration ecologists note that so far, we have been
able to protect or preserve only about 5% of the earth’s
land from the effects of human activities, so ecologi-
cal restoration is badly needed for many of the world’s
ecosystems. Even if a restored ecosystem differs from
the original system, they argue, the result is better than
no restoration at all. In time, further experience with
ecological restoration will improve its effectiveness.
Chapter 12 describes examples of the ecological resto-
ration of aquatic systems such as wetlands and rivers.Figure 10-28Solutions:Curtis Prairie, in the University of Wisconsin’s arboretum, Madison,
Wisconsin (USA), was restored from abandoned farm fields. It serves as a highly instructive
example of successful prairie restoration and is studied by restoration ecology students from
around the world. The inset photo, taken in about 1934, shows part of the process of res-
toration: a controlled burn to prepare the land for establishment of prairie plants. These re-
searchers have just burned a part of the vegetation to simulate a prairie fire, which is an im-
portant natural event in the prairie ecosystem. The second person from the left in this photo
is the pioneering conservation biologist Aldo Leopold (Individuals Matter, p. 22).
University of Wisconsin ArboretumUniversity of Wisconsin Arboretum