Land Restoration

Stakeholder participation in environmental management is increasing. Staff of environmental agencies, however, often lack training in communication and in conducting participatory processes. Their interpretation of "participation" is of interest because interpretation affects how participation is practiced. We explored how participation was interpreted within the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland and how the interpretation affected how participation was carried out in two land restoration projects. Our methods included semi-structured interviews with agency staff and involved stakeholders, participant observations, and document review. The findings showed that participation was seen as a method to accomplish the agency's tasks, and the focus was primarily on the outputs, or products, of the participatory processes. This interpretation worked well and created positive outcomes as long as process factors, such as interaction with other stakeholders and shared influence, were adequately attended to and joint gains were assured, but other stakeholders expressed dissatisfaction when they were not. We conclude that, although tangible outcomes are necessary for environmental agencies, maintaining a balance between product and process focus in participatory projects is important for optimal results. To increase their ability to deal with process factors, environmental agencies, and ultimately environmental management, would benefit from enhancing their personnel's understanding of participation, and capacity to conduct participatory processes. To facilitate participation, this understanding should also be integrated in the institutional framework the agencies work within.

Revegetation is often limited in its ability to improve the condition of degraded riparian ecosystems. In some cases, revegetation was implemented in riparian areas that were fully capable of coming back naturally. In other instances, plantings were placed in riparian sites where they could not survive. To use riparian revegetation most effectively, the causes of site decline and the current ecological condition of the site need to be understood. This can best be accomplished by evaluating the condition of the degraded riparian ecosystem from a watershed perspective that takes into consideration how perturbations in surrounding ecosystems may be affecting site conditions. Riparian ecosystems are declining throughout the Southwest; many have disappeared completely. The rapid decline of these valuable ecosystems has made riparian conservation a focal issue for many federal, state, and private organizations. Nevertheless, progress toward checking the decline of riparian ecosystems has been marginal. This is due, in part, to the fact that the “science” of repairing damaged riparian ecosystems is relatively young, and some of the fundamental questions on riparian ecosystem processes and how human activities are affecting the ecological condition of riparian areas are still being investigated. In addition, the results of only a relatively small number of riparian mitigation efforts have been evaluated for the benefit of future projects (mitigation is defined here as any project that is performed to improve the ecological condition of an area.) Consequently, we have learned only marginally from past mitigation efforts and are just beginning to understand how to effectively repair degraded riparian ecosystems. The objective of this paper is to discuss the limitations of using revegetation to improve the condition of degraded riparian ecosystems. This paper also reviews riparian site characteristics that play a significant role in determining the effectiveness of riparian revegetation to improve the condition of degraded riparian ecosystems in arid environments. These issues are discussed in greater detail in a guidebook—Repairing Degraded Riparian Ecosystems—being prepared by the Rincon Institute in cooperation with the University of Arizona, Arizona Game & Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other agencies. The guidebook also reviews approaches In: Roundy, Bruce A.; McArthur, E. Durant; Haley, Jennifer S.; Mann, David K., comps. 1995. Proceedings: wildland shrub and arid land restoration symposium; 1993 October 19-21; Las Vegas, NV. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-GTR-315. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. Mark Briggs is the Director of Research at the Rincon Institute, 6842 E. Tanque Verde Rd, Tucson, AZ 85716.

Land restoration is considered to be the remedy for 21st century global challenges of land degradation. As a result, various land restoration and conservation efforts are underway at different scales. Ethiopia is one of the countries with huge investments in land restoration. Tremendous land management practices have been implemented across the country since the 1970s. However, the spatial distribution of the interventions has not been documented, and there is no systematic, quantitative evidence on whether land restoration efforts have achieved the restoration of desired ecosystem services. Therefore, we carried out a meta‐analysis of peer‐reviewed scientific literature related to land restoration efforts and their impacts in Ethiopia. Results show that most of the large‐scale projects have been implemented in the highlands, specifically in Tigray and Amhara regions covering about 24 agroecological zones, and land restoration impact studies are mostly focused in the highlands but restricted in about 11 agroecological zones. The highest mean effect on agricultural productivity is obtained from the combination of bunds and biological interventions followed by conservation agriculture practices with 170% and 18% increases, respectively. However, bunds alone, biological intervention alone, and terracing (fanya juu) reveal negative effects on productivity. The mean effect of all land restoration interventions on soil organic carbon is positive, the highest effect being from “bunds + biological” (139%) followed by exclosure (90%). Reduced soil erosion and runoff are the dominant impacts of all interventions. The results can be used to improve existing guidelines to better match land restoration options with specific desired ecosystem functions and services. Although the focus of this study was on the evaluation of the impacts of land restoration efforts on selected ecosystem services, impacts on livelihood and national socioeconomy have not been examined. Thus, strengthening socioeconomic studies at national scale to assess the sustainability of land restoration initiatives is an essential next step.

SUMMARY Data from field work and pot experiments gave insight into transformations occurring in soil microbial populations at opencast coal sites during the first year of land restoration. Total bacterial biomass increased markedly immediately following restoration, while pot experiments revealed that this flush was confined to soil stored below 1 m depth in stockpiles, where anaerobic conditions develop. Fungal and actinomycete propagules declined at the outset of restoration, but rallied during the first year, while the bacterial flush subsided. Fungal hyphae, which accounted for 50% of microbial biomass in surface mound and freshly restored soils, accounted for > 99% one year after restoration. Experiments involving fertilizer and ryegrass amendments showed the biomass of restored soil to be limited by carbon, rather than nitrogen or phosphorus.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a core indicator of soil quality. A proper tillage system can improve SOC accumulation and benefit land restoration. This improvement is especially significant in loess soil, which is undergoing serious degradation in China. In this study, we chose a field that was used for crop production and used a traditional moldboard plow with crop residue removal (CT) for over 10 years. We then carried out a long‐term field experiment (2007–2015) and changed the tillage system from a moldboard plow with crop residue removal to either a moldboard plow with buried straw system (BT), a no‐tillage with straw mulch system (NT), or a subsoiling with straw mulch system (ST) to evaluate the effect of tillage system change and the effects of tillage systems on SOC storage. Tillage system change influenced SOC content, NT, ST, and BT showed higher values of SOC content and increased 8.34, 7.83, and 1.64 Mg·C·ha−1, respectively, compared with CT. Among the 3 changed tillage systems, NT and ST showed a 12.5% and 11.6% increase in SOC content then BT, respectively. Tillage system change influenced SOC stratification ratio values, with higher value observed in BT and NT compared CT but ST. Therefore, in loess soil, changing tillage system can significantly improve SOC storage and change profile distribution. The NT and ST treatments showed a more marked SOC increase, but the increase value in stratification ratio with NT still needs attention, and our results is meaningful for soil quality improvement and land restoration.

ABSTRACT Food-insecure households in many countries depend on international aid to alleviate acute shocks and chronic shortages. Some food security programmes (including Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program–PSNP – which provides a case study for this article) have integrated aid in exchange for labour on public works to reduce long-term dependence by investing in the productive capacity and resilience of communities. Using this approach, Ethiopia has embarked upon an ambitious national programme of land restoration and sustainable land management. Although the intent was to reduce poverty, here we show that an unintended co-benefit is the climate-change mitigation from reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increased landscape carbon stocks. The article first shows that the total reduction in net GHG emissions from PSNP’s land management at the national scale is estimated at 3.4 million Mg CO2e y−1 – approximately 1.5% of the emissions reductions in Ethiopia’s Nationally Determined Contribution for the Paris Agreement. The article then explores some of the opportunities and constraints to scaling up of this impact. Key policy insights Food security programmes (FSPs) can contribute to climate change mitigation by creating a vehicle for investment in land and ecosystem restoration. Maximizing mitigation, while enhancing but not compromising food security, requires that climate projections, and mitigation and adaptation responses should be mainstreamed into planning and implementation of FSPs at all levels. Cross-cutting oversight is required to integrate land restoration, climate policy, food security and disaster risk management into a coherent policy framework. Institutional barriers to optimal implementation should be addressed, such as incentive mechanisms that reward effort rather than results, and lack of centralized monitoring and evaluation of impacts on the physical environment. Project implementation can often be improved by adopting best management practices, such as using productive living livestock barriers where possible, and increasing the integration of agroforestry and non-timber forest products into landscape regeneration.

Restoration depends on purpose and context. At the core it entails innovation to halt ongoing and reverse past degradation. It aims for increased functionality, not necessarily recovering past system states. Location-specific interventions in social-ecological systems reducing proximate pressures, need to synergize with transforming generic drivers of unsustainable land use. After reviewing pantropical international research on forests, trees, and agroforestry, we developed an options-by-context typology. Four intensities of land restoration interact: R.I. Ecological intensification within a land use system, R.II. Recovery/regeneration, within a local social-ecological system, R.III. Reparation/recuperation, requiring a national policy context, R.IV. Remediation, requiring international support and investment. Relevant interventions start from core values of human identity while addressing five potential bottlenecks: Rights, Know-how, Markets (inputs, outputs, credit), Local Ecosystem Services (including water, agrobiodiversity, micro/mesoclimate) and Teleconnections (global climate change, biodiversity). Six stages of forest transition (from closed old-growth forest to open-field agriculture and re-treed (peri)urban landscapes) can contextualize interventions, with six special places: water towers, riparian zone and wetlands, peat landscapes, small islands and mangroves, transport infrastructure, and mining scars. The typology can help to link knowledge with action in people-centric restoration in which external stakeholders coinvest, reflecting shared responsibility for historical degradation and benefits from environmental stewardship.

The principle of ecological restoration offers opportunities to re-vegetate disturbed areas cost-effectively after mining. The southern Namib is the northern tip of one the world's 25 biodiversity hotspots and is under pressure from mining and exploration activities. This paper provides a review of methods available for arid land restoration and assesses their applicability in the context of southern Namib restoration ecology. The techniques available are discussed under the headings: (a) provision of suitable landform and substrate and (b) facilitating natural processes. Landscaping man-made landforms to match their surroundings, the provision of rough surfaces and small water catchments as well as applying fresh topsoil are the main aspects to be considered. Growth-impeding soil properties such as toxicity, and acidic, saline and sodic conditions will require treatment to ensure natural plant re-establishment is feasible or replanting areas is successful. Seeding and relocating native plants are feasible options to accelerate natural plant succession that merit further development in the southern Namib. Apart from the involvement of mining and exploration companies, the use of these techniques will require good planning, a small team of dedicated staff, limited training and some very basic facilities to become a reality.

Land degradation has become a growing concern with the current increase in demand for arable land. Sustainable land management and land restoration practices are required in order to meet the demands to provide food and other services. Adoption of improved practices has however not been widespread partly due to a lack of clarity on the true economic value and setting of proper financial incentives. This article focuses on the economic costs of land degradation as a prelude to two ongoing initiatives involving the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). We review how ecosystem services derived from land have been economically valued to date. Economic valuation has mostly focused on the use value of provisioning services and cultural services, with limited valuation of non-use value of cultural services. Also, no unique valuation method has been applied following methodological developments, varying study objectives and data availability constraints. These factors impair coherent and consistent estimation of the total economic value of land degradation across

The Grain to Green Project (GGP) is an unprecedented land restoration action in China. The project converted large areas (ca 10 million ha) of steep-sloped/degraded farmland and barren land into forest and grassland resulting in ecological benefits such as a reduction in severe soil erosion. It may also affect soil microorganisms involved in ammonia oxidization, which is a key step in the global nitrogen cycle. The methods for restoration that are typically adopted in semi-arid regions include abandoning farmland and growing drought tolerant grass (Lolium perenne L.) or shrubs (Caragana korshinskii Kom.). In the present study, the effects of these methods on the abundance and diversity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) were evaluated via quantitative real-time PCR, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and clone library analysis of amoA genes. Comparisons were made between soil samples from three restored lands and the adjacent farmland in Inner Mongolia. Both the abundance and community composition of AOB were significantly different between the restored lands and the adjacent control. Significantly lower nitrification activity was observed for the restored land. Clone library analysis revealed that all AOB amoA gene sequences were affiliated with Nitrosospira. Abundance of the populations that were associated with Nitrosospira sp. Nv6 which had possibly adapted to high concentrations of inorganic nitrogen, decreased on the restored land. Only a slight difference in the AOB communities was observed between the restored land with and without the shrub (Caragana korshinskii Kom.). A minor effect of land restoration on AOA was observed. In summary, land restoration negatively affected the abundance of AOB and soil nitrification activities, suggesting the potential role of GGP in the leaching of nitrates, and in the emission of N2O in related terrestrial ecosystems.