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The role of diverse soil microbiota in restoring erosion‐induced degraded lands is well recognized. Yet, the facilitative interactions among symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, rhizobia, and heterotrophic bacteria, which underpin multiple functions in eroded ecosystems, remain unclear. Here, we utilized quantitative microbiota profiling and ecological network analyses to explore the interplay between the diversity and biotic associations of root‐associated microbiota and multifunctionality across an eroded slope of a Robinia pseudoacacia plantation on the Loess Plateau. We found explicit variations in slope multifunctionality across different slope positions, associated with shifts in limiting resources, including soil phosphorus (P) and moisture. To cope with P limitation, AM fungi were recruited by R. pseudoacacia, assuming pivotal roles as keystones and connectors within cross‐kingdom networks. Furthermore, AM fungi facilitated the assembly and composition of bacterial and rhizobial communities, collectively driving slope multifunctionality. The symbiotic association among R. pseudoacacia, AM fungi, and rhizobia promoted slope multifunctionality through enhanced decomposition of recalcitrant compounds, improved P mineralization potential, and optimized microbial metabolism. Overall, our findings highlight the crucial role of AM fungal‐centered microbiota associated with R. pseudoacacia in functional delivery within eroded landscapes, providing valuable insights for the sustainable restoration of degraded ecosystems in erosion‐prone regions. Highlights: Robinia pseudoacacia strategically recruited AM fungi to cope with phosphorus limitation.AM fungi interacted with the assembly and composition of bacteria and rhizobia.AM fungal‐centered underground network supported slope multifunctionality.The R. pseudoacacia–AM fungi–rhizobia association restores eroded ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global goals and targets were recently set for biodiversity conservation in the coming decade. As action plans are now being developed, it is timely and important to carefully consider where and when various strategies for conservation—such as restoration and preservation—will be most effective.For example, there is widespread support for expanding protected areas (e.g. protecting 30% of lands and waters by 2030) and restoration (e.g. having restoration completed or underway on at least 30% of degraded lands and waters), but also concerns regarding missed opportunities, and even additional degradation of nature, resulting from the ineffective implementation of these strategies.Here, we emphasize the importance of prioritizing the preservation of relatively intact and pristine areas when identifying protected areas, and of avoiding the common misconception that, if intact nature is degraded or lost, it can simply be restored. Even the best restorations, after many decades of investments and efforts, are only a shadow of the natural systems they are meant to recreate.Synthesis and applications. Now that the Global Biodiversity Framework has just been set, there is a critical need to recognize their fundamental differences between the types of places that are priorities for preservation, restoration or both to make collective actions for achieving the targets and goals for nature and people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The role of diverse soil microbiota in restoring erosion‐induced degraded lands is well recognized. Yet, the facilitative interactions among symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, rhizobia, and heterotrophic bacteria, which underpin multiple functions in eroded ecosystems, remain unclear. Here, we utilized quantitative microbiota profiling and ecological network analyses to explore the interplay between the diversity and biotic associations of root‐associated microbiota and multifunctionality across an eroded slope of a Robinia pseudoacacia plantation on the Loess Plateau. We found explicit variations in slope multifunctionality across different slope positions, associated with shifts in limiting resources, including soil phosphorus (P) and moisture. To cope with P limitation, AM fungi were recruited by R. pseudoacacia, assuming pivotal roles as keystones and connectors within cross‐kingdom networks. Furthermore, AM fungi facilitated the assembly and composition of bacterial and rhizobial communities, collectively driving slope multifunctionality. The symbiotic association among R. pseudoacacia, AM fungi, and rhizobia promoted slope multifunctionality through enhanced decomposition of recalcitrant compounds, improved P mineralization potential, and optimized microbial metabolism. Overall, our findings highlight the crucial role of AM fungal‐centered microbiota associated with R. pseudoacacia in functional delivery within eroded landscapes, providing valuable insights for the sustainable restoration of degraded ecosystems in erosion‐prone regions.

Mountains are one of the most ecological functional areas and provide wide range of ecosystem services (ESs) to the adjoining people. However, the mountainous ESs are highly vulnerable due to land use and land cover (LULC) change and climate change. Therefore, evaluations of the nexus between ESs and mountainous communities are essentially required for policy purpose. This study aims to assess ESs by analyzing LULC focusing in three ecosystems (forest, agriculture, and home garden) from urban and peri-urban areas for last 3 decades, applying participatory and geospatial approaches for a mountainous city in Eastern Himalayan Region (EHR), India. The findings showed that a substantial loss in ESs has occurred during the period. Moreover, there were substantial variations of ecosystem importance and dependency between urban and peri-urban areas with highest importance of provisioning ESs in peri-urban areas and cultural ESs in urban areas. Moreover, among the three ecosystems, forests were strongly supporting the peri-urban areas communities. The result demonstrated that the communities are highly dependent on various ESs for their livelihoods, but the changes of LULC had substantial impact on the loss of ESs. Therefore, implementation of effective land uses planning strategies and measures for ecological security and livelihood sustainability is to be managed with people participation in mountainous areas. Highlights: Social and geospatial approach was used to evaluate socio-ecological nexus. Losses in ecosystem services (ESs) were evident in the region during the last 3 decades. Effective land use planning for management of ecosystems in mountainous regions may provide solution to the degradation of the ES flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies describe the factors that influence the natural regeneration in abandoned gold mining areas in the Amazon. Here we focus on the influence of the distance to the forest edge and abandonment time in a spontaneous succession of degraded areas by gold mining in the southeastern Peruvian Amazon. We assessed woody species composition (DBH ≥ 1 cm) and forest stand structure across a chronosequence (2–23 years). A total of 79 species belonging to 30 families were identified. The natural regeneration was dominated by Fabaceae, Malvaceae, and Urticaceae. Together, they represented 60% of the importance index. Cecropia membranacea and Ochroma pyramidale were the dominant pioneer species at the initial successional stage. The basal area and species diversity were directly related to time after abandonment and inversely related to the distance to forest edges. The distance-based redundancy analysis showed that more of the variation in species composition was explained by distance to the forest edge than the abandonment time. Our study revealed that regeneration was relatively slow and provided evidence that the distance to the forest edge is important for natural regeneration in areas degraded by gold mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem degradation is a major environmental threat. Beyond conservation, restoration of degraded ecosystems is a prerequisite to reinstate their ability to provide essential services and benefits. Most of the restoration efforts focus on aboveground restoration, that is, plants, under the assumption that establishment of plant species will reestablish the faunal and microbial species. While this may be true for some cases, it is not a general rule. Reestablishment of microbial communities by dedicated efforts is also necessary for successful restoration, as cycling of essential nutrients for plant growth and decomposition of organic matter is dependent on them. The role of microbial fertilizers and efficient organisms used in agriculture needs to be explored in restoration. Testing of symbiotic interactions between potential plant growth‐promoting Rhizobacteria and plants native to a degraded ecosystem can be conducted and utilized for successful establishment of plant species. However, utmost care must be taken while introducing new microbial species or non‐native plant species to an area, as they can adversely affect the resident microbial community. Techniques like phospholipid fatty‐acid analysis can be used for taxonomic identification of large microbial groups in non‐degraded reference ecosystems before introducing microbial species into a degraded ecosystem. For use of microbes in restoration, more studies on microbe‐plant interactions need to be conducted. For use of Soil Microbial Community (SMC) as indicators of restoration, their role and function in the ecology of the area need to be elucidated by employing all the available techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural revegetation has been widely confirmed to be an effective strategy for the restoration of degraded lands, particularly in terms of rehabilitating ecosystem productivity and soil nutrients. Yet the mechanisms of how natural revegetation influences the variabilities and drivers of soil residing fungal communities, and its downstream effects on ecosystem nutrient cycling are not well understood. For this study, we investigated changes in soil fungal communities along with ~160 years of natural revegetation in the Loess Plateau of China, employing Illumina MiSeq DNA sequencing analyses. Our results revealed that the soil fungal abundance was greatly enhanced during the later stages of revegetation. As revegetation progresses, soil fungal richness appeared first to rise and then decline at the climax Quercus liaotungensis forest stage. The fungal Shannon and Simpson diversity indexes were the lowest and highest at the climax forest stage among revegetation stages, respectively. Principal component analysis, Bray-Curtis similarity indices, and FUNGuild function prediction suggested that the composition, trophic modes, and functional groups for soil fungal communities gradually shifted along with natural revegetation. Specifically, the relative abundances of Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes, Eurotiomycetes, and ectomycorrhizal fungi progressively increased, while that of Ascomycota, Sordariomycetes, Dothideomycetes, Tremellomycetes, saprotrophic, pathotrophic, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and endophyte fungi gradually decreased along with natural revegetation, respectively. The most enriched members of Basidiomycota (e.g., Agaricomycetes, Agaricales, Cortinariaceae, Cortinarius, Sebacinales, Sebacinaceae, Tricholomataceae, Tricholoma, Russulales, and Russulaceae) were found at the climax forest stage. As important carbon (C) sources, the most enriched symbiotic fungi (particularly ectomycorrhizal fungi containing more recalcitrant compounds) can promote organic C and nitrogen (N) accumulation in soils of climax forest. However, the most abundant of saprotrophic fungi in the early stages of revegetation decreased soil organic C and N accumulation by expediting the decomposition of soil organic matter. Our results suggest that natural revegetation can effectively restore soil fungal abundance, and modify soil fungal diversity, community composition, trophic modes, and functional groups by altering plant properties (e.g., plant species richness, diversity, evenness, litter quantity and quality), quantity and quality of soil nutrient substrates, soil moisture and pH. These changes in soil fungal communities, particularly their trophic modes and functional groups along with natural revegetation, impact the accumulation and decomposition of soil C and N and potentially affect ecosystem C and N cycling in the Loess Plateau of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies describe the factors that influence the natural regeneration in abandoned gold mining areas in the Amazon. Here we focus on the influence of the distance to the forest edge and abandonment time in a spontaneous succession of degraded areas by gold mining in the southeastern Peruvian Amazon. We assessed woody species composition (DBH ≥ 1 cm) and forest stand structure across a chronosequence (2–23 years). A total of 79 species belonging to 30 families were identified. The natural regeneration was dominated by Fabaceae, Malvaceae, and Urticaceae. Together, they represented 60% of the importance index. Cecropia membranacea and Ochroma pyramidale were the dominant pioneer species at the initial successional stage. The basal area and species diversity were directly related to time after abandonment and inversely related to the distance to forest edges. The distance-based redundancy analysis showed that more of the variation in species composition was explained by distance to the forest edge than the abandonment time. Our study revealed that regeneration was relatively slow and provided evidence that the distance to the forest edge is important for natural regeneration in areas degraded by gold mining.

Although its economic importance, bauxite mining causes the loss of natural ecosystems. In this sense, the Technosols building from materials made or modified by man, such as mine tailings, is necessary for recovering degraded areas. Additionally, the Technosols management, such as subsoiling and liming, increases chances of plants establishment and growth. In this study, a degraded area by bauxite mining with constructed Technosol in the Eastern Amazon, Brazil, was tested under three different soil management treatments: Technosol-1 (Tech-1), Liming only; Technosol-2 (Tech-2), Subsoiling + 200 g of NPK in the pit; Technosol-3 (Tech-3), Scarification + liming + all Tech-2 procedures. In every treatment and in a reference forest (R-forest), 8 years after the initial seedling planting, three types of indicators were assessed: structural (horizontal vegetation structure, density of natural regeneration, and soil cover), compositional (species diversity, ecological groups, and dispersal syndromes), and functional (chemical properties of Technosols and dry matter and nutrients from the litter stock). The most representative species in all treatments were Croton matourensis and Vismia guianensis, both coming from the natural regeneration and common in early successional stages. Coverage rates in all treatments showed less than 5% of exposed Technosol and the diversity, ecological group, and dispersal syndrome indexes followed a successful trajectory along 8 years. Tech-2 and Tech-3 presented the best chemical attributes and nutrients in the litter stock, but they would probably last several decades to reach the R-forest attributes. Thus, subsoiling alone or with liming provided the best chemical results for soil, litter, and vegetation performance, being recommended to speed up restoration of degrades areas by bauxite mining in the Amazon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land developers often see degraded ecosystems such as patchwork forests and roadside wetlands as prime locations for conversion projects (i.e., roads, housing, or solar farms). Although these resources convey a negative image, “worthless” lands supply basic goods and services for impoverished people during times of hardship. This study reimaged degraded ecosystems with respect to their social value using onsite observations and economic models at several locations in northeast Thailand. Food provisioning was the key ecosystem service. For example, small bogs and remnant trees along roadsides are valuable sources of fish, fruits, and vegetables. Dry Dipterocarp forests and wetlands contribute to subsistence living for rural villagers and those near suburban areas, accounting for 5–46% of annual household income. One tree can provide a measurable source of revenue. Individuals could earn up to 100 Thai Baht (∼US $3 per day; about 1/3 of the national daily wage) for harvesting ant eggs or about 300 Thai Baht per day for gathering mushrooms, vegetables, and other non-timber forest products. Re-thinking the value of degraded ecosystems does not require lofty goals for restoring these resources. Initial steps could include agroforestry practices and planting native food trees: wood-based solutions, to gain community support.

Nothofagus (southern beech) species form a major component of southern hemisphere forests, and in many regions are becoming an important focus for restoration efforts. However, restoration projects are predominantly carried out at small, local scales using a wide range of different techniques that have produced mixed results. In order to improve outcomes and develop general strategies for southern beech restoration, we review and compare data from previous trials to determine what techniques have been scientifically tested, identify the most effective methods, and pinpoint gaps in current practices. We assessed the effects of restoration techniques, applied in 91 trials from 22 publications across the southern hemisphere, on seedling survival and growth. Providing shelter improved both seedling survival and growth, controlling weeds improved survival, and protecting from herbivores improved seedling growth. Despite being one of the most commonly applied techniques, fertilizer application only marginally improved seedling survival and did not significantly influence seedling growth. Other techniques, such as increasing glasshouse container size or growth time or manipulating soil before planting, showed mixed results. Surprisingly, no trials examined the use of ectomycorrhizal fungal inoculum as a restoration technique. We discuss the outcomes of this review in the context of our current understanding of southern beech regeneration ecology, to inform future Nothofagus restoration practices and suggest where future research should be directed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the different perceptions of the local community regarding the use and management of common pool resources, such as exclosures, could better support targeted interventions by government and development partners. Here, we report on a study conducted in the Gomit watershed, northwestern Ethiopia, using a survey and key informant interviews, to examine community perceptions on (a) the biophysical condition (i.e., challenge of land degradation and restoration), (b) the action situations (user's access to and control over resources and decision‐making processes involved in taking actions in managing the exclosure), (c) actors' interactions (formal and informal institutions involved in the management of exclosures), and (d) perceived outcomes (benefits and tradeoffs of managing exclosures). Many people in the Gomit watershed recognize land degradation as a serious problem and believe that exclosures support restoration of degraded landscapes and improve ecosystem services. Informal institutions play a key role in managing exclosures by improving benefit sharing and mobilizing the local community for collective action. However, some community members have concerns about recent expansion of exclosures because of (a) limited short‐term derived benefits, (b) reductions in fuelwood availability, (c) increased degradation of remaining communal grazing lands, and (d) poor participation of marginalized groups in decision making. Addressing such concerns through the promotion of short‐term benefits of exclosures and increasing community participation in decision‐making and benefit sharing is crucial. The study provides evidence to support government and development partners on the establishment and management of exclosures through identifying the benefits and drawbacks as perceived by different sectors of the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a rich history of theoretical and empirical work showing that increasing biodiversity results in higher ecosystem function, this research has not made a commensurate impact on the reclamation of degraded lands, where enhancing ecosystem function is of primary importance.In this study, we manipulated plant diversity on heavily degraded mine lands and showed that increasing plant diversity greatly enhanced the reclamation of these lands. We found that high‐diversity assemblages were often associated with more biomass, higher stability and less toxic foliage than low diversity treatments, although the monocultures of Miscanthus sinensis (the most productive species) performed equally well as some of the polycultures.Our results showed that species composition and richness explained most of the total variation in biomass yield of the experimental plots, indicating that both the selection and complementarity effects influenced the positive diversity effects observed in this study.Miscanthus sinensis and legumes (as a functional group) were found to be the main contributors to the selection effect. The plots with M. sinensis tended to harbour fewer soil fungal pathogens than those without it and a similar pattern was observed for the legumes, indicating a poorly known plant–soil fungal pathogen feedback for these plants. This kind of feedback appeared to play an important role also in shaping the positive plant species richness–ecosystem function relationships recorded in the degraded mine land. More importantly, we provide the first evidence that the observed plant–soil fungal pathogen feedbacks were likely mediated by chitinolytic bacteria that release anti‐fungal enzymes. Cellulose‐degrading bacteria that aid in plant decomposition and nutrient cycling also attained higher abundances in plots with higher plant diversity, suggesting the contribution of another kind of plant–soil feedback to the positive diversity effects.Synthesis and applications. Our findings reveal that highly diverse plant assemblages are better able to spur plant–soil feedbacks and that increasing plant diversity is an important strategy to enhance land reclamation efficiency after contamination. Meanwhile, our results also indicate that some plants such as Miscanthus sinensis and legumes should be preferentially used to establish diverse plant communities for rapid reclamation of degraded lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton) is a notable fast-growing conifer, native to the Western Mediterranean Basin, which is considered suitable for reforestations. This tree species was artificially installed in Chalcidice, Northern Greece, about 40 years ago, in order to upgrade mountain ecosystems. The experiment reported in this paper was undertaken to estimate soil conditions and the development progress of maritime pine in the above reforestations. Samples of mineral soil and forest floor were taken from 12 different sites at 2 locations. Despite age, rather weak maritime pine trees are found in both studied locations. Furthermore, significant accumulation of organic matter and nutrients was observed in both forest floor and mineral soil.

Rehabilitation is the process of restoring an ecosystem when it has been destroyed or devastated by extreme disturbances. The purpose of this work is to propose a procedure to incorporate the economic and social spheres to the mining rehabilitation; structured in eight stages, the procedure establishes a new theoretical-methodological conception of the rehabilitation areas degraded by mining, which will contribute to the sustainability of the affected ecosystem and can be extended to other deposits whose exploitation is carried out in the open. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Restoration of degraded lands increases microbial C use efficiency and C storage. • Removing understory ferns decreases the quality of litter inputs to soils and microbial C use efficiency. • Fern removal decreases total soil respiration in a young restored pine forest. • Litter quality exerts a greater role than litter quantity in SOC dynamics. • Understory ferns promotes SOC accumulation in restored pine forests. When reforesting degraded lands, understory ferns can take root and cover the forest floor, which can change the quality and quantity of litter added to soils. However, it is unclear how ferns and the ongoing succession of trees impact soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics. Here, we established experimental sites in Masson pine (Pinus massoniana) stands for understanding the underlying mechanisms of how ferns affect SOC stock and soil respiration (R s) in subtropical China. The established three pine stands covered with ferns (Dicranopteris dichotoma (Thunb.) Berhn.) were used to represent a 37-year restoration sequence: two restored sites with vegetation cover (VC) established in 1984 and 2002 (referred to VC-1984 and VC-2002), and an unrestored site (VC-0). In August 2014, two treatments were set i.e., ferns were retained in half area of the sites ("control"), and continuously removed ferns from the other half ("fern removal") for seven years. Our results showed that fern removal significantly decreased R s by 25.8% in VC-2002 compared to the control over a three-year period from 2015 to 2018, but did not significantly affect R s in VC-0 and VC-1984. We found that fern removal decreased fine root biomass by 50.4% in VC-0, 31.4% in VC-2002, and 54.7% in VC-1984 in 2019, with seven-year averaged SOC stocks decreased by 37.2%, 13.9%, and 22.7% in VC-0, VC-2002, and VC-1984, respectively. Moreover, fern removal significantly increased carbon- and nitrogen-degrading enzyme activities and decreased microbial carbon use efficiency, suggesting that fern removal may increase SOC decomposition. Taken together, we concluded that fern removal may increase SOC-derived CO 2 efflux counteracting the reduced root respiration in VC-0 and VC-1984 but not in VC-2002, leading to a divergent response of R s to understory fern removal. Our study emphasizes the necessity of incorporating understory plants regulates SOC decomposition and accumulation in assessing forest recovery effects on soil carbon cycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Amazonia is crucial to global carbon cycle. Deforestation continues to be one of the main causes of the release of C into the atmosphere, but forest restoration plantations can reverse this scenario. However, there is still diffuse information about the C and nutrient stocks in the vegetation biomass. We investigated the carbon and nutrient stocks of Fabaceae trees (Inga edulis, Schizolobium amazonicum and Dipteryx odorata) subjected to fertilization treatments (T1 - no fertilization; T2 - chemical; T3 - organic; and T4 - organic and chemical fertilization) in a degraded area of the Balbina Hydroelectric Dam, AM - Brazil. As an early successional species, I. edulis stocked more C and nutrients than the other two species independent of the fertilization treatment, and S. amazonicum stocked more C than D. odorata under T1 and T4. The mixed species plantation had the potential to stock 4.1 Mg C ha-1 year-1, while I. edulis alone could stock 9.4 Mg C ha-1 year-1. Mixing species that rapidly assimilate C and are of significant ecological and commercial value (e.g., Fabaceae trees) represents a good way to restore degraded areas. Our results suggest that the tested species be used for forest restoration in Amazonia.

Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton) is a notable fast-growing conifer, native to the Western Mediterranean Basin, which is considered suitable for reforestations. This tree species was artificially installed in Chalcidice, Northern Greece, about 40 years ago, in order to upgrade mountain ecosystems. The experiment reported in this paper was undertaken to estimate soil conditions and the development progress of maritime pine in the above reforestations. Samples of mineral soil and forest floor were taken from 12 different sites at 2 locations. Despite age, rather weak maritime pine trees are found in both studied locations. Furthermore, significant accumulation of organic matter and nutrients was observed in both forest floor and mineral soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT As the earth's human population continues to increase, megacities rapidly expand, and agriculture tries to meet their needs, ecosystems are increasingly dominated by humans. This domination, of course, equates to increased loadings of eroded soils, nutrients, and chemicals, along with more degraded habitat. Governments will continue to struggle to address these conflicting issues and must adapt into more effective and efficient management modes. The traditional focus on using chemical-specific guidelines as the foundation of environmental protection and restoration no longer is sufficient and must move to a more realistic and effective approach. Improving environmental quality in aquatic systems to near an appropriate reference condition cannot occur without removing habitat and flow stressors, which in turn will be tied to removal of runoff loadings of soils, nutrients, and chemical pollutants. These issues cannot be resolved without a strategically designed, advanced weight-of-evidence approach to prioritize those stressors. This approach should subsequently improve the effectiveness and cost-benefit of site remediation and restoration. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:568-572. © 2017 SETAC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water resources in dry environments are becoming scarcer, especially under the changing climate. In response, rainwater harvesting (RWH) is being reemphasized with calls to revive the practice. Ancient knowledge on RWH - mainly the collection through runoff, storage, and use of rainwater for various purposes - is still relevant, especially for dry environments. However, many old practices and technologies may not be suitable or feasible for the present and future. Little has been done to modernize and (or) develop new practices and technologies based on ancient indigenous knowledge. Modernizing old practices or developing new ones and using them in integrated rangelands restoration packages with enabling policy environment can unlock their potential in many water-scarce regions of the world. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art of micro-catchment rainwater harvesting (MIRWH) in dry environments and discusses the opportunities available and the major obstacles faced in using it to restore degraded agro-pastoral ecosystems and support their sustainability. The review highlights the knowledge behind it, the practices developed over the years, and their relevance to today and the future. The paper indicates areas of modernization that can make it more feasible for the future of the dry environments, especially their role in mitigating and adapting to climate change. Conventional and passive approaches to restoring/rehabilitating degraded dry agro-pastoral ecosystems are either too slow to show an obvious impact or not progressing satisfactorily. One main reason is that, because of land degradation, the majority of rain falling on such ecosystems and needed for revegetation is lost with little benefit being gained. Adopting a more progressive intervention to alter the processes of degradation and move towards new system equilibrium is required. MIRWH can enable a large portion of this otherwise lost rainwater to be stored in the soil, and, if used in an integrated packages including suitable plant species and sound grazing management, it may support meaningful vegetation growth and help system restoration. The Badia Benchmark project, implemented by ICARDA in Jordan and Syria, has demonstrated the potential for adoption at large scale in similar environments. This case study illustrates the potential and the constraints of this practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Portmán Bay, Southeast Iberian Peninsula, is home to one of the largest environmental disasters on the Mediterranean coast: the silting of the bay caused by the dumping of million tonnes of mining waste to the sea, over more than thirty years. The analysis of the values of the surroundings, and the assessment of the potential for the development of the bay arises with the aim of obtaining alternatives for planning a sustainable local development and respectful with the environment. Two phases of analysis have been carried out: the first through a partial, more detailed, study; followed by a second phase of analysis, with an overall assessment of land uses to determine the constraints and development opportunities of the surroundings of Portmán. The integral analysis provides a vision of the space as a whole, and allows defining territorial categories in relation to possible developments in the form of residential and tourism projects, which are defined as: limitations, main constraints and additional constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental plots, in alpine pastures (Haute-Savoie) and working quarries (Salève) were followed to determine the relevance of revegatilisation methods. Mixtures of local seeds and plants collected in the surrounding areas were used. The use of seeds or plants is justified in highly degraded areas (Salève quarries), while a recolonisation using seeds or seedlings is preferred when the ground is lightly disturbed (mountain pastures) when compared to sowing artificial mixtures of seeds. Continuous monitoring over several years will be necessary to confirm the findings of this study (bachelor degree at the Hepia, Lulier). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is ambiguity in the use of the terms “enclosure” and “exclosure” in describing the passive method used for the restoration of degraded ecosystems. We argue that in the context of ecological restoration, the term enclosure is generally more appropriate to use than exclosure. Unlike exclosure, the term enclosure focuses on the degraded area to be restored, does not exclude selective permeability of external factors, and potentially accommodates local people's livelihood needs. However, the term exclosure is appropriate to use in the case of experimental exclosures or management of restoration sites which explicitly exclude specific disturbance factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under projections of global climate change and other stressors, significant changes in the ecology, structure and function of coral reefs are predicted. Current management strategies tend to look to the past to set goals, focusing on halting declines and restoring baseline conditions. Here, we explore a complementary approach to decision making that is based on the anticipation of future changes in ecosystem state, function and services. Reviewing the existing literature and utilizing a scenario planning approach, we explore how the structure of coral reef communities might change in the future in response to global climate change and overfishing. We incorporate uncertainties in our predictions by considering heterogeneity in reef types in relation to structural complexity and primary productivity. We examine 14 ecosystem services provided by reefs, and rate their sensitivity to a range of future scenarios and management options. Our predictions suggest that the efficacy of management is highly dependent on biophysical characteristics and reef state. Reserves are currently widely used and are predicted to remain effective for reefs with high structural complexity. However, when complexity is lost, maximizing service provision requires a broader portfolio of management approaches, including the provision of artificial complexity, coral restoration, fish aggregation devices and herbivore management. Increased use of such management tools will require capacity building and technique refinement and we therefore conclude that diversification of our management toolbox should be considered urgently to prepare for the challenges of managing reefs into the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study on environmental changes effects on understory vegetation, two untouched and degraded sites were evaluated in Shafaroud forests. Three sampling plots (one hectare in each site) were selected and each plot divided to four sub-plots (10*10m).In each Sub-plot plant samples were collected and identified using different flora references. Results showed that a total 45 species were known from untouched areas that belong to 28 families and 39 genera. 32(71%) dicotyledones, 8 (18%) monocotyledones and 5 (11%) pterydophyta were identified. Lamiacea with four species was the highest number species.17 families have only one species. Flora of degraded site includes 74 species (60 (80%) dictyledones, 9 (12%) monocotyledones and 5 (8%) pterdophyta) that belong to 32 families and 62 genera. Asteraceae with 9 species are the most abundant in this area. Also 7 species of Lamiaceae family were identified in degraded area. hemichryptophytes are the most frequent life forms in the both areas. From the view of geographical distribution, plants of untouched area included 69% species belonging to Euro-Sibrean and only 2.5% species belonging to Cosmopolitan while in degraded area 51% and 3.5% species belaged to Euro-Sibrean and Cosmopolitan, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural revegetation has been widely confirmed to be an effective strategy for the restoration of degraded lands, particularly in terms of rehabilitating ecosystem productivity and soil nutrients. Yet the mechanisms of how natural revegetation influences the variabilities and drivers of soil residing fungal communities, and its downstream effects on ecosystem nutrient cycling are not well understood. For this study, we investigated changes in soil fungal communities along with ~160 years of natural revegetation in the Loess Plateau of China, employing Illumina MiSeq DNA sequencing analyses. Our results revealed that the soil fungal abundance was greatly enhanced during the later stages of revegetation. As revegetation progresses, soil fungal richness appeared first to rise and then decline at the climax Quercus liaotungensis forest stage. The fungal Shannon and Simpson diversity indexes were the lowest and highest at the climax forest stage among revegetation stages, respectively. Principal component analysis, Bray-Curtis similarity indices, and FUNGuild function prediction suggested that the composition, trophic modes, and functional groups for soil fungal communities gradually shifted along with natural revegetation. Specifically, the relative abundances of Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes , Eurotiomycetes , and ectomycorrhizal fungi progressively increased, while that of Ascomycota, Sordariomycetes , Dothideomycetes , Tremellomycetes , saprotrophic, pathotrophic, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and endophyte fungi gradually decreased along with natural revegetation, respectively. The most enriched members of Basidiomycota (e.g., Agaricomycetes , Agaricales , Cortinariaceae , Cortinarius , Sebacinales , Sebacinaceae , Tricholomataceae , Tricholoma , Russulales, and Russulaceae ) were found at the climax forest stage. As important carbon (C) sources, the most enriched symbiotic fungi (particularly ectomycorrhizal fungi containing more recalcitrant compounds) can promote organic C and nitrogen (N) accumulation in soils of climax forest. However, the most abundant of saprotrophic fungi in the early stages of revegetation decreased soil organic C and N accumulation by expediting the decomposition of soil organic matter. Our results suggest that natural revegetation can effectively restore soil fungal abundance, and modify soil fungal diversity, community composition, trophic modes, and functional groups by altering plant properties (e.g., plant species richness, diversity, evenness, litter quantity and quality), quantity and quality of soil nutrient substrates, soil moisture and pH. These changes in soil fungal communities, particularly their trophic modes and functional groups along with natural revegetation, impact the accumulation and decomposition of soil C and N and potentially affect ecosystem C and N cycling in the Loess Plateau of China., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Yang, Diao, Wang, Yang, Zhang, Wang, Luo, An and Cheng.)

Mining is one of the main economic activities in the Amazon region, contributing substantially to the economy of countries that share its territory. This activity, however, brings environmental aftermaths as vegetation suppression, soil destruction, hydrological instability, and faunal displacement, making restoration of degraded ecosystems a challenge. In this sense, the objective of our study was to present the economic importance, the main restoration methods, and the bottlenecks to obtain successful restoration trajectories in degraded areas by industrial mining in the Amazon. We listed eight possible relevant procedures for successful restoration after mining and discussed worldwide adopted restoration methods such as seedling planting, inducing natural regeneration, hydroseeding, and nucleation. Despite the great development of restoration methods after mining, there are still barriers to obtain inputs, which include seedlings, and qualified labor to plan and develop restoration projects. These issues come in addition to operational restrictions, technical incapacity, deficient or inflexible legal basis, and lack of law enforcement. We suggest the selection of key species for planting, associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and biochar, establishment of lists with ecological indicators and reference values, usage of organic waste, and monitoring through unmanned aerial vehicles with high sensors resolution to correct revegetation failures and estimate aboveground biomass and carbon. • Mining contributes significantly for the economy of Amazonian countries • Lack of inputs, planning, technical, and legal issues delay restoration projects • Technosols management and surrounding communities partnerships should be a priority • Surface soil cover with sawmill and biochar waste has been effective in the Amazon • Technological tools for indicator assessments are essential for restoration success [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The black locust Robinia pseudoacacia L. is a common species that originated from North America. In Europe, it is an invasive and introduced plant. Due to its low habitat requirements and ecological plasticity, this species colonizes new anthropogenically transformed areas quickly. This study investigated the chemical composition of selected tissues of Robinia pseudoacacia L. in five various habitats with different levels of anthropopression conditions in southern Poland. The presented research aimed to compare the chemical composition of black locust parts tissues (leaves, branches, and seeds) and the soil under its canopy. To determine the heavy metal contamination and enrichment in soil, the geoaccumulation index, enrichment factor, contamination factor, pollution load index, and potential ecological risk index were calculated. The results showed that all examined soils are considerably or very highly contaminated and the main heavy metals, which pollute the studied samples, are cadmium (1.3–3.91 ppm), lead (78.17–157.99 ppm), and zinc (129.77–543.97 ppm). Conducted research indicates that R. pseudoacacia leaves are the primary carrier of potentially toxic elements. Due to low bioaccumulation factor (BAF) values, it is clear that black locusts do not accumulate contaminants in such amounts that it would pose risk to its use in degraded area reclamation. The obtained results showed that R. pseudoacacia is able to grow in a wide range of habitats and could be applied for greening urban habitats and disturbed ecosystems caused by industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Acacia caven (Mol) is one of the most widespread tree species of the Mediterranean-type ecosystem of South America, forming the “Espinal” ecosystem characterized by a complex and heterogeneous structure like savannas. In South-Central Chile, these Espinal ecosystems include 2 million hectares of agricultural and agroforestry soil. We analyzed the effect of A. caven (land coverage) on C-distribution and chemical composition of soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions. Two ecosystems with a gradient of A. caven vegetation were studied: a well-preserved Espinal (WPE; with 51–80% land coverage) and Degraded Espinal (DE; with less than 25% of land coverage). The soil under the trees was physically fractionated by wet sieving to obtain light (>212 μm; LF), intermediate (53–212 μm; IF) and heavy (<53 μm; HF) fractions of SOC. The SOC fractions were analyzed by using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), natural abundance of 13C relative to 12C (δ 13C) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of 13C (13C NMR) techniques. The results indicate that the A. caven coverage in the Espinal ecosystem affected the distribution (dry mass of each fraction) and C content of SOC fractions, decreasing both parameters in the more degraded ecosystem (DE), especially in the most labile fractions (LF and IF). Increases in δ 13C value in the profiles of soils, due microbial isotopic discrimination were observed for IF and HF fractions, but not for LF fractions. The SOC fractions showed important chemical structural differences, while the LF fraction was the most reactive fraction (with more carboxylic groups), followed by IF and HF fractions, in consecutive order. The chemical composition of SOC fractions was affected by the A. caven coverage. In ecosystems with less land coverage increase of aromaticity and decrease of aliphaticity in LF and IF fractions was noted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Two microcosm experiments were conducted to study the role of extraradical mycelium (ERM) of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in establishment and growth of tree species used for revegetation in anthropogenic substrates. Inoculated or non-inoculated Acer pseudoplatanus, Alnus glutinosa or Salix purpurea seedlings were grown with Calamagrostis epigejos (a grass spontaneously colonising degraded ecosystems) in two substrates (fly ash and coal mine spoil) either in direct root contact or in rhizoboxes with interaction only via ERM network. In both experiments, inoculation with AMF mostly had a positive effect on the growth of trees and increased the aggregation of fly ash. When plants grew in direct root-to-root contact, grass presence negatively affected tree growth, but it significantly improved mycorrhizal development (colonization of tree seedlings, spore number and ERM length). When grass and tree roots interacted via the ERM network, tree seedlings were successfully colonised by the ERM spreading from the C. epigejos roots. Mechanical disturbance of the ERM links between plants reduced AMF development and tree height in both substrates, but tree shoot biomass was not affected. In fly ash, inoculated, non-disturbed treatments showed significant transfer of 32P from the grass to the tree seedlings. It can be concluded that roots of A. pseudoplatanus, A. glutinosa or S. purpurea seedlings can be colonised from the ERM network radiating from quickly growing grasses, which can act as important agents for AMF distribution and facilitate mycorrhization of planted trees. In particular for willow, grass seems to be an essential nurse plant to achieve successful root colonisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discussed the characteristics of degenerated forest ecosystems in Changbai Mountain area, which include over-harvest natural forest, typical secondary forest, derived forest, and artificial forest. Forest cutting and regeneration methods that were historically used, in the region were summarized. They include diameter-class selective cutting, clearcutting, upbringing selective cutting, and selective cutting. We proposed cutting methods for the broad-leaved Korean pine mixed forest., spruce-fir forest, and larch forest. The measures for restoring the original mixed forest ecosystems were recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In “West Development” of China, one of the most important activities is the Natural Forest Protection Program, designed to swiftly convert the focus of management and utilization of the natural forests from a timber orientation towards forest conservation, sustainable management and environmental protection. The project covered almost all the arid and semi-arid regions in Northwest region. Accompanying this great campaign this paper studied the conservation and restoration model of degraded ecosystems in arid and semi-arid lands in Northwest China. The past practices have resulted in considerably natural forest degradation and loss through land conversion (primarily for agriculture), over-harvesting, inadequate reforestation and lack of protection. The consequences have been the loss of soil and water resources, diminished timber production capacity on a sustainable basis, and environmental losses. This paper applied Aronson’s restoration model and proposed the conservation, restoration, re-allocation and preservation program for the implementation of environmental improvement and natural forest conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kotiaho & Moilanen (2015) highlighted what they call a conceptual flaw in our study (Egoh et al. 2014) and some operational flaws. Here, we respond to these., According to Kotiaho & Moilanen (2015), the conceptual flaw is that we supposedly neglect both the magnitude of degradation and the magnitude of improvement of the ecosystem condition expected due to restoration in the original paper (Egoh et al. 2014). However, we took magnitude of degradation into account in the paper (Egoh et al. 2014) by not including areas with habitats and species in favourable conservation status and also excluding artificial surfaces such as urban areas., We argue that the operational flaws, the authors cite (specifically with respect to the inclusion of restoration cost), were taken out of context and the calculations on the effective area requiring restoration within a grid cell were not well understood by the authors., In the original paper (Egoh et al. 2014), restoration cost was only included in one analysis to investigate the effects of including different criteria on the area selected. Also, each grid cell selected contained only areas defined as restorable in our analysis., Synthesis and applications. The points raised by Kotiaho & Moilanen (2015) are surely relevant and pertinent to the general discussion on restoration efforts, but when applied to our study, these points are out of context. Areas identified for restoration should consider magnitude of degradation as in our study. However, the inclusion of cost should be carefully considered; in our case, we used a proxy for cost only to understand the implication of including many criteria in identifying priority areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the global challenges of climate change and human activity pressure on biodiversity conservation, it has become vital to map such pressure hotspots. Large areas, such as nation-wide regions, are difficult to map from the point of view of the resources needed for such mapping (human resources, hard and soft resources). European biodiversity policies have focused on restoring degraded ecosystems by at least 10% by 2020, and new policies aim to restore up to 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030. In this study, methods developed and applied for the assessment of the degradation state of the ecosystems in a semi-automatic manner for the entire Romanian territory (238,391 km 2 ) are presented. The following ecosystems were analyzed: forestry, grassland, rivers, lakes, caves and coastal areas. The information and data covering all the ecoregions of the Romania (~110,000 km 2 ) were analyzed and processed, based on GIS and remote sensing techniques. The largest degraded areas were identified within the coastal area (49.80%), grassland ecosystems (38.59%) and the cave ecosystems (2.66%), while 27.64% of rivers ecosystems were degraded, followed by 8.52% of forest ecosystems, and 14.05% of lakes ecosystems. This analysis can contribute to better definition of the locations of the most affected areas, which will yield a useful spatial representation for future ecological reconstruction strategy.