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Restoration Terms
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Ecological Restoration | the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed |
| Restoration Ecology | to restore the health, integrity and sustainability of ecosystems that have been degraded by human activities |
| Biodiversity | the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem. |
| Ecosystem Services | beneficial things contributed directly and indirectly by nature (especially by healthy natural ecosystems) to human life |
| Reclamation | to assist in the repair or recovery of highly disturbed or degraded ecosystems to benefit native plants and animals |
| Remediation | the process of stopping or reducing pollution that is threatening the health of people or wildlife |
| Rehabilitation | comprehensive approach aimed at reversing the impacts of environmental degradation |
| Degredation | the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife |
| Reference Model | A framework for the previous state of an ecosystem for which to restore to. |
| Natural Regeneration | The recovery of a forest following disturbance, in the absence of human intervention |
| Assisted Regeneration | The recovery of a natural system following a disturbance, with human intervention |
| Active Restoration | Recovery of a natural system following disturbance with strong human intervention |
| Reconstruction | the deliberate process of assisting degraded ecosystems to regain their state |
| Bioicultural Restoration | the science and practice of restoring ecosystems, including the human and cultural relationships within those ecosystems |
| Cultural Ecosystem | understanding the interconnectedness between human culture and the natural environment |
| Rewilding | the process of restoring an area of land to its natural uncultivated state |
| Forest and Landscape Restoration | a planned process that aims to regain ecological integrity and enhance human wellbeing in deforested or degraded landscapes |
| Mitigation | the process by which project proponents apply measures to avoid, minimize, or compensate for the adverse effects and environmental impacts resulting from their projects |
| Baseline Inventory | a record of the condition of the land and typically includes information on flora and fauna, other natural features |
| Novel Ecosystem | ecosystems that have new assemblages or combinations of species resulting directly and indirectly from human action |
| Historical Fidelity | the idea that the practice of restoration should attempt to approximate, within reasonable bounds, some past state of the damaged ecosystem |
| Stakeholder | individuals and/or members of environmental organizations, community advocacy groups, or other citizens' groups that deal with environmental issues |
| Monitoring | the process of measuring or collecting environmental data |
| Adaptive Management | A restoration decision that promotes decision that can be adjusted in the face of uncertainties as outcomes from management plants become better understood. |
| Shifting Baselines | A gradual shift in accepted norms and expectations for the environment over generations |
| Ecological Succession | The process by which species and inhabitants of an area change over time |
| Community Assembly | Ecological process that determined which species colonize, establish, and persist in a particular location over time. |
| Disturbance Regime | A characteristic pattern of disturbances that occur in an ecosystem over long periods of time. |
| Ecological Resilience | The capacity of an ecosystem to absorb disturbance and reorganize while retaining its basic structure. How well it recovers after disturbance. |
| Ecological Resistant | The ability of an ecosystem to withstand disturbance with little or no change to its structure. How much an ecosystem resists a disturbance. |
| Alternative States | A situation where an ecosystem can exist in two or more different, self sustaining states, under the same environmental conditions |
| Hysteresis | The pathway for fixing a disturbance is different that the pathway to recovery. |
| Historical Contingency (sensu community ecology) | The idea that the present that the present composition and structure of an ecological community depends strongly on the sequence and timing of past events |
| Facilitation (vs. competition or inhibition) | A type of species interaction in which one species improves environmental conditions in a way that benefits another species. |
| Metapopulatioin | spatially separated populations of of the same species that occupy discrete habitat patches but are connected by dispersal |
| Fragmentation | The process by which a large continuous habitat is broken into smaller, isolated patches, often by human activity |
| Connectivity | The degree to which organisms, genes, or ecological processes can move across a landscape |
| Edge Effects | The ecological changes that occur on the boundary between two different habitat types |
| Buffer Strip | A band ov vegetation maintained or restored around the edge of a habitat to reduce external disturbances and protect interior habitat conditions |
| Corridor (sensu landscape ecology) | A linear strip of habitat that connects otherwise isolated patches. |
| Stepping Stone (sensu landscape ecology) | a small, discrete habitat patch that facilitates movement between larger habitat patches by serving as an intermediate stop during dispersal. |
| Matrix Permeability | The degree to which non-habitat areas surrounded by habitat areas allow or restrict the movement of organisms |
| Habitat Heterogenity | the variation in environmental conditions, resources, or habitat structure within a landscape or ecosystem. |
| Nurse Plant | A plant that facilitates the establishment, growth, or survival of other species by improving local environmental conditions |
| Applied Nucleation | Small batches of vegetation are planted to simulate natural regeneration |
| Framework Species Method | Planting a small number of fast-growing native species to quickly restore forest structure and facilitate natural regeneration of other species. |
| Afforestation | Establishing a forest in an area that has not been recently forested. |
| Hydrological Regime | The pattern of water flow in a system over time, including timing, magnitude, frequency, and duration. |
| Hydrograph | A graph showing how streamflow (discharge) changes over time at a specific location. |
| Base Flow | The portion of streamflow sustained between rain events, primarily from groundwater inputs. |
| Floodplain | Flat land adjacent to a river that is periodically flooded during high flow events. |
| Flood Regime | The characteristic pattern of flooding in a river system, including frequency, timing, and intensity. |
| Total Daily Maximum | The maximum amount of a pollutant that a waterbody can receive in a day and still meet water quality standards. |
| Non-Point source pollution | Diffuse pollution from many sources (e.g., runoff from agriculture or urban areas) rather than a single discharge point. |
| Beaver Dam Analog | Human-built structures that mimic natural beaver dams to slow water, trap sediment, and restore stream function. |
| Stage Zero Restoration | Restoring an ecosystem to its pre-degradation condition, reestablishing natural processes, structure, and function before major human alteration. |
| Best Management Practices | Practices designed to reduce environmental impacts (e.g., erosion, pollution) while maintaining land productivity. |
| SMART Objectives | Goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. |
| Mycorrhizae | Symbiotic relationship between fungi and plant roots that enhances nutrient and water uptake. |
| Cover Crop | Plants grown to protect and improve soil rather than for harvest (reduce erosion, add nutrients, suppress weeds). |
| Water Bar | A constructed feature (often a berm or ditch) that diverts water off roads or trails to prevent erosion. |
| Bioremediatoin | Use of microorganisms to break down or remove pollutants from soil or water. |
| Phytoremediation | Use of plants to absorb, stabilize, or remove contaminants from soil or water. |
| Brownfield | Previously developed land contaminated by hazardous substances and targeted for redevelopment. |
| Invasive Species | Non-native species that spread rapidly and harm ecosystems, economies, or human health. |
| Native Species | Species that naturally occur in a region and are adapted to local environmental conditions. |
| Weed | Any unwanted plant, especially one that competes with desired vegetation for resources. |
| Translocation | The intentional movement of organisms (plants or animals) from one location to another to establish, reintroduce, or conserve populations. |
| Reintroduction | A type of translocation where a species is returned to an area where it historically existed but has disappeared. |
| Biological Control | Using natural enemies (predators, parasites, pathogens, or herbivores) to reduce populations of invasive or unwanted species. |
| Biotic Homogenization | The process where ecosystems become more similar over time due to the spread of common (often invasive) species and loss of native diversity. |
| Direct Seeding | Planting seeds directly into the restoration site rather than growing plants in a nursery and transplanting them. |
| Enrichment Planting | Adding desired plant species (often natives) into an existing plant community to increase diversity or improve ecosystem function. |
| Microsite | A small, localized area within a habitat that has unique conditions (e.g., shade, moisture, soil) that influence plant establishment. |
| Seed Stratification | A pre-treatment process (often cold and moist conditions) used to break seed dormancy and improve germination. |
| Pure Live Seed | The percentage of a seed batch that is actually viable seed (accounts for purity and germination rate). |
| Ecotype | A genetically distinct population of a species adapted to specific local environmental conditions. |
| Hardening | The process of gradually exposing greenhouse-grown plants to outdoor conditions (sun, wind, temperature) to prepare them for survival after planting. |
| Hydroseeding | A method of planting where a slurry of seeds, water, mulch, and sometimes fertilizer is sprayed onto soil to promote rapid vegetation establishment (often for erosion control). |
| Orthodox vs. Recalcitrant Seeds | Orthodox = Can be dried and stored Recalcitrant Seeds = Have to be planted quickly |
| Seed Transfer Zone | A geographic area within which plant material (seeds) can be moved and planted with minimal risk of maladaptation due to similar environmental conditions. |
| Seed Mix | A combination of multiple plant species’ seeds used in restoration to promote biodiversity, resilience, and ecosystem function. |
| Hard vs. Soft Release | Hard release: Immediate release of organisms into the wild with no acclimation or support. Soft release: Gradual release with acclimation, protection, or supplemental resources to improve survival. |
| Habitat | The natural environment where a species lives, including biotic and abiotic factors necessary for survival. |
| EcoRegion | A large area defined by similar climate, geology, soils, and ecosystems, used to guide conservation and restoration planning. |
| Extinction Vortex | A downward spiral where small population size leads to inbreeding, reduced genetic diversity, and lower survival, further accelerating decline toward extinction. |
| Focal Species | A species selected for management because its needs represent those of a broader group or because it plays a key ecological role. |
| Founder Effect | Reduced genetic diversity that occurs when a new population is established by a small number of individuals. |
| Taxon Substitution | Replacing a missing or extinct species with a different species that performs a similar ecological role. |
| Keystone Species | A species that has a disproportionately large impact on its ecosystem relative to its abundance; removing it causes major ecosystem changes. |
| Trophic Cascade | A chain reaction in a food web where changes at one trophic level (often predators) affect multiple lower levels (e.g., wolves → deer ↓ → vegetation ↑). |
| Mitigation Banking | A system where environmental damage (e.g., wetlands) is offset by purchasing credits from restored or preserved ecosystems elsewhere. |
| Rights of Nature Movement | A legal and philosophical movement that grants ecosystems (rivers, forests, etc.) legal rights to exist, persist, and be protected. |
| Additionality (in a policy Sense) | The idea that environmental benefits (like carbon reductions or restoration) must be above and beyond what would have happened without the policy or project. |
| Persistence (of restored ecosystems) | The ability of a restored ecosystem to sustain itself over time without ongoing human intervention. |
| Ramsar Convention (1971) | Protects 250 Million hectares of wetlands globally |
| UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration | Restore 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030 |
| Bonn Challenge | A global effort to restore 350 million hectares of degraded and deforested land by 2030. |
| Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework | Framework of protecting and restoring 30% of the land and Sea by 2030. |
Created by:
jackscarbs