News

Healing an Ecosystem

May 27, 2011

Last summer, Dr. Dave Warners and a group of twelve students taking Au Sable’s ‘Restoration Ecology’ class stood around a 30 foot by 50 foot pile of soil. The soil lay on a slight slope of 10 degrees, its higher end resting against the North side of Earth Hall. In ecological terms, it was exposed. Combinations of rain, wind, and sun could sweep it away into a body of water, disperse it throughout the nearby forest, or manipulate its biological and abiotic composition. In addition, the soil came from another place. It was transplanted, meaning there were questions about the microbial community and, in turn, the soil’s fertility. It seems natural that these technical and ecologically-sound questions would be floating through the minds of these students as they surveyed the plot. But there’s a lot more to restoration than technical skill, though this is still woefully lacking in this nascent field. Restoration is in the business of cosmic questions for tangible results.

Existential Questions in Ecology

Restoration ecology starts out with its feet firmly planted in philosophy. The central question being, “Restore to what?” Over the many years this planet has been in existence, the landscape has seen many varying landscapes and ecosystems occupy the same location. Think of our little, 30x50 plot of soil. Perhaps a millennia ago, it was under water; 200 years ago, wetland; and present day, a pine-oak forest. What if the draining of the wetland 200 years ago led to the land's conversion to pine-oak forest? Should it be restored to wetlands, of which there are a diminishing number around the globe, or to the pine forest that replaced it? Or perhaps, something else?  With all of the human disturbances that have altered the landscapes, restoration ecologists must decide what is most appropriate and for what purpose.

Restoration in Context

While the debate over what to restore a place to may seem like a solely ecological question, it is also important to consider historical and contemporary context in the equation.

“One needs to know biology and ecology, but restoration work also happens within a certain context,” says Warners, “If the ecosystem has been damaged, you need to understand the impairment, and when you’re done with the restoration project, you leave, but it stays there. You need people around who will take care of it well. All restoration work happens in a human-biological context.”

This reality adds a new dimension to ecological work. One of the interesting notes about ecology is how historically it has divorced human pressures on ecosystems from ecological research. Restoration takes place within both social and ecological contexts because one must both understand the history of how the land became degraded and also assess whether a community possesses the ethic and skill to value, care for, and sustain the restored ecosystem.

Where Plant Meets Ground

Questions and context swirled in the heads of the ‘Restoration Ecology’ students as they stood around this small slice of earth. The 30 by 50 foot plot was the group’s class project where classroom learning met real-world praxis.

The students set to work asking questions: What caused this disturbance in the first place? What has historically been here? What are the current plot conditions? Who will care for this plot into the future?

Student Tori Yoder describes what emerged from their investigation and analysis:

"Historically the sandy hill beside Earth Hall had been a part of the surrounding pine-oak forest, but we decided to restore it to prairie for a couple reasons. First of all, it takes much longer to restore sites to forest than to prairie and there was a good possibility that the site would be disturbed again (when redoing the roof of Earth Hall) before a forest could take hold. Secondly, there is growing interest in restoring lawn to native grassland, and we envisioned this site as an educational tool for how to do so."

The confluence of history, sociology, and ecology resulted in prairie restoration. After critical assessment, the group realized that social factors made it possible for a prairie demonstration to reverberate throughout the community and the reality of further human disturbance could compromise forest restoration. 

They then had to bring their ideas to fruition. The group added a layer of leaves to carpet the sandy soil and improve its nutrient quality, laid logs in strategic locations to prevent the soil from eroding, and collected native plant seeds and plugs from nearby prairies as their local seed source. 

They also had plans for outreach.  As Tori explains, “We designed the site with a path running through it and a sign describing the restoration process so that the public could come observe and perhaps gain some ideas to utilize in their own restoration projects. We also built an experiment into our site by planting some sections with seeds only and some sections with plugs.”

The Results

Nine months later, it is uncertain what miracles took place in soil, plant, water, and air to determine what will emerge this spring. Very soon, the Au Sable campus will get its first glimpse. But in this project, other work bears fruit. Students exercise creative thinking that engages and meshes different disciplines, lessons in collaboration and decisive decision-making emerge, hands-on landscaping takes place, ethical local plant collection methods are considered, and research methods are put into practice. It also engages a different type of learner, one who deals with subject matter tangibly, in a hands-on, practical way. It also supplies spiritual lessons.

Fittingly, the Restoration class closed their course by hosting the last vespers worship service with reflections on restoration.

As Tori reflects, “I have become convinced that one day God will restore all relationships: our relationships with each other, our relationship to the natural environment, and the ecological relationships that keep ecosystems in balance. Romans 8: 21 says ‘...the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.’ While complete restoration has not yet arrived, ecological restoration is a very real, tangible way to take part in God's ongoing restorative work in this world. While restoration seems slow and small in the face of so much destruction, it is an important act of hope and love.”

Do It Yourself

Take part in an "act of hope and love".  Here are some lessons from the ‘Restoration Ecology’ class for those of you interested in embarking on restoration work:

• Assess your plot. “Sandy-gravelly soil, low nutrients, low sunshine, and areas with lots of rainfall and cloud cover pose the greatest challenge.” (Dave Warners)
• Provide Healthy Context. “Start with the soil!  Native plants are not going to establish well if the soil is nutrient deficient or compacted.” (Tori Yoder)
• Collect Seeds Carefully. “Be very careful not to deplete native populations when taking seeds from local plants or transplanting local species.  Use ethical principles and do your homework on local species.” (Dave Warners) It’s best to look for a native plant nursery nearby.
• Plant and Wait. “Be patient!  Native plants often take two to three years to establish so the restored area may not look National Geographic worthy right away.” (Tori Yoder)

For a more technical breakdown on restoration work, check out resources on the Society for Restoration Ecology website: www.ser.org.