Terrestrial Restoration Ecology Lab

There is a growing acceptance of the fact that humans are an integral part of many ecosystems.  The actions that we take can restore degraded ecosystem services.  Restoration ecology is a topic that therefore is of applied significance.  However, it also is of basic significance as it provides the means to evaluate our understanding of how ecosystems function, are assembled, etc.  Restoration ecology has famously been called an ‘acid test’ of ecology.

Research into methods of restoring and managing ecosystems necessarily involves close collaboration with land managers and scientists.  Several of the lab’s research projects in this area are described below.  Future extensions of this work include focusing on ways to ensure that restoration activities are scalable to operationally relevant areas, quantifying the importance of spatial and temporal replication, and incorporating climate change into restoration and management plans.

 

Select Relevant Publications:

Dunwiddie, PW, NL Haan, M Linders, JD Bakker, C Fimbel, and TB Thomas. 2016. Intertwined fates: opportunities and challenges in the linked recovery of two rare species. Natural Areas Journal 36:207-215. doi:10.3375/043.036.0214

Dunwiddie, PW, and JD Bakker. 2011. The future of restoration and management of prairie/oak ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest. Northwest Science 85:83-92.

Hill, KC, JD Bakker, and PW Dunwiddie. In press. Prescribed fire in grassland butterfly habitat: targeting weather and fuel conditions to reduce soil temperatures and burn severity.  Fire Ecology.

Urgenson, L, CM Ryan, CB Halpern, JD Bakker, RT Belote, JF Franklin, RD Haugo, CR Nelson, and AEM Waltz. 2017. Visions of restoration in fire-adapted forest landscapes: lessons from the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program. Environmental Management 59:338-353. doi:10.1007/s00267-016-0791-2

Research team: Peter Dunwiddie (SEFS)

We are studying how to apply restoration strategies to large spatial and temporal extents.  We have also begun to study how fire seasonality and frequency influence plant community development.  This research is funded by the David R. M. Scott Professorship.

Photo: Puget blue butterfly (Plebejus icarioides blackmorei) on Oregon sunshine (Eriophyllum lanatum).  Taken by E. Delvin in July 2011 on one of our research sites.

Research team: Nate Haan, Loretta Rafay, Jasna Hodzic, Peter Dunwiddie (SEFS)

We are examining hemiparasite and plant-insect interactions that may influence our potential to recover rare plants and animals.  This research is funded by the National Science Foundation, UW Royalty Research Fund, and US Department of Defense.

Photo: Golden paintbrush (Castilleja levisecta), a species listed as Threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Research team: Allison Rossman, Charlie Halpern, Lauren Urgenson (SEFS); Richy Harrod, Dave Peterson (USFS)

Thinning and prescribed burning treatments are widely used in restoration of dry forests.  We are surveying the metrics used to assess the effectiveness of fuels treatments and evaluating how temporal and spatial scales of observation influence the behavior of these metrics and their utility as indicators of effectiveness. This research is funded by the Joint Fire Science Program.

Photo: Prescribed burn in a ponderosa pine forest..

Prairie restoration

Recovery of rare species

Monitoring effectiveness of forest restoration treatments

Restoration and Management