include that community re-assembly may not be even for all guilds and some may
require repeated re-introductions, or new methods of propagation, should the initial
approaches fail, as was found for restoring the diverse forb resprouter guild in coastal
grasslands (Zaloumis and Bond 2011; Table 23.1). Variations in annual rainfall
result in good and poor years for establishment of re-introduced species, and
repeated re-introductions should be planned. This reality poses challenges for
monitoring, and for the restoration practitioner who may be tasked with ambitious
short-term restoration goals. Nevertheless, statistical and modelling tools allow for
an assessment of early progress and whether the degraded ecosystems are developing along the desired trajectory (Hall 2018). Ecological goals must be as specific as
possible and outcomes carefully monitored if effectiveness of the restoration interventions is to be fully assessed (Ntshotsho et al. 2011). Results of the monitoring
should feed back into decision tree frameworks (Fig. 23.2) for the different ecosystems and indicate to managers whether treatments should be modified or remedial
actions required.
23.6 Conclusions
Restoration ecology is a relatively young science, and numerous South African
studies have improved the understanding of local ecosystem dynamics and ecological restoration principles in general. However, there is still a dearth of research on
how non-plant taxa recover, as well as active restoration examples for biomes other
than fynbos. The stimulus for local ecological restoration research has been the large
negative impacts of invasive alien species on ecosystem structure and functioning,
including the impacts on economically-important ecosystem services. Restoration is
economically viable for specific ecosystem services such as water, which can serve
as an ‘umbrella service’ to enhance other conservation goals. Other ecosystem
services delivered via restoration, such as pollination, deserve more attention.
Ecological restoration is a long-term process that greatly exceeds the time-spans
of most post-graduate research studies (see Hill et al. 2020, Chap. 19, for similar
arguments). Early field results (2–3 years post-intervention) may not accurately
reflect the restoration trajectory as measured in subsequent years (Ruwanza et al.
2018). More long-term studies are required that build on, and monitor, earlier shortterm field studies to further analyse the impacts of restoration interventions and to
improve restoration guidelines. In addition, owing to the large diversity of ecosystems in South Africa, further applied research would be beneficial to test optimal
combinations of treatments, including alien control, spontaneous regeneration and
active restoration methods for different ecosystems. In assessing the outcomes, the
potential of recent technologies should be considered for use, especially for scaling
up implementation. These include specialised seed coatings, mechanised sowing,
and aerial imagery (remote sensing, high resolution aerial imagery and drones;
Dufour et al. 2013; Zahawi et al. 2015; Rebelo et al. 2017; Harris et al. 2018).
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P. M. Holmes et al.
require repeated re-introductions, or new methods of propagation, should the initial
approaches fail, as was found for restoring the diverse forb resprouter guild in coastal
grasslands (Zaloumis and Bond 2011; Table 23.1). Variations in annual rainfall
result in good and poor years for establishment of re-introduced species, and
repeated re-introductions should be planned. This reality poses challenges for
monitoring, and for the restoration practitioner who may be tasked with ambitious
short-term restoration goals. Nevertheless, statistical and modelling tools allow for
an assessment of early progress and whether the degraded ecosystems are developing along the desired trajectory (Hall 2018). Ecological goals must be as specific as
possible and outcomes carefully monitored if effectiveness of the restoration interventions is to be fully assessed (Ntshotsho et al. 2011). Results of the monitoring
should feed back into decision tree frameworks (Fig. 23.2) for the different ecosystems and indicate to managers whether treatments should be modified or remedial
actions required.
23.6 Conclusions
Restoration ecology is a relatively young science, and numerous South African
studies have improved the understanding of local ecosystem dynamics and ecological restoration principles in general. However, there is still a dearth of research on
how non-plant taxa recover, as well as active restoration examples for biomes other
than fynbos. The stimulus for local ecological restoration research has been the large
negative impacts of invasive alien species on ecosystem structure and functioning,
including the impacts on economically-important ecosystem services. Restoration is
economically viable for specific ecosystem services such as water, which can serve
as an ‘umbrella service’ to enhance other conservation goals. Other ecosystem
services delivered via restoration, such as pollination, deserve more attention.
Ecological restoration is a long-term process that greatly exceeds the time-spans
of most post-graduate research studies (see Hill et al. 2020, Chap. 19, for similar
arguments). Early field results (2–3 years post-intervention) may not accurately
reflect the restoration trajectory as measured in subsequent years (Ruwanza et al.
2018). More long-term studies are required that build on, and monitor, earlier shortterm field studies to further analyse the impacts of restoration interventions and to
improve restoration guidelines. In addition, owing to the large diversity of ecosystems in South Africa, further applied research would be beneficial to test optimal
combinations of treatments, including alien control, spontaneous regeneration and
active restoration methods for different ecosystems. In assessing the outcomes, the
potential of recent technologies should be considered for use, especially for scaling
up implementation. These include specialised seed coatings, mechanised sowing,
and aerial imagery (remote sensing, high resolution aerial imagery and drones;
Dufour et al. 2013; Zahawi et al. 2015; Rebelo et al. 2017; Harris et al. 2018).
690
P. M. Holmes et al.