Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Xu, Changlin
• Silliman, Brian R.
• Chen, Jianshe
• Li, Xincheng
• Thomsen, Mads S.
• Zhang, Qun
• Lee, Juhyung
• Lefcheck, Jonathan S.
• Daleo, Pedro
• Hughes, Brent B.
• Jones, Holly P.
• Wang, Rong
• Wang, Shaopeng
• Smith, Carter S.
• Xi, Xinqiang
• Altieri, Andrew H.
• van de Koppel, Johan
• Palmer, Todd M.
• Liu, Lingli
• Wu, Jihua
• Li, Bo
• He, Qiang

Titel

Herbivory limits success of vegetation restoration globally

Ist Teil von

• Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science), 2023-11, Vol.382 (6670), p.589-594

Erscheinungsjahr

2023

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Restoring vegetation in degraded ecosystems is an increasingly common practice for promoting biodiversity and ecological function, but successful implementation is hampered by an incomplete understanding of the processes that limit restoration success. By synthesizing terrestrial and aquatic studies globally (2594 experimental tests from 610 articles), we reveal substantial herbivore control of vegetation under restoration. Herbivores at restoration sites reduced vegetation abundance more strongly (by 89%, on average) than those at relatively undegraded sites and suppressed, rather than fostered, plant diversity. These effects were particularly pronounced in regions with higher temperatures and lower precipitation. Excluding targeted herbivores temporarily or introducing their predators improved restoration by magnitudes similar to or greater than those achieved by managing plant competition or facilitation. Thus, managing herbivory is a promising strategy for enhancing vegetation restoration efforts. Editor’s summary Restoring vegetation to degraded areas, either through planting or by encouraging natural generation, is a prominent strategy for conservation and nature-based climate solutions. However, restoration efforts are not always successful and can take a long time to reach pristine conditions. Xu et al . performed a global meta-analysis to ascertain how herbivory affects restoration success in both terrestrial and aquatic systems (see the Perspective by Villar). They found that herbivory has negative effects on plant abundance and diversity at restoration sites, even more than in undisturbed ecosystems, and this effect was strongest at sites with actively planted vegetation. Their findings suggest that excluding herbivores or reintroducing predators may aid restoration efforts in many locations. —Bianca Lopez A meta-analysis shows that stronger effects of herbivory at restored sites limit restoration success.