Front, Nature, Sustainability
Rewilding – Ecosystem Restoration for a Better Future
Why Biodiversity is Key
Rewilding or ecosystem restoration is one of the key tools we have in our arsenal when it comes to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Ecological restoration is not new. Certain groups and peoples have been practicing the techniques involved for centuries. But as scientific knowledge grows, we are able to shape our environments more positively and effectively than ever before and repair the damage humanity has done.
According to the European Environmental Bureau, Nature-based solutions such as “forest restoration could sequester up to two-thirds of the CO2 accumulated emissions in the atmosphere, contributing decisively to limit global warming below 1.5°C”, but these efforts will only be effective if directed towards restoring natural, biologically complex, and self-sustained forests, wetlands, etc. Looking at whole ecosystems is crucial.
Biodiversity is vital for life on this planet. All life on earth is part of a complex web – with intricate interconnections and interactions. When we experience losses in the number of natural species in our environments, we don’t just lose those species themselves. These losses spiral outwards and can be felt in much wider and more far-reaching ways.
Targets for species-specific conservation have shaped policy and shaped efforts at halting species loss worldwide since 2010. But ecosystems themselves are not protected with targets in the same way, even though their health and functions are essential to the processes that sustain all life.
It is vitally important that conservationists and policymakers take a holistic approach, and understand that biodiversity depends upon fully functional and thriving ecosystems. Professors at The University of Queensland, Australia have shown, after studying more than 2,800 ecosystems in 100 countries, that 45% were at risk of complete collapse.
If we are to halt the devastating loss of biodiversity on our planet, we must act, and act fast. Looking holistically at rewilding and ecosystem restoration gives us hope for the future.
Rewilding is all about restoring plants and, sometimes, reintroducing keystone animal species, to boost biodiversity and to make sure that a natural ecosystem is able to function as it should. Through timely and appropriate human intervention, we can repair degraded natural systems, and restore balance so such systems can thrive for years to come.
Rewilding involves reintroducing plants and animals to areas where ecology has been lost.
Ecosystem Engineers in Rewilding
One key idea in rewilding is introducing ecosystem engineers that shape the ecosystem in some way and help to maintain balance within it. Of course, all elements in an ecosystem shape and alter it to some degree.
Rewilding seeks to find gaps where an ecosystem has been degraded by the loss of a particularly important ecosystem engineer, and will often seek to introduce a species, or its closest extant relatives, to the environment.
One important example of an ecosystem engineer is the beaver. By damming rivers and streams, and manipulating its environment, the beaver has a complex beneficial effect on an ecosystem. Successful Eurasian beaver introductions throughout Europe have not only brought the beaver back from the verge of extinction but also brought profoundly positive effects to riverine ecosystems. Beavers have improved water quality, reduced flooding, and boosted biodiversity in the ecosystems around them.
By damming rivers and streams, the beaver can play a role in benefitting the wider ecosystem.
Another example of re-introduction is the rewilding of land and the balancing of ecosystems through the introduction of large ruminants. Through the Rewilding Europe initiative and the Tauros Programme, large ruminants have been introduced to create the phenotype of the extinct aurochs and European water buffalo. Plans have also recently been approved to introduce bison in England. The American Prairie Reserve in the US is reintroducing bison also, as part of their rewilding project which focuses on restoring the prairie grasslands of the Great Plains.
Bison rewilding and reintroduction has started to take place in the UK and USA.
Looking at successful reintroductions and rewilding projects helps us to see how we can continue to repair the ecosystems around us in the future.
Studies have suggested that rewilding the Arctic with a larger density and diversity of large herbivores may mitigate the impact of temperature rise in this region.
And in tropical rainforests, defaunation leads to lower dispersal of tree species with megafaunal fruits, which have a higher wood density and, therefore, contribute strongly to carbon storage in tropical forests. Rewilding with large herbivores, it is believed, may therefore increase the carbon storage potential of the forest and be another strategy in tackling the climate crisis.
Apex Predators in Rewilding
Another key concept in rewilding is the reintroduction of apex predators, which have often been hunted into extinction by humans. Wolves are one key example. When wolves and other apex predators are missing from an ecosystem, populations of animals like elk, or deer for example can get out of control, and result in an overall loss of biodiversity in the ecosystem.
Wolves were successfully reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park, for example, which has had an important and beneficial ecological impact. Through predation of elk populations, wolf reintroduction improved new growth of aspen and willow trees, which elk previously grazed upon at unsustainable levels. What is more, several important species such as the beaver (which also became extinct in the park) and red fox have also recovered. This is believed to be due to the wolves keeping coyote populations under control.
Vegetative Rewilding
While animal introductions or re-introductions are often key to rewilding, some rewilding schemes focus on vegetation when working on ecosystem restoration, rather than on animal life. Trees and other plants can also be ecosystem engineers – nitrogen-fixing pioneer trees, like alder, for example, can be used to regenerate and improve degraded landscapes, improving conditions so other vegetation and animal life can thrive.
There are many impressive examples of reforestation, afforestation, and ecosystem restoration around the world. One example of an ongoing project which has already seen impressive results is the efforts by Trees for Life to restore Scotland’s Caledonian forest. Over a decade of rewilding efforts, immense progress has been made towards restoring Scotland’s great forests. Efforts have included not only tree planting but also the introduction of a huge range of native flora and fungi.
Ecosystem Restoration has been a key goal for the Scottish Government, and many large-scale projects have been taking place here over the past few years. Efforts have focussed not only on the Caledonian forest but also on peatlands, wetlands, rivers, and coastal waters. The 2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity underpinned much ecosystem restoration in the country.
This is of course just one example, and many countries and jurisdictions have already made great strides in this arena, and plan to do more.
Successful rewilding projects around the globe offer hope for a better future. They show us how we can halt biodiversity losses, tackle anthropocentric climate change, and establish resilient and flourishing ecosystems for the benefit of all.
