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Climate-smart Ecological Restoration: Guidance and Case Study John Parodi, Thomas Gardali, and Nathaniel E. Seavy 29 November 2012, Climate Smart Actions for Natural Resource Managers PRBO Conservation Science STRAW Project Since 1992: •Over 25,000 Students •More than 9,000 Volunteers •415 Restorations •33,000 Native Plants •Over 25 Miles of Riparian Habitat •5 acres of marsh/upland ecotone PRBO Conservation Science STRAW Project Our Role In Restoration: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Revegetation Biotechnical Erosion Control Invasive Plant Control Community Engagement “One-Stop” Project Management • Planning/Design • Implementation • Maintenance • Monitoring & Reporting PRBO Conservation Science STRAW Project Partners! PRBO Conservation Science Project Description – Climate-smart Restoration 1. Riparian restoration 2. Marin County 3. 0.35 river miles 4. Side-by-side comparison 5. Restoration objectives 1. 2. 3. 4. Accommodate changes in temperature and precipitation Prepare for changes in extreme events Account for disrupted wildlife and plant phenology Initial feasibility assessment PRBO Conservation Science Goals and Motivation Goals 1. Develop guidelines for climate-smart ecological restoration 2. Implement a pilot climate-smart riparian restoration project Motivation Our recognized need. It was not a mandate or a funding requirement. PRBO Conservation Science Lead and Partners Lead PRBO Conservation Science’s Pacific Coast and Central Valley Group and STRAW Staff Least Bell’s Vireo Partners Marin County Resource Conservation District Private Landowner Prunuske Chatham, Inc. Funders Marin Community Foundation Fledgling Fund Marin Resource Conservation District PRBO Conservation Science Planning Process Who? Primarily internal PRBO team with input by many partners, nurseries, etc. Planning process 1. Assess vulnerabilities 2. Define climate-smart ecological restoration 3. Develop guiding principles 4. Design and test guidelines via implementation Was the public involved? Design – minimal Implementation - full PRBO Conservation Science Vulnerability Assessment - Climate Change: Restoration Game Changer THE PAST NOW PRBO Conservation Science Vulnerability Assessment Used the following tools: Modeling Bird Distribution Responses to Climate Change: A mapping tool to assist land managers and scientists in California The California Avian Data Center: http://data.prbo.org/cadc2/ Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for California Birds http://data.prbo.org/apps/bssc/ And the paper published in the journal PLoS ONE – Gardali et al 2012 PRBO Conservation Science Vulnerability Assessment www.prbo.org/cadc PRBO Conservation Science Climate-smart Ecological Restoration Defined Climate-smart ecological restoration is the process of enhancing ecological function of degraded, damaged, or destroyed areas in a manner that prepares them for the consequences of a rapidly changing climate. PRBO Conservation Science Climate-smart Ecological Restoration Principles 1. Forward-looking Goals 2. Broader Landscape Context 3. Build in Ecological Insurance 4. Increase Ecological Diversity 5. Build Evolutionary Resilience 6. Include the Community Adapted from: http://www.nwf.org/, Palmer Est. & Coasts 32, Hansen et al. Con. Bio. 24, Ellie PRBO Conservation Science Principles In Action = project Ecosystem state Design projects that could succeed under multiple scenarios past future e.g., drought and floods Seavy et al., Ecol. Rest v27 PRBO Conservation Science Principles In Action Increase Component and Structural Redundancy Dunwiddie et al., Ecol. Rest v27 PRBO Conservation Science Developed Planning Matrix We created a tool to evaluate appropriate plant species and their environmental qualities Common Name Tolerates full or Tolerates clay partial sun soil Sticky manzanita 1 common manzanita 1 Bearberry 1 Marin manzanita 1 CA Sagebrush 1 Salt Marsh Baccharis coyote brush spice bush Tolerates Tolerates wet dry conditions conditions Evergreen Fire Adapted Wildlife fruit source Wildlife Nectar source Wildlife Seed Insectary Source Plant 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 Ceanothus 1 blue blossom 1 Mountain Mahogany 1 1 0 1 0 Creek dogwood hazelnut Hawthorne Western leatherwood fremontia/ flannelbush Toyon Creambush Pitcher Sage 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 PRBO Conservation Science Developed Planning Matrix And evaluated timing of flowering/seeding to maximize the number of months that resources (shelter, food) are available for wildlife Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Common Name Sticky manzanita 1 common manzanita 1 1 Bearberry 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Marin manzanita CA Sagebrush Salt Marsh Baccharis coyote brush 1 1 spice bush 1 1 1 1 1 blue blossom 1 1 1 Mountain Mahogany 1 1 1 1 1 1 Ceanothus Creek dogwood hazelnut Hawthorne Western leatherwood fremontia/ flannelbush Toyon Creambush Pitcher Sage twinberry 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 PRBO Conservation Science Implementation Principles on the Ground Climate-smart design Standard design 282 students and 82 parents Climate-smart design: 24 species Traditional design: 10 species Planting more species required higher planting densities . . . . Climate-smart: 249 individual plants Traditional: 123 individuals plans The cost of the climate smart restoration was only 1.5 times that of the traditional design, despite the higher densities and number of species. PRBO Conservation Science Implementation - Principles on the Ground PRBO Conservation Science Number of species with flowers or fruit Implementation - Principles on the Ground 14 12 Traditional design Climate-smart design 10 8 6 4 2 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Month Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec PRBO Conservation Science Monitoring and Management Short-term Plant species for vigor and height class for at least three summers Should tell us if: (1) The new streamside plant community can survive environmental uncertainty and provide resources for wildlife (2) Whether some of the species that are used less-frequently in traditional restoration designs are viable with regards to establishment Long-term Long-term monitoring of the bird response to the project We will be successful if these sites have consistent healthier vegetation and bird communities than sites with the standard restoration designs. PRBO Conservation Science Lessons Learned • Species were not available from nurseries, limiting the final project’s design • A larger minimum project size is necessary for redundancy and selfpropagation • Potential regulatory challenges for projects with strict performance criteria • There is a need to look beyond revegetation • The public, especially students and teachers, are inspired and hungry to take actions to adapt to climate change PRBO Conservation Science Next Steps Science • More case studies are needed – Pajaro River! • New online tools such as analogue climates and planting designs • Partnering with engineers – e.g., large woody debris projects • Expanding our planting palette tool • Working with a geneticist to include evolutionary resilience Practice • Additional habitat types • Increase scale by expanding partnerships • Restoration funders put language in their RFPs about how each project will address climate change in the context of our definition and principles. Policy • Work with the agencies that approve restoration plans to include climate-smart designs • Work with agencies that provide guidance on restoration to include climate-smart designs • Work with agencies to update their restoration handbooks/guidelines PRBO Conservation Science Thanks! Questions, Ideas, and Discussion? For Further Information: John Parodi, STRAW Restoration Manager [email protected] Thomas Gardali, Director, Pacific Coast and Central Valley Group [email protected] Nathaniel Seavy, Research Director, Pacific Coast and Central Valley Group [email protected]