Southern Research Station

Title: Integrating soil ecological knowledge into restoration management

Author: Callaham, M.A.

Date: 2008

Source: Restoration Ecology 16:608-617

Description: The variability in the type of ecosystem degradation and
the specificity of restoration goals can challenge restorationists’
ability to generalize about approaches that lead
to restoration success. The discipline of soil ecology, which
emphasizes both soil organisms and ecosystem processes,
has generated a body of knowledge that can be generally
useful in improving the outcomes of restoration despite
this variability. Here, we propose that the usefulness of
this soil ecological knowledge (SEK) for restoration is
best considered in the context of the severity of the original
perturbation, the goals of the project, and the resilience
of the ecosystem to disturbance. A straightforward
manipulation of single physical, chemical, or biological
components of the soil system can be useful in the restoration
of a site, especially when the restoration goal is
loosely defined in terms of the species and processes that
management seeks to achieve. These single-factor manipulations
may in fact produce cascading effects on several
ecosystem attributes and can result in unintended recovery
trajectories. When complex outcomes are desired,
intentional and holistic integration of all aspects of the soil
knowledge is necessary. We provide a short roster of examples
to illustrate that SEK benefits management and
restoration of ecosystems and suggest areas for future
research.

Keywords: ecosystem processes, feedbacks, soil ecology.

View and Print this Publication (195.82 KB)

Publication Notes: 

• We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
• This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.

 Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility

Citation

Callaham, M.A.  2008.  Integrating soil ecological knowledge into restoration management.   Restoration Ecology 16:608-617.