Truman P. YoungDepartment of Plant Sciences
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Tel. 530-754-9925
Fax: 530-752-4361
Email:tpyoung@ucdavis.edu
UPDATE! THIS COURSE IS NOW BEING TAUGHT BY VALERIE EVINER.
THE NEW COURSE HAS A DIFFERENT OUTLINE THAN THAT BELOW
Course Description:
Conceptual bases of restoration ecology; tools used by restoration ecologists to solve practical problems; scope and success of actual restoration projects.
Texts Used:
1) Course reader
2) Repairing Damaged Wildlands, Steven G. Whisenant, Cambridge University Press
3) The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook: for Prairies, Savannas, and Woodlands, Stephen Packard, ed., Island Press
Prerequisites: Plant Biology/Evolution and Ecology 117 or Evolution and Ecology 121/Plant Biology 147 or equivalent course in ecology/plant ecology.
Subject Outline:
We will explore the current state of restoration ecology, in theory and practice. This will include a review of the conceptual bases of restoration ecology (including succession, assembly, recruitment limitation, plant/animal interactions, and landscape scale phenomena). It will also address particular operational problems in restoration (genetics, horticultural plant propagation, hydrological regimes, biogeochemistry, exotic species, fire and grazing, and policy). This will be supported by descriptions of several active restoration sites.
1) Introduction
What is restoration ecology?
What are the goals of restoration?
The marriage of ecology and horticulture
What is a native plant?
What is the reference community?
Levels of intervention, organizational levels
2) Soils and Hydrology
Restoration of soils
Restoration of hydrological regimes
Restoration after fire: erosion control and plant establishment
Field trip
3) Core Ecological Concepts
Genetics of ecological restoration
Succession as a conceptual basis for restoration ecology
Assembly as a conceptual basis for restoration ecology
Recruitment limitation and the importance of the seedling stage
Plant propagation
Exotic species in theory and practice
Fire and grazing as natural forces and restoration tools
Other kingdoms in restoration ecology; mutualists and modifers
Landscape ecology of restoration I: edges, buffers, corridors
Landscape ecology of restoration II: isolation and mosaics
4) Ecological Restoration in Practice
Wetlands and riparian restoration
Grassland (and forest) restoration
Law, policy, and restoration
What is the future of restoration ecology?
A companion fieldwork course (ENH 160L) is offered for students interested in gaining field experience in restoration; it may be required for some majors/minors.