Large ecosystem-scale effects of restoration fail to mitigate impacts of land-use legacies in longleaf pine savannas.

ABSTRACT: Ecological restoration is a global priority, with potential to reverse biodiversity declines and promote ecosystem functioning. Yet, successful restoration is challenged by lingering legacies of past land-use activities, which are pervasive on lands available for restoration. Although legacies can persist for centuries following cessation of human land uses such as agriculture, we currently lack understanding of how land-use legacies affect entire ecosystems, how they influence restoration outcomes, or whether restoration can mitigate legacy effects. Using a large-scale experiment, we evaluated how restoration by tree thinning and land-use legacies from prior cultivation and subsequent conversion to pine plantations affect fire-suppressed longleaf pine savannas. We evaluated 45 ecological

SUBMITTER: Brudvig LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8092381 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature