Functional Restoration of Desertified, Water-Limited Ecosystems: The Israel Desert Experience
Ecological restoration has recognized explicitly the recovery of ecosystem functions. The emphasis on ecosystem functions in restoration efforts can be defined as functional restoration. Functional restoration, i.e., rehabilitation of ecosystem functions, is particularly applicable to highly degrade...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/3/643 |
| _version_ | 1797610750118723584 |
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| author | Shayli Dor-Haim David Brand Itshack Moshe Moshe Shachak |
| author_facet | Shayli Dor-Haim David Brand Itshack Moshe Moshe Shachak |
| author_sort | Shayli Dor-Haim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ecological restoration has recognized explicitly the recovery of ecosystem functions. The emphasis on ecosystem functions in restoration efforts can be defined as functional restoration. Functional restoration, i.e., rehabilitation of ecosystem functions, is particularly applicable to highly degraded landscapes such as desertified areas, where restoration to the original state is impossible. This review paper produced a general conceptual model of the fundamental processes that regulate ecosystem functions in water-limited ecosystems. The Israeli Negev Desert was used as a case study to test the model results in the field. We developed general guiding principles for functional restoration of degraded landscapes that integrate functional restoration methods and include four successive steps: (1) identifying the fundamental processes that regulate ecosystem functions in alternative states; (2) detecting drivers leading to degraded states; (3) functional restoration: changing the state of the degraded landscape; and (4) monitoring the impact of the restoration effort and assessing its success in terms of ecosystem services. Our case study, the Negev, provided us with insights on how to reverse desertification in water-limited systems by restoring source–sink networks as a subset of functional restoration. The four suggested steps of functional restoration are essential for ecosystem recovery in the Anthropocene. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:18:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dfa07967237a40e5a2ebc630cbff6eab |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:18:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-dfa07967237a40e5a2ebc630cbff6eab2023-11-17T12:07:21ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2023-03-0112364310.3390/land12030643Functional Restoration of Desertified, Water-Limited Ecosystems: The Israel Desert ExperienceShayli Dor-Haim0David Brand1Itshack Moshe2Moshe Shachak3The Dead-Sea and Arava Science Center (ADSSC), Masada National Park, Masada 86910, IsraelBeit-Yehoshua 4059100, IsraelAshkelon 7874321, IsraelThe Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer 84990, IsraelEcological restoration has recognized explicitly the recovery of ecosystem functions. The emphasis on ecosystem functions in restoration efforts can be defined as functional restoration. Functional restoration, i.e., rehabilitation of ecosystem functions, is particularly applicable to highly degraded landscapes such as desertified areas, where restoration to the original state is impossible. This review paper produced a general conceptual model of the fundamental processes that regulate ecosystem functions in water-limited ecosystems. The Israeli Negev Desert was used as a case study to test the model results in the field. We developed general guiding principles for functional restoration of degraded landscapes that integrate functional restoration methods and include four successive steps: (1) identifying the fundamental processes that regulate ecosystem functions in alternative states; (2) detecting drivers leading to degraded states; (3) functional restoration: changing the state of the degraded landscape; and (4) monitoring the impact of the restoration effort and assessing its success in terms of ecosystem services. Our case study, the Negev, provided us with insights on how to reverse desertification in water-limited systems by restoring source–sink networks as a subset of functional restoration. The four suggested steps of functional restoration are essential for ecosystem recovery in the Anthropocene.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/3/643eLTERsource-sink relationshiphuman-made sinksclimate changedisturbanceecosystem services |
| spellingShingle | Shayli Dor-Haim David Brand Itshack Moshe Moshe Shachak Functional Restoration of Desertified, Water-Limited Ecosystems: The Israel Desert Experience Land eLTER source-sink relationship human-made sinks climate change disturbance ecosystem services |
| title | Functional Restoration of Desertified, Water-Limited Ecosystems: The Israel Desert Experience |
| title_full | Functional Restoration of Desertified, Water-Limited Ecosystems: The Israel Desert Experience |
| title_fullStr | Functional Restoration of Desertified, Water-Limited Ecosystems: The Israel Desert Experience |
| title_full_unstemmed | Functional Restoration of Desertified, Water-Limited Ecosystems: The Israel Desert Experience |
| title_short | Functional Restoration of Desertified, Water-Limited Ecosystems: The Israel Desert Experience |
| title_sort | functional restoration of desertified water limited ecosystems the israel desert experience |
| topic | eLTER source-sink relationship human-made sinks climate change disturbance ecosystem services |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/3/643 |
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