Abstract
Within the context of global warming and accelerated human activities, the surrounding environments of many terrestrial ecosystems worldwide have become increasingly deteriorated, such that finding suitable methods and effective environmental technology to confront climate change and prevent land degradation is critical to the health and sustainability of the earth. In general, vegetation restoration projects, acknowledged as vital eco-engineering measures for various environmental benefits including carbon sequestration, soil conservation, and erosion control, are widely conducted in major fragile regions of the world. However, such projects have rarely been successful due to poor ecosystem productivity and quality, particularly in water-restricted and degraded ecosystems. It is also partly due to poor site conditions that do not enable naturally regenerated or planted seedlings to establish unless some external measures are applied. Consequently, to ameliorate site conditions and reduce sapling mortality, purposeful microtopography recreation is extensively used in many ecosystems during the initial stage of seedling plantation and vegetation re-establishment. Indeed, such countermeasures have been a significant benefit for ecosystem restoration, particularly in degraded habitats.
Citation
Wei, Wei; Chen, Liding; Yang, Lei; Samadani, F. Fred; Sun, Ge. 2012. Microtopography recreation benefits ecosystem restoration. Environ. Sci. Technol. 46:10875-10876.
