Biology subjects

Elo, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Elo, M..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Joint modelling of environmental and species responses to restoration

Restoration outcomes have unexplained variation. As environmental variables can both affect the restoration outcome and be affected by restoration, studying the interplay between environmental and species responses could reveal reasons behind this variation. Here, we present a methodological framework of jointly modelling environmental and species responses to restoration and demonstrate it by studying the effect of water table (WT) on vegetation in restored forestry-drained boreal peatlands. Restoration was consistently successful in raising WT in the higher but not in the lower productivity peatland types. Jointly modeling WT and vegetation produced the highest accuracy for predicting vegetation response, highlighting the need to monitor relevant environmental factors in restoration research. The study demonstrates how the framework can be used to explain differences in restoration outcomes, even with sparse environmental data. The framework allows predicting restoration outcomes in different scenarios of environmental variables, facilitating the development of restoration methods with predictable outcomes. Implications for practiceO_LIMonitoring environmental factors that could affect targeted taxa is important in restoration research C_LIO_LIJointly modelling environmental and species responses to restoration can reveal factors behind variation in restoration outcomes C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2024

Ecologically and economically sustainable level of timber harvesting in boreal forests - defining the safe operating space for forest use

Planetary-level analyses indicate that we are exceeding the ecological limits. However, we need approaches to implement global sustainability frameworks regionally, using natural resources at levels that allow for their regeneration. We present a framework to define limits beyond which ecosystems are threatened to collapse, to answer how much we can extract from ecosystems, and to manage natural resources for both human and ecosystem wellbeing. We exemplify this approach with the heath forest habitat types in Finland, which provide most of the national timber production. We use the IUCN Red List of Habitats to set favourable reference values for volume of deadwood, proportion of old-growth forest cover and proportion of deciduous trees. Through forest growth simulations and management optimization, we found that the proportion of old-growth forest is the most challenging criteria to be reached only by 2100. This would require not only a larger use of extensive forest management practices than hitherto but also to drastically reduce the maximum economic sustainable harvest level from the current 96% to 60%. By combining threat assessments with ecosystem modelling and management planning, this approach can support regional decision makers to make informed decisions to stay within safe limits of use of natural resources.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2024

A large-scale and long-term experiment to identify effectiveness of ecosystem restoration

Ecosystem restoration will increase following the ambitious international targets, which calls for a rigorous evaluation of restoration effectiveness. Studies addressing restoration effectiveness across ecosystems have thus far shown varying and unpredictable patterns. A rigorous assessment of the factors influencing restoration effectiveness is best done with large-scale and long-term experimental data. Here, we present results from a well replicated long-term before-after control-impact experiment on restoration of forestry-drained boreal peatland ecosystems. Our data comprise 151 sites, representing six ecosystem types. Vegetation sampling has been conducted to the species level before restoration and two, five and ten years after restoration. We show that, on average, restoration stops and reverses the trend of further degradation. The variation in restoration outcomes largely arises from ecosystem types: restoration of nutrient-poor ecosystems has higher probability of failure. Our experiment provides clear evidence that restoration can be effective in halting the biodiversity loss of degraded ecosystems, although ecosystem attributes can affect the restoration outcome. These findings underlie the need for evidence-based prioritization of restoration efforts across ecosystems.

ecology↗