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Foundations of Restoration Ecology pp 271–300Cite as

Heterogeneity Theory and Ecological Restoration

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Abstract

Natural ecosystems are heterogeneous; their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics display variability in space and time. In trying to understand vegetation heterogeneity, early ecologists found that species sorted among habitats according to environmental conditions, such as along lakeshore dunes of different size and age (Cowles 1899; Gleason 1926). Later, ecologists recognized that some species act as “engineers,” creating heterogeneity and affecting other species and ecosystem processes (Jones et al. 1994). Examples are sedge tussocks (Watt 1947), ant mounds (Vestergaard 1998; Nkem et al. 2000), and bison and alligator wallows (Collins and Barber 1985; Gunderson 1997). With the emergence of landscape ecology, spatial heterogeneity drew interest across spatial scales—no longer a “troublesome source of error,” but a key variable for explaining ecosystem structure and function (Pickett and Cadenasso 1995).

Theory and Application

• Theory relevant to habitat heterogeneity in restoration comes from work on ecological niches, fractal dynamics, and mechanisms of species coexistence.

• Habitat heterogeneity is a key factor in landscape, ecosystem, and community processes across aquatic and terrestrial systems.

• Heterogeneity encompasses not only visible structural aspects of heterogeneity, but also spatial variation in soil properties, chemistry, and other features.

• Heterogeneity is predicted to be an important influence on biodiversity and ecosystem function in restored systems. Further research is needed to understand fundamental cause-effect relationships and to improve methods for incorporating appropriate heterogeneity into restoration.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for support from the National Science Foundation (DEB 0212005) and the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. We thank Gabrielle Vivian-Smith for early contributions to heterogeneity theory and Donald Falk for insightful comments on an earlier version of this chapter. We thank practitioners, researchers, and managers who support experimentation with heterogeneity in restoration sites.

Authors
  1. Daniel J. Larkin
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  2. Gregory L. Bruland
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  3. Joy B. Zedler
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Socio Environmental Synthesis Center, Park Place, Suite 300, 1, 21401, Annapolis, MD, USA

    Margaret A. Palmer

  2. Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Lincoln Drive, 430, 53706, Madison, WI, USA

    Joy B. Zedler

  3. University of Arizona School Natural Resources and Environment, E. Lowell Street, 1064, 85721, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Donald A. Falk

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Larkin, D.J., Bruland, G.L., Zedler, J.B. (2016). Heterogeneity Theory and Ecological Restoration. In: Palmer, M.A., Zedler, J.B., Falk, D.A. (eds) Foundations of Restoration Ecology. Island Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-698-1_10

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