South Prairie Creek: Riparian restoration and Water quality Teacher Guide: “Why Climate Change Make Riparian Restoration More Important than Ever: Recommendations for Practice and Research” 1. How does Seavy, et. al. define the terms “mitigation” and “adaptation?” Why do you think these are considered important terms with regard to “re-evaluating our work in the science and practice of riparian restoration” in a rising global climate? Mitigation: “actions designed to reduce the severity of something, e.g. greenhouse gas concentrations threatening to raise global temperatures” (330) Adaptation: “actions designed to reduce the vulnerability of natural and societal systems to the effects of climate change” (330) Ideas like “mitigation” and “adaptation” are important because they prompt an awareness of the larger environmental shifts resulting from climate change. If future restoration is to be successful, humans must not only be able to “reduce their vulnerability” by adapting to environmental changes, but also anticipate the largest threats and attempt to alleviate them as much as possible. In a sense, “mitigating” an effect of climate change is a form of adaptation, since you are trying to decrease the severity of something in order to survive. The same is important for riparian areas, and, as the article later shows, these areas themselves can hold the key to making larger ecosystems more adaptable to environmental changes. 2. Early on in the paper, Seavy, et. al. discusses the affects climate change will have on previous restoration efforts. What goals of riparian restoration may no longer apply once temperatures rise? Returning to “historical reference conditions,” usually the end-goal of restoring an ecosystem, may no longer be applicable as the changing climate makes these conditions either 1) impossible to reach, or 2) no longer beneficial for the ecosystem (native species may no longer thrive in raised temperatures, new species may have moved in, etc.). 3. What is the purpose and justification for this study? According to Seavy, et. al., “specific recommendations for enhancing ecological resilience are lacking,” thus prompting the authors’ assessment of how “healthy riparian ecosystems promote ecological resilience” (331). The purpose of the paper is to do three things: 1) Address how/why riparian restoration prepares ecosystems for climate change, 2) Address how riparian restoration can be enhanced to accommodate climate change, and 3) Address research needed to ensure that riparian restoration is robust to climate change. 4. Referencing Miller, et. al.’s (2007) forested ecosystem management recommendations in response to climate change, the authors’ present five main reasons why riparian restoration can help ecosystems become more ecological resilient to climate change. Name three out of the five and describe how that particular component achieves this goal. The five reasons why riparian restoration can aid in making ecosystems more resilient to climate change are: 1) Natural resilience of riparian systems a. Evidence: Riparian plants are more resilient to changes in hydrology and geomorphic disturbances (making them more adaptable to increased flooding or drought, both predicted consequences of climate change). 2) Enhancing connectivity (between habitats) a. Evidence: Since climate change will affect the distribution patterns of many species, promoting connectivity between habitats can help to maintain diversity, even as some species begin to shift to new environments. Riparian “buffers” function as “ecological corridors” (332) for many species, and by restoring these areas, it provides “avenues for species movement in response to climate change” (332). 3) Promoting linkages between aquatic and terrestrial systems a. Evidence: The link between aquatic and terrestrial systems provided by riparian areas promotes “ecologically diverse and productive” elements in each system: “aquatic nutrients support vegetation and wildlife communities in upland areas” (332) and terrestrial vegetation provides shading, protects water quality through filtering runoff, and “furnishes aquatic food webs with detritus.” Restoration will “strengthen linkages” between these systems, making both aquatic and terrestrial environments more resilient to climate change. 4) Expanding thermal refugia a. Evidence: High water content of riparian areas can act to absorb heat and buffer organisms from temperature changes. During previous climate shifts, riparian areas “served as refugia” because they contained microclimates, which protected both organisms and plant diversity. Cooler water temperatures maintained by shading and the “infusion of cold groundwater.” Salmon benefit from these “cooler water pockets” because it offers them a break from high temperature reaches during migration. 5) Hydrological benefits a. Evidence: Riparian restoration may reduce the impacts of “extreme flood events” (333). Restoration acts, such as removing or pushing back levees to reconnect stream with original floodplain can reduce flood damage. Riparian areas can help to “recharge groundwater and reduce flood damage,” overall increasing resistance to high surface flows as a result of climate change. 5. What are the authors’ conclusions with regard to future restoration of riparian areas? Cite specific strategies and at least one challenge confronting restorative responses to climate change. Recommended strategies include: Coordinated action between stakeholders (governmental agencies, private landowners, NGOs, etc.) o Challenge: governmental action is slow, perhaps too slow to impact ecological adaptation to climate change Sharing of information between “restoration practitioners” and researchers to ensure that most recent findings are considered and “best management practices are shared among those monitoring, managing, and restoring riparian ecosystems” (335) o Challenge: basic challenge confronting “restoration practitioners,” such as invasive species or human impact. Also, restoration tactics in the past may no longer work effectively as a result of climate change Sort restoration activities based on “urgency, sensitivity, and capacity of available resources to achieve desired goals” (335) o Challenge: Due to the fact that many riparian areas, and environmental areas in general have been highly degraded by long-standing human impact, in some cases the amount of time and money required to restore these areas may not be worth the investment if resources can be put to better use elsewhere (ability for restoration to positively impact site should be considered before beginning restoration) Overall conclusion of the article: restoring riparian areas, while this restoration may not seem worth it in the face of a changing climate, pose huge advantages for strengthening ecosystems’ resiliency to rising global temperatures.