Ecological Thresholds as Constraints to the Growth and Survival of Woody Tree Species in Degraded Grassland in the South Island's Dryland Zone
- Rodrigues, Anna Paula
DOIAbstract
The native dryland zone in New Zealand’s South Island has been drastically altered by burning, grazing, and other anthropogenic activities since human first arrived some 700 years ago. Only 30% of its original native vegetation remains, with <2% of it legally protected. Preserving what is left of the remaining natural ecosystems is urgent, and ecological restoration can be an important part of the solution to increase the area by reclaiming some of the degraded landscape within the dryland zone. However, reintroducing native plants as seedlings is mostly ineffective if disturbances have pushed ecological processes over certain thresholds that now represent barriers to ecological succession and restoration. These ecological thresholds can be...
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