Socio-Ecological Study of Phragmites australis
in Suisun Marsh
Photo credit CDFW
The non-native aquatic plant Phragmites australis, or common reed, has continued to spread in the upper reaches of the San Francisco Bay Delta despite concerted efforts by many agencies and millions of dollars in funding over the past 20+ years. The invasion is now at a scale that demands strategic regional coordination, informed by past successes and failures, so that managers can spend resources more efficiently and limit Phragmites expansion more effectively. As with many natural resource management issues, Phragmites control in Suisun Marsh is not solely a problem of insufficient resources or insufficient ecological understanding, but also a problem of collective action, where stakeholders face powerful disincentives to participate in remediation efforts, and the temptation toward free-riding exacerbates the invasion. Because the problem is fundamentally socio-ecological, we propose to integrate the social and biophysical sciences to work toward more durable management solutions.
As an interdisciplinary team, we will implement new treatment and monitoring protocols for Phragmites in Suisun Marsh; investigate the social and cultural barriers to participation in collective action for invasive species control; identify where interventions will have the highest probability of success at halting the expansion of Phragmites; and lay the groundwork for a regional plan to coordinate future efforts among a variety of stakeholders. In addition to bringing about better ecological outcomes, we anticipate this work could serve as a model for the integration of political ecology and social psychology into conservation planning in the Bay-Delta region. This work is funded by the Delta Stewardship Council for $968,826 to Suisun RCD, Utah State University, Purdue University, Chapman University, and Santa Clara University.
As an interdisciplinary team, we will implement new treatment and monitoring protocols for Phragmites in Suisun Marsh; investigate the social and cultural barriers to participation in collective action for invasive species control; identify where interventions will have the highest probability of success at halting the expansion of Phragmites; and lay the groundwork for a regional plan to coordinate future efforts among a variety of stakeholders. In addition to bringing about better ecological outcomes, we anticipate this work could serve as a model for the integration of political ecology and social psychology into conservation planning in the Bay-Delta region. This work is funded by the Delta Stewardship Council for $968,826 to Suisun RCD, Utah State University, Purdue University, Chapman University, and Santa Clara University.
Recreational hunting as an ecosystem service of
restored riparian and wetland areas
Beneficiaries of the substantial public investment in habitat restoration made by the state of California include recreational hunters, who now enjoy thousands of acres of restored floodplain forest on the Sacramento River, and tidal marsh restoration sites in San Pablo and San Francisco Bay. Our current study, which is funded by the Delta Stewardship Council (Contract #18211), includes sites that were formerly in agricultural or industrial use, and that have been made available to hunters by habitat restoration and subsequent incorporation into federal or state wildlife refuges.
Hunting is an economically, ecologically, and culturally important activity in California. Our approach is principally an economic valuation, peformed in collaboration with economist Frank Lupi. We seek to determine the value of restored sites to recreational hunters, and evaluate potential ecosystem service tradeoffs in managing these sites as hunting areas. In designing the research, we have consulted widely with hunter groups and state and federal wildlife officials, and focused our data collection on hunters' needs relevant to stewardship issues within the purview of refuge managers. Our results will be disseminated through outreach efforts specifically funded by the grant.
Check out this cool storymap of our project and others funded by the Delta Science Program!
Hunting is an economically, ecologically, and culturally important activity in California. Our approach is principally an economic valuation, peformed in collaboration with economist Frank Lupi. We seek to determine the value of restored sites to recreational hunters, and evaluate potential ecosystem service tradeoffs in managing these sites as hunting areas. In designing the research, we have consulted widely with hunter groups and state and federal wildlife officials, and focused our data collection on hunters' needs relevant to stewardship issues within the purview of refuge managers. Our results will be disseminated through outreach efforts specifically funded by the grant.
Check out this cool storymap of our project and others funded by the Delta Science Program!
Carbon sequestration in California oak woodlands
This project, under contract from the California Department of Conservation (#3017-300), sought to quantify the potential for additional greenhouse gas emissions reductions from the preservation or restoration of oak woodlands.
Oak woodlands are an iconic California ecosystem, covering about 10% of the state's total land area and much of its rangeland. In recent years this habitat has been under threat by a variety of stressors, including conversion to orchards and vineyards, exotic pests and diseases, firewood harvest, suburban sprawl, drought, and fire. In some areas oaks have been failing to regenerate at levels that would sustain their populations long-term. The University of California has extensively researched problems and solutions relating to oaks through the Integrated Hardwood Range Management Program, now the Oak Woodland Management group. This has resulted in a large knowledge base from which to understand the best practices for preserving and expanding oak habitat in California.
The first step in this research was to translate these best practices into a set of interventions whose greenhouse gas emissions reductions could be robustly quantified. Carbon sequestration attributable to revegetation of eight types of oak woodlands was then characterized into look-up tables and inventory datasets suitable for use in the Forest Health Protocol of the Climate Investments Program (Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund). Our final task is to better understand the topographic and latitudinal controls on the distribution of oak woodland biomass, for future use in predicting and prioritizing the benefits of oak woodland restoration.
Coming soon: a short report on this project in the 8th Annual California Oak Symposium proceedings.
Oak woodlands are an iconic California ecosystem, covering about 10% of the state's total land area and much of its rangeland. In recent years this habitat has been under threat by a variety of stressors, including conversion to orchards and vineyards, exotic pests and diseases, firewood harvest, suburban sprawl, drought, and fire. In some areas oaks have been failing to regenerate at levels that would sustain their populations long-term. The University of California has extensively researched problems and solutions relating to oaks through the Integrated Hardwood Range Management Program, now the Oak Woodland Management group. This has resulted in a large knowledge base from which to understand the best practices for preserving and expanding oak habitat in California.
The first step in this research was to translate these best practices into a set of interventions whose greenhouse gas emissions reductions could be robustly quantified. Carbon sequestration attributable to revegetation of eight types of oak woodlands was then characterized into look-up tables and inventory datasets suitable for use in the Forest Health Protocol of the Climate Investments Program (Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund). Our final task is to better understand the topographic and latitudinal controls on the distribution of oak woodland biomass, for future use in predicting and prioritizing the benefits of oak woodland restoration.
Coming soon: a short report on this project in the 8th Annual California Oak Symposium proceedings.
Ecosystem services from ecological restoration in Australia
Australia, like the U.S., has a wide variety of ecological restoration projects underway, some of which can provide, in addition to biodiversity benefits, valuable ecosystem services like carbon sequestration and groundwater recharge.
This National Science Foundation-sponsored project initiated a collaboration between the Matzek lab and two researchers at the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED), Marit Kragt and Kerrie Wilson. One goal was to understand the extent to which the ecosystem service concept was influencing grant funders, land stewards, and the public, in supporting and implementing restoration. We found that the ecosystem services concept is thoroughly mainstreamed into Australian decisionmaking and that the public is supportive of these goals, to the extent of being more willing to pay for restoration if it includes ES goals in addition to biodiversity protection. Another aim was to understand how people's values and environmental attitudes affect their willingness to pay for restoration. We showed that the ES concept has potential to broaden support for restoration by appealing to people whose value systems and environmental attitudes are more egoistic, self-interested, or use-focused. We have also characterized the demographics of willingness to pay for restoration, the determinants of people's concerns about ecosystem disservices, and the motivations of those unwilling to pay for restoration. All of these manuscripts are in draft or submitted form. This work was funded by NSF IIA-1427595.
This National Science Foundation-sponsored project initiated a collaboration between the Matzek lab and two researchers at the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED), Marit Kragt and Kerrie Wilson. One goal was to understand the extent to which the ecosystem service concept was influencing grant funders, land stewards, and the public, in supporting and implementing restoration. We found that the ecosystem services concept is thoroughly mainstreamed into Australian decisionmaking and that the public is supportive of these goals, to the extent of being more willing to pay for restoration if it includes ES goals in addition to biodiversity protection. Another aim was to understand how people's values and environmental attitudes affect their willingness to pay for restoration. We showed that the ES concept has potential to broaden support for restoration by appealing to people whose value systems and environmental attitudes are more egoistic, self-interested, or use-focused. We have also characterized the demographics of willingness to pay for restoration, the determinants of people's concerns about ecosystem disservices, and the motivations of those unwilling to pay for restoration. All of these manuscripts are in draft or submitted form. This work was funded by NSF IIA-1427595.
Non-herbicidal control of slender false brome in coastal redwood forest
Slender false brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum) is an invasive grass whose only known instances in California are in a relatively small area of redwood forest centered around Woodside and Portola Valley, California--making it a good candidate for eventual eradication. Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District (MROSD) controls this species successfully with herbicides, but herbicides are not appropriate in all areas of the district, and some private landowners object to their use on their lands. Eradication therefore requires some investment in non-herbicidal methods. This project is testing the efficacy of mowing and mulching treatments at diminishing grass cover and depleting the species's seedbank. This work is funded by MROSD.
The Matzek lab is working closely with the managers at Mid-Pen, as well as the local Resource Conservation District, which is implementing the treatments, to ensure that the design of the experiment takes approaches useful to managing the invader. This fits in with the lab's general philosophy, as well as a recent series of papers aimed at making invasive species research more relevant to management: a survey of managers' scientific engagement, a bibliometric review of how well managers' needs are reflected in the current invasive species literature, and an argument for incorporating ecosystem services impacts into invasive plant management strategies.
The Matzek lab is working closely with the managers at Mid-Pen, as well as the local Resource Conservation District, which is implementing the treatments, to ensure that the design of the experiment takes approaches useful to managing the invader. This fits in with the lab's general philosophy, as well as a recent series of papers aimed at making invasive species research more relevant to management: a survey of managers' scientific engagement, a bibliometric review of how well managers' needs are reflected in the current invasive species literature, and an argument for incorporating ecosystem services impacts into invasive plant management strategies.
Methodology for counting carbon credits in riparian forest
California's cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions allows forestlands to earn income from carbon credits, because forests photosynthesize and absorb carbon dioxide. The state's Air Resources Board is in charge of approving methodologies to accurately and feasibly account for this carbon. The current forest protocol was developed for coniferous timberlands, but there is considerable interest in earning credits in other kinds of ecosystems, such as riparian (riverbank) forests.
The Matzek lab developed a draft quantification methodology (QM) for riparian restoration as part of the Department of Conservation's effort to invest in riparian protection and restoration on working lands, such as ranchlands, in California. In addition to the QM, the lab developed an online tool to assist future grant applicants in estimating the carbon potential of their restoration site. The tool, known as the Carbon in Riparian Ecosystems Estimator for California, or CREEC, can be accessed here. Click for the paper describing how the tool was developed. This work is funded by California state contract #3015-304. See this blog post for more on how we are working to link carbon assessments to habitat quality.
California's cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions allows forestlands to earn income from carbon credits, because forests photosynthesize and absorb carbon dioxide. The state's Air Resources Board is in charge of approving methodologies to accurately and feasibly account for this carbon. The current forest protocol was developed for coniferous timberlands, but there is considerable interest in earning credits in other kinds of ecosystems, such as riparian (riverbank) forests.
The Matzek lab developed a draft quantification methodology (QM) for riparian restoration as part of the Department of Conservation's effort to invest in riparian protection and restoration on working lands, such as ranchlands, in California. In addition to the QM, the lab developed an online tool to assist future grant applicants in estimating the carbon potential of their restoration site. The tool, known as the Carbon in Riparian Ecosystems Estimator for California, or CREEC, can be accessed here. Click for the paper describing how the tool was developed. This work is funded by California state contract #3015-304. See this blog post for more on how we are working to link carbon assessments to habitat quality.
Carbon credits and restoration of riparian forests on the old Rhône River
Along with colleagues John Stella of the State University of New York and Hervé Piégay of the École Nationale Supérieur de Lyon, we are studying carbon credits associated with forest management strategies along the Rhône River in France. The Rhône is a highly altered and channelized river, having a long history of use for navigation between inland France and the Mediterranean sea, and, more recently, for hydropower. Combined with land-clearing for agriculture, there is very little of the native riparian forest left along the main river channel. However, some stretches of the former main channel, known as the Vieux Rhône, still support riparian forest and experience some of the dynamism of flooding and sediment deposition typical of riverine vegetation. Previous work done by Stella and Piégay has characterized the forest vegetation structure at sites along the Vieux Rhône. This project examines to what extent the growth of forest on sediments deposited in the old channel has increased carbon stocks in soil. Together, these data will allow us to calculate the carbon credits that could be earned by management strategies that encourage periodic flooding and vegetation growth in the non-navigable reaches of the river. This work is funded by a grant from the Institut Écologie et Environnement in France.
Ecosystem services and ecosystem function in restored riparian forests
Over the past two decades, thousands of hectares of floodplain along the Middle Sacramento River in northern California have been replanted in native riparian species. These lands had been mostly agricultural, but were abandoned due to excessive flooding and eventually placed in conservation ownership. The prime mover behind the restoration has been restoring habitat for listed species like the yellow-billed cuckoo and the Valley elderberry longhorn beetle. Lots of interesting scientific work has been done on this restoration so far.
Our early work on this system focused simultaneously on ecosystem services (carbon sequestration) and on ecosystem function (how quickly the restored sites return to target levels of C and N cycling). Papers resulting from the ecosystem service work showed that carbon credits could pay back the cost of restoration for lands in conservation ownership, but were an insufficient incentive to convince agricultural landowners to switch from farming crops to farming carbon/habitat. We also showed that biomass and vegetation structure recovered rapidly in the planted forests, but that recovery of N and C cycling lagged, suggesting that managers may need to monitor more than species composition and survival to determine if habitat restoration is working.
This work was funded by USDA CALW-2012-00882.
Our early work on this system focused simultaneously on ecosystem services (carbon sequestration) and on ecosystem function (how quickly the restored sites return to target levels of C and N cycling). Papers resulting from the ecosystem service work showed that carbon credits could pay back the cost of restoration for lands in conservation ownership, but were an insufficient incentive to convince agricultural landowners to switch from farming crops to farming carbon/habitat. We also showed that biomass and vegetation structure recovered rapidly in the planted forests, but that recovery of N and C cycling lagged, suggesting that managers may need to monitor more than species composition and survival to determine if habitat restoration is working.
This work was funded by USDA CALW-2012-00882.
