Rachel Standish

This chapter explores resilience and allied concepts for their potential to be implemented in practical settings to achieve restoration goals. It argues that traditional approaches aimed at determining thresholds should be accompanied by theoretical approaches to quantify resilience because such a unified and simple approach is likely to gain traction in restoration practice and management. The concept of resilience has been widely adopted by ecologists, environmental managers and policy-makers. The chapter discusses the ecological properties that are proposed to contribute to resilience. It also discusses current ideas on the attributes that appear to confer resilience, and how we might intervene to modify ecological factors and environmental conditions so as to maintain these attributes. Research has also identified the positive effects of modularity on resilience, and although there are few directives on how to intervene to maintain or create a modular structure, large-scale restoration projects offer unique test-beds for developing ideas.

Novel ecosystems can serve conservation aims, whether by maintaining species diversity or providing ecosystem services. The chapter presents a framework to aid in evaluation of such benefits. It first describes approaches to identify thresholds shifts into novel territory. Second, it considers how functional similarities between novel and historical ecosystems can inform decisions about when and how to intervene in novel ecosystems. It concludes with a discussion of practical considerations and methods for managing these systems. The chapter presents the story of Rodrigues fody (Foudia flavicans), which highlights three key points. First, it indicates that novel species interactions should be considered in conservation efforts. Second, it demonstrates that novel ecosystems can provide some of the same functions as their historical counterparts. Lastly, it serves as a cautionary tale: the fody nearly went extinct due to anthropogenic land change.

This chapter addresses the facets of novelty that pervade the urban environment before reviewing the ecosystem services that different components of the urban environment provide. It describes the known and potential contribution of novel elements to these services, with a particular focus on vegetation. The services reviewed include biodiversity maintenance, carbon storage, flood regulation, recreation, spiritual fulfilment and education. The chapter discusses how ecosystem service provision could be boosted by novel components but adds that experiments are required to test our assertions. Research is also needed to investigate trade‐offs among the delivery of ecosystem services in urban areas and to investigate whether they can be successfully implemented in urban areas across the globe and in different socio‐cultural, economic and ecological contexts.

This chapter provides a framework that helps managers, whether scientists or stewards, navigate the decisions that lead to new management approaches in hybrid and novel ecosystems. It first presents a decision‐making flowchart that can be used as roadmap to navigate possible management actions. The chapter then explores the role of ecological and social barriers in creation and maintenance of hybrid and novel ecosystems. It argues that working to understand the historical structure and conditions in ecosystem is useful for planning current management strategy. Finally, the chapter highlights examples of challenging decision points which managers will likely face as they work to incorporate hybrid and novel ecosystems into strategies for restoration, conservation and management.

This chapter focuses on two types of concerns about novel ecosystems. The first concern is connected with misapprehensions that arise, mostly from lack of information or misunderstanding of the implications of managing novel ecosystems. These concerns should not be ignored or underestimated because they can easily obstruct an informed and constructive discussion about novel ecosystems and their management. The first misapprehension is that accepting or acknowledging novel ecosystems implies that managers will surrender any attempt to control invasive species. The second misapprehension addressed here is that acceptance of novel ecosystems will result in the replacement of traditional conservation and restoration practice. The second type of concern includes more persistent concerns about novel ecosystems. These are much more difficult concerns to work through because they require revisiting and possibly altering systemic patterns of social tradition and moral beliefs that pertain to nature and its conservation.