Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land

by Steven I. Apfelbaum, Alan W. Haney

Overview

Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land is an accessible, hands-on guide for anyone—regardless of scientific background—who wants to restore native landscapes and improve ecological function on their property. Whether you’re caring for a backyard, a farm, or a public greenspace, this book provides a clear and empowering path to take meaningful action for the environment.

Grounded in the authors’ own restoration work in Wisconsin, the book introduces a straightforward, step-by-step process for planning, implementing, and monitoring ecological restoration projects. Through practical examples and user-friendly language, readers learn how to assess a site’s condition, set realistic goals, and apply restoration strategies suited to its unique ecological and social context.

The second half expands that guidance to a variety of ecosystems across North America, showing how the same core principles can be applied to landscapes of any size or condition. From prairie and woodland to wetland and rangeland, readers gain the confidence to begin—or improve—their own restoration efforts.

Ideal for landowners, nonprofit staff, conservation volunteers, and agency professionals, Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land serves as both a field manual and a source of inspiration. It helps readers reconnect with the places they care about most—and gives them the tools to heal them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781597265713
Publisher:	Island Press
Publication date:	04/23/2010
Series:	The Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration Series
Edition description:	1
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Steven I. Apfelbaum is Chairman of Applied Ecological Services Inc., a company he founded in 1975. He has worked on design, construction, management, monitoring, and research of ecosystems and has taught ecosystem restoration to land trusts, conservation organizations, and families interested in restoring their property.



Alan Haney is a forest ecologist and emeritus professor of forestry and former dean of the College of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. His research and teaching focus on ecosystem structure and function, including restoration ecology.
 

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
 
PART I. Principles of Ecological Restoration
Chapter 1. Connecting with the Land: The Story of Stone Prairie Farm
-Exploring the Landscape
-Developing a Plan
-Getting Started
-Scaling Up
-Learning to Work with Nature
-Principles Learned from the Stone Prairie Experience
-Learning by Doing
-The Necessity of Stewardship
-Joy of Success
-Conclusions
 
Chapter 2. Ecological Restoration: An Overview
-Ecosystems
   Assessing the Health of Ecosystems
   Indicators of Healthy Ecosystems
   Special Importance of Diversity
-Ten-Step Process for Ecological Restoration
   Step One: Mapping and Inventory
   Step Two: Investigate the History of the Landscape
   Step Three: Interpretation of Landscape Changes
   Step Four: Develop Realistic Goals and Objectives
   Step Five: Prepare a Plan
   Step Six: Develop and Initiate a Monitoring Program
   Step Seven: Implement the Plan
   Step Eight: Document Changes and Maintain Records
   Step Nine: Periodically Reevaluate the Program
   Step Ten: Communicate and Educate
-Conclusion
 
Chapter 3. Developing a Restoration Plan
-The Restoration Process
   Step One: Inventory and Mapping
   Step Two: Investigate the History of the Landscape
   Step Three: Interpretation of Landscape Changes
   Step Four: Develop Realistic Goals and Objectives
   Step Five: Prepare a Plan
   Step Six: Develop and Initiate a Monitoring Program
   Step Seven: Implement the Plan
   Step Eight. Document Changes and Maintain Records
-Conclusion
 
Chapter 4. Implementing Restoration
-Working at the Right Scale
-Where to Start
-Working With and Not Against Nature
-Recruiting Volunteers and Hiring Professional Help
-Restoration Success and Nature's Clock
   Availability vs. Phenology
   Reading Phenology: What to Look For
   Knowing When It Is Too Late
   Throwing Everything at the Land?
   Patience, Persistence, and Long-term Perspectives
-Commonly Employed Techniques
   Hydrology
   Chemical Challenges
   Biological Techniques
   Site Preparation
   Seeding and Planting
   Control of Woody Vegetation
   Use of Fire
-A Management Program
-Conclusions
 
Chapter 5. Monitoring Progress
-Affirming Measurable Objectives
-Basic Monitoring Techniques
   Light Quality and Quantity
   Plant Community and Vegetation
   Hydrology
   Faunal Monitoring
-Other Benefits of Monitoring
-Is There Ever an Endpoint?
-Conclusions
 
PART II. Applying Restoration to Different Types of Ecosystems
Chapter 6. Grassland Restoration
-Historic Grasslands in North America
-Grassland Fauna
-Vegetation
-Fire
-Stressors
-Market and Policy Changes
-Restoration Practices
   Mixed-grass and Short-grass Prairie Restoration
   Tallgrass Prairie Restoration
   Choice of Species
   Caring for New Prairie
   Prescribed Fire
   Control of Woody Invasives
-Conclusions
 
Chapter 7. Restoring Forest Ecosystems
-The Challenge of Restoring Forested Ecosystems
-Applying the Principles of Restoration
   Examples Across North America
   Longleaf-slash Pine Forests
   Bottomland Hardwood Forests
   Oak-pine and Loblolly-short-leaf Pine Forests
   Oak-hickory Forests and Northern Hardwood Forests
   Boreal Forests
   Savannas
   Pacific Evergreen Forests
-Conclusions
 
Chapter 8. Wetland Restoration
-Wetland Form and Function
-Planning Wetland Restoration
-Regulations and Legal Definitions
-Different Types of Wetlands
-Substrates
-Water Quality
-Hydrology
   Classification of Wetlands
-Physical Gradients and Biological Change
-Stressors
-Restorations Strategies and Process
 
Chapter 9. Restoring Streams
-Underlying Problems
-Some Principles
-The Process of Stream Restoration
-Conclusion
 
Chapter 10. Restoring Deserts
-What Is a Desert
-Unique Biological Adaptations
-Stressors and Impacts
-Restorations Strategies
-Conclusions
 
Species List
Glossary
Notes
Index

Editorial Reviews

"...the wealth of information in this workbook makes it a valuable resource even for experienced restoration ecologists."

Ecological Management & Restoration

"Infused with land ethic and solid ecology, this volume spells out a compelling process for restoration, from initial concept to planning, implementation, and long-term management. Everyone interested in the practice of restoration, professionals included, will appreciate the holistic vision of restoration and its societal role espoused in this book-length essay."

John Shuey

"This down-to-earth book gives land owners the confidence and courage to initiate their own ecological restoration programs. The reader should be warned that Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land could easily inspire you to embark on a lifelong, learn-as-you-go adventure on your own land that's guaranteed to keep your brow sweaty, your knuckles dirty, and your spirit soaring."

Andre Clewell

"Ecological recovery are what many places need to recover their natural beauty. Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land is a guide to restoring ecological areas where urbanization has caused environmental decay. With chapters discussing many types of areas from plains to forests, and step by step plans to tracking progress, Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land proves to be a powerful reference and guide, highly recommended to any in charge of overseeing such projects for its comprehensive collection of tips and advice."

Midwest Book Review

"This manual celebrates human connectedness to the natural world. By putting the sciences and the arts together to restore land and bring it back to health, Steve and Alan guide us to manage the land and then to understand and love the land."

Nina Leopold Bradley

"Overall, I would think that this book is a useful primer for undergraduates studying ecological restoration or restoration ecology. The first part is generic and could be used anywhere in the world; the latter half is heavily focused on North America. It is very well written, and it is clear that the authors have lived and breathed the subject. Anyone involved in teaching this subject should have a copy for inspiration and ideas."

Biological Conservation

"...even individuals who have been conducting restoration projects for years may appreciate the structure and rigor outlined in the Workbook. For the less experienced restorationist, Restoring Ecological Health may provide just the motivation needed to get started, and the Workbook presents a recipe that, followed carefully, is virtually guaranteed to succeed."

Ecological Restoration

"Steven Apfelbaum and Alan Haney are both seasoned restoration practitioners from Wisconsin, a heartland of North American restoration practice and science. They write about restoring land on small, private holdings. The authors provide step-by-step guidance on executing and monitoring the restoration of grasslands, forests, wetlands, riparian areas, and even desert areas. It is a well-written, well-produced, and authoritative book, which I recommend wholeheartedly for readers with no appetite to tackle the specialized literature, but who have restoration projects in mind, at heart, or underway, especially on their own land."

Conservation Biology

"Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land provides critical insights into the real work of healing ecological functions of degraded landscapes. The authors are visionary practitioners who have amassed a wealth of hands-on experiences validated by long-term ecological monitoring. This book will assist private land owners, public land managers, and land conservancy stewards to design and execute restoration activities yielding ecologically significant results."

Managing Director, The Lyme Timber Company - Peter R. Stein

"Landscape architects, who increasingly get a significant percentage of business from restoration, will find this thorough, replicable process valuable, whatever their experience level. Professionals will benefit from the authors' insistence on monitoring measurable results: Too many of our ecological and sustainable projects never receive this validation, even from LEED and its offspring."

Landscape Architecture Magazine

"A useful volume, modesty priced by a non-profit making publisher."

Bulletin of the British Ecological Society

"Restoring Ecological Health to Your Land offers a practical, nontechnical guide to ecological restoration of damaged lands—a field that barely existed 30 years ago when coauthor Steven I. Apfelbaum bought 80 run-down acres in southern Wisconsin. Apfelbaum (of Applied Ecological Services) and Alan Haney (fomerly of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point) explain how their 10-step process was applied to the Wisconsin property and show how it could apply to grassland, forest, wetland, stream, and desert ecosystems as well...Any nonbiologist charged with dealing with land will benefit from this book."

Planning

“Landscape architects, who increasingly get a significant percentage of business from restoration, will find this thorough, replicable process valuable, whatever their experience level. Professionals will benefit from the authors' insistence on monitoring measurable results: Too many of our ecological and sustainable projects never receive this validation, even from LEED and its offspring.

Landscape Architecture