Restoration Ecology

Timetable

Lectures 15h (weeks 1-5)

Seminars 15h (weeks 1-8)

Computer classes 15h (weeks 9-13) 

Lectures and classes are planned for one group.

Module aim (aims)

To familiarize students with the main causes of natural ecosystem degradation and its consequences. 

To equip students with the knowledge and practical skills needed to identify unfavorable changes in ecosystems that threaten their biodiversity and functioning. 

To develop students' ability to apply scientific principles in assessing the scale of ecosystem transformations, identifying their causes, and proposing possible countermeasures. 

To introduce students to ecosystem restoration methods, their applications, and limitations. 

To enhance students' understanding of natural processes and their integration with active restoration efforts. 

To equip students with the skills to define restoration goals and plan the monitoring of goal achievement indicators. 

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

Knowledge of ecosystem functioning mechanisms, including biological and abiotic factors. 

Understanding and application of indicator species methods. 

Knowledge of the mechanisms influencing the distribution, occurrence, and population size of animal, plant, and fungal species. 

Basic skills in statistical and geospatial analysis. 

Syllabus

Lectures 

Restoration ecology vs. conservation – Passive protection alone is insufficient to prevent biodiversity loss and the decline of ecosystem functioning. Perspectives on using restoration ecology to improve environmental health. 

Assessing ecosystem degradation – Methods for evaluating the state of biocenoses, determining the degree of degradation, and identifying its causes. 

Ecosystem degradation and restoration – Review of degradation processes in wetlands, grasslands, and forests, including the scale of threats, key degrading factors, and remedial actions taken. 

Environmental stressors and ecosystem resilience – Consequences of climate warming, eutrophication, deforestation, and landscape fragmentation on ecosystem functioning. Identification of unfavorable changes and methods to counteract them while enhancing ecosystem resilience. 

Ecosystem dynamics – Understanding ecosystem fluctuations versus directional changes, including regression and progression. Concepts of resilience, vulnerability, and recovery. 

Restoring heavily disturbed areas – Restoration of post-industrial, post-mining, and post-military landscapes through natural succession, assisted succession, and forced succession. Review of species that act as ecosystem engineers and succession promoters. 

Monitoring ecosystem restoration – Use of indicator species and key ecosystem parameters in restoration monitoring. Understanding restoration timescales and assessing progress. 

 

Seminars 

Discussion on restoration activities – Analysis of restoration efforts across various ecosystem types, comparing effectiveness, time, cost, and resource consumption. Exploration of examples where natural processes are utilized in restoration ecology. 

Computer classes 

Case study of a disturbed ecosystem – Data collection, disturbance diagnosis, and development of a restoration strategy. 

Reading list

Frouz J. (Ed.). 2013. Soil biota and ecosystem development in post mining sites. CRC Press. 

Greipsson S. 2011. Restoration Ecology. Jones & Bartlett Learning 

Perrow M.R., Davy A.J. (Eds.). 2002. Handbook of ecological restoration (Vol. 1-2). Cambridge University Press. 

Selected articles from Ecological Engineering, Land Degradation and Development, and Restoration Ecology journals.