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Indicators of Functional Equivalency for Assessing Restoration Success
Citation:
Russell, M., J. Nestlerode, AND Jan Kurtz. Indicators of Functional Equivalency for Assessing Restoration Success. Presented at Conference on Ecological and Ecosystem Restoration, New Orleans, LA, July 28 - August 01, 2014.
Impact/Purpose:
This is a special session proposal focused on addresses the question “What is the state of the science on using measures of functional equivalency for assessing restoration success?”
Description:
New restoration projects are being proposed around the Gulf of Mexico as a result of RESTORE Act funding. These projects would benefit from innovative methods for assessing their success. Many restoration projects elsewhere use structure-based condition assessment methods which may or may not relate to ecological functions. This session will focus on the theory, and application of ecosystem function measurements for assessing functional equivalency in restored systems. Since functional equivalency is the true goal of many restoration efforts we would like to explore existing and proposed methods for measuring those ecosystem functions most directly related to human objectives. The session will provide a venue for technical experts in the field of ecosystem functional equivalency across a range of ecosystem types to interact with restoration managers who may want to apply new approaches to monitoring and assessing restoration project success. We intend to include technical talks presenting the state of the science on this topic and an extended synthesis discussion to identify knowledge gaps and summarize the potential for developing an overarching framework for applying measures and indicators of functional equivalency to restoration projects