Abstract

The global extraction of forest and water resources has led to habitat degradation, biodiversity loss, and declines in ecosystem services. As a consequence, ecological restoration has become a global priority. Restoration efforts to offset this trend, however, are not always effective. One reason is that many restoration projects target single ecosystems and fail to acknowledge functional links between ecosystems. We synthesized current knowledge on links between forest and stream ecosystems, the effect of anthropogenic stressors on these links, and their implications for restoration planning. Many examples show that lateral subsidies, such as invertebrate prey and nutrients, are important in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. Stressors such as commercial forestry, flow regulation, stream channelization, and climate change affect these links and should be considered in restoration planning. Restoration practitioners are encouraged to view adjacent forest and stream ecosystems as one entity.

Keywords

restoration; stream; forest; links; biodiversity

Published in

Bioscience
2016, Volume: 66, number: 8, pages: 646-654

SLU Authors

• Hjältén, Joakim

  • Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Bell, David

  • Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Sustainable Development Goals

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts


UKÄ Subject classification

Forest Science
Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use
Ecology


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biw072

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/77388