In most landscapes the success of habitat restoration is largely dependent on spontaneous colonization of plant species. This colonization process, and the outcome of restoration practices, can only be considered successful if the genetic makeup of founding populations is not eroded through founder effects and subsequent genetic drift. Here we used 10 microsatellite markers to investigate the g...

Abstract Anthropogenic disturbances lead to the degradation or destruction of tropical forests, with negative consequences for flora, fauna, and local people. Restoration plantings may compensate these impacts, but time financial expenditures are high. Thus, priority is often given plantations a few introduced species that have little value conservation. Animal seed dispersal diversify accelera...

Planning riparian restoration to resemble historic reference conditions requires an understanding of both local and regional patterns of plant species diversity. Thus, understanding species distributions at multiple spatial scales is essential to improve restoration planting success, to enhance long-term ecosystem functioning, and to match restoration planting designs with historic biogeographi...

Abstract—There are many reasons to be concerned about the use of non-native species or non-local genetic material in restoration efforts. An overview of these issues is presented. It is argued that site restoration is more than just successful vascular plant establishment, and that local plant material should be used whenever possible. However, it is recognized that time and money often constra...

Native grasslands are among the most imperiled of the North American ecosystems, but abandoned agricultural areas may provide suitable habitat for animal taxa that are endemic to grasslands. We studied how species diversity of orb-weaving spiders was influenced by secondary succession of a grassland plant community by monitoring the abundance and species diversity in study plots that were culti...