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Peddle SD, Hodgson RJ, Borrett RJ, Brachmann S, Davies TC, Erickson TE, Liddicoat C, Muñoz-Rojas M, Robinson JM, Watson CD, Krauss SL, Breed MF. Practical applications of soil microbiota to improve ecosystem restoration: current knowledge and future directions. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024. [PMID: 39075839 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2024] [Accepted: 07/16/2024] [Indexed: 07/31/2024]
Abstract
Soil microbiota are important components of healthy ecosystems. Greater consideration of soil microbiota in the restoration of biodiverse, functional, and resilient ecosystems is required to address the twin global crises of biodiversity decline and climate change. In this review, we discuss available and emerging practical applications of soil microbiota into (i) restoration planning, (ii) direct interventions for shaping soil biodiversity, and (iii) strategies for monitoring and predicting restoration trajectories. We show how better planning of restoration activities to account for soil microbiota can help improve progress towards restoration targets. We show how planning to embed soil microbiota experiments into restoration projects will permit a more rigorous assessment of the effectiveness of different restoration methods, especially when complemented by statistical modelling approaches that capitalise on existing data sets to improve causal understandings and prioritise research strategies where appropriate. In addition to recovering belowground microbiota, restoration strategies that include soil microbiota can improve the resilience of whole ecosystems. Fundamentally, restoration planning should identify appropriate reference target ecosystem attributes and - from the perspective of soil microbiota - comprehensibly consider potential physical, chemical and biological influences on recovery. We identify that inoculating ecologically appropriate soil microbiota into degraded environments can support a range of restoration interventions (e.g. targeted, broad-spectrum and cultured inoculations) with promising results. Such inoculations however are currently underutilised and knowledge gaps persist surrounding successful establishment in light of community dynamics, including priority effects and community coalescence. We show how the ecological trajectories of restoration sites can be assessed by characterising microbial diversity, composition, and functions in the soil. Ultimately, we highlight practical ways to apply the soil microbiota toolbox across the planning, intervention, and monitoring stages of ecosystem restoration and address persistent open questions at each stage. With continued collaborations between researchers and practitioners to address knowledge gaps, these approaches can improve current restoration practices and ecological outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn D Peddle
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia
| | - Riley J Hodgson
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia
| | - Ryan J Borrett
- SoilsWest, Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems, Food Futures Institute, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch, Western Australia, 6150, Australia
| | - Stella Brachmann
- University of Waikato Te Whare Wananga o Waikato Gate 1, Knighton Road, Hamilton, 3240, New Zealand
| | - Tarryn C Davies
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia
| | - Todd E Erickson
- Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Kings Park Science, Kattidj Close, Kings Park, Western Australia, 6005, Australia
- Centre for Engineering Innovation, School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009, Australia
| | - Craig Liddicoat
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia
| | - Miriam Muñoz-Rojas
- Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of Seville, C. San Fernando, Sevilla, Spain
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Ecosystem Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, 2052, Australia
| | - Jake M Robinson
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia
| | - Carl D Watson
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia
| | - Siegfried L Krauss
- Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Kings Park Science, Kattidj Close, Kings Park, Western Australia, 6005, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009, Australia
| | - Martin F Breed
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia
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Parkhurst T, Standish RJ, Prober SM, Kobryn H, Vardon M. Balancing the books of nature by accounting for ecosystem condition following ecological restoration. Sci Rep 2024; 14:11369. [PMID: 38762699 PMCID: PMC11102552 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-62137-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Demand for ecological restoration of Earth's degraded ecosystems has increased significantly since the adoption of The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in December 2022, with target 2 aiming to ensure that at least 30% of degraded ecosystems are under effective restoration by 2030. More recently, in December 2023, the Australian Parliament introduced the Nature Repair Act, which establishes a framework for the world's first legislated, national, voluntary biodiversity market. How can the effectiveness of these ambitious targets be measured? Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) provides a framework to measure changes in ecosystem condition that is applicable across ecosystems and potentially catalogue effects of restoration interventions to drive investment, improvement to practice, and ultimately, to better protect the Earth's ecosystems. However, the framework has not been tested in this context. In this progressive approach, we populated the leading global NCA framework with ecological data to quantify changes in ecosystem condition after restoration. In principle, NCA is fit for purpose, however, methodological refinements and ecological expertise are needed to unlock its full potential. These tweaks will facilitate adoption and standardisation of reporting as efforts ramp up to meet ambitious global restoration targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tina Parkhurst
- School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, 6150, Australia.
| | - Rachel J Standish
- School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, 6150, Australia
| | | | - Halina Kobryn
- School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, 6150, Australia
| | - Michael Vardon
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, 2601, Australia
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Das KP, Chauhan P, Staudinger U, Satapathy BK. Sustainable adsorbent frameworks based on bio-resourced materials and biodegradable polymers in selective phosphate removal for waste-water remediation. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2024; 31:31691-31730. [PMID: 38649601 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-33253-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Phosphorus to an optimum extent is an essential nutrient for all living organisms and its scarcity may cause food security, and environmental preservation issues vis-à-vis agroeconomic hurdles. Undesirably excess phosphorus intensifies the eutrophication problem in non-marine water bodies and disrupts the natural nutrient balance of the ecosystem. To overcome such dichotomy, biodegradable polymer-based adsorbents have emerged as a cost-effective and implementable approach in striking a "desired optimum-undesired excess" balance pertaining to phosphate in a sustainable manner. So far, the reports on adopting such adsorbent-approach for wastewater remediation remained largely scattered, unstructured, and poorly correlated. In this background, the contextual review comprehensively discusses the current state-of-the-art in utilizing biodegradable polymeric frameworks as an adsorbent system for phosphate removal and its efficient recovery from the aquatic ecosystem, while highlighting their characteristics-specific functional efficiency vis-à-vis easiness of synthetic and commercial viability. The overview further delves into the sources and environmental ramifications of excessive phosphorus in water bodies and associated mechanistic pathways of phosphorus removal via adsorption, precipitation, and membrane filtration enabled by biodegradable (natural and synthetic) polymeric substrates. Finally, functionality optimization, degradability tuning, and adsorption selectivity of biodegradable polymers are highlighted, while aiming to strike a balance in "removal-recovery-reuse" dynamics of phosphate. Thus, the current review not only paves the way for future exploration of biodegradable polymers in sustainable cost-effective adsorbents for phosphorus removal but also can serve as a guide for researchers dealing with this critical issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krishna Priyadarshini Das
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, Hauz Khas, 110016, India
| | - Pooja Chauhan
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, Hauz Khas, 110016, India
| | - Ulrike Staudinger
- Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V., Hohe Str. 6, 01069, Dresden, Germany
| | - Bhabani Kumar Satapathy
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, Hauz Khas, 110016, India.
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Contos P, Murphy NP, Kayll ZJ, Morgan T, Vido JJ, Decker O, Gibb H. Rewilding soil and litter invertebrates and fungi increases decomposition rates and alters detritivore communities. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11128. [PMID: 38469050 PMCID: PMC10925487 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Revised: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Habitat degradation and associated reductions in ecosystem functions can be reversed by reintroducing or 'rewilding' keystone species. Rewilding projects have historically targeted restoration of processes such as grazing regimes or top-down predation effects. Few projects focus on restoring decomposition efficiency, despite the pivotal role decomposition plays in global carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling. Here, we tested whether rewilding entire communities of detritivorous invertebrates and fungi can improve litter decomposition efficiency and restore detritivore communities during ecological restoration. Rewilding was conducted by transplanting leaf litter and soil, including associated invertebrate and fungal communities from species-rich remnant sites into species-poor, and geographically isolated, revegetated farmland sites in a temperate woodland region of southeastern Australia. We compared communities in sites under the following treatments: remnant (conservation area and source of litter transplant), rewilded revegetation (revegetated farmland site with litter transplant) and control revegetation (revegetated site, no transplant). In one 'before' and three 'after' sampling periods, we measured litter decomposition and the abundance and diversity of detritivorous invertebrates and fungi. We quantified the effect of detritivores on the rate of litter decomposition using piecewise Structural Equation Modelling. Decomposition was significantly faster in rewilding sites than in both control and remnant areas and was largely driven by a greater abundance of invertebrate detritivores. Similarly, the abundance of invertebrate detritivores in rewilding revegetation sites exceeded the level of remnant communities, whereas there was little difference between control and remnant sites. In contrast, rewilding did not increase saprotrophic fungi relative abundance/diversity and there was no strong relationship between decomposition and fungal diversity. Our findings suggest the relatively simple act of transplanting leaf litter and soil can increase functional efficiency during restoration and alter community composition. Our methods may prove important across a range of contexts where other restoration methods have failed to restore ecosystem processes to pre-degradation levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Contos
- Department of Environment and Genetics, Centre for Future Landscapes, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine, and EnvironmentLa Trobe UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Nicholas P. Murphy
- Department of Environment and Genetics, Centre for Future Landscapes, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine, and EnvironmentLa Trobe UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Zachary J. Kayll
- Department of Environment and Genetics, Centre for Future Landscapes, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine, and EnvironmentLa Trobe UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Tamara Morgan
- Department of Environment and Genetics, Centre for Future Landscapes, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine, and EnvironmentLa Trobe UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Joshua J. Vido
- Department of Environment and Genetics, Centre for Future Landscapes, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine, and EnvironmentLa Trobe UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
- Department of Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine, and EnvironmentLa Trobe UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
| | - Orsi Decker
- Department of Environment and Genetics, Centre for Future Landscapes, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine, and EnvironmentLa Trobe UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
- Bavarian Forest National ParkNature Conservation and ResearchGrafenauGermany
| | - Heloise Gibb
- Department of Environment and Genetics, Centre for Future Landscapes, School of Agriculture, Biomedicine, and EnvironmentLa Trobe UniversityMelbourneVictoriaAustralia
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