The efficacy of hazardous fuel treatments: A rapid assessment of the economic and ecologic consequences of alternative hazardous fuel treatments

Several persistent questions related to wildfire economics and fuel treatment effectiveness continue to concern federal budget analysts at the Office of Wildland Fire in the U.S. Department of Interior. In the summer of 2012, the Ecological Restoration Institute was asked to critically examine the role and effectiveness of fuel reduction treatments for addressing the severity of wildland fire and the effects on suppression costs. ERI gathered a team of university-affiliated and independent economists to research and analyze these questions to determine if and when investments in fuel reduction treatments will reduce federal wildland fire suppression costs, decrease fire risk to communities, and prevent resource damage. The results from this rapid assessment are detailed in this special report to the Office of Wildland Fire

Do interactions between plant roots and the rhizosphere affect parasitoid behaviour?

Multitrophic interactions are powerful forces shaping the structure of living communities. Plants encounter a great diversity of organisms in their environment: some of these interactions are beneficial (e.g. symbiotic fungi and insect pollinators) while some are detrimental (e.g. herbivorous insects and pathogenic micro-organisms). Multitrophic interactions between below-ground and above-ground organisms are receiving increasing attention because they may influence plant defences against biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study we show that an arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis makes tomato plants significantly more resistant towards aphids, by enhancing both direct defences, both attractivity towards aphid parasitoids

North Campus Open Space Restoration Project Restoration Plan

This Restoration Plan is the result of a collaborative effort between UCSB’s Cheadle Center for Biological Diversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) and a team of consultants lead by Environmental Science Associates (ESA). ESA conducted studies and prepared the design and construction documents for the earthwork to restore the landform of the project site to conditions suitable to support estuarine and transitional habitats, and to restore the South Parcel mesa to topography similar to its historic form. True Nature Design led the design of public access elements and designed the recycled water irrigation system to provide establishment irrigation to the restored native plant communities. Stantec provided civil engineering designs for the structural components of the project public access elements (crossing structures and finished trail surfaces). CCBER designed the plan for the matrix of aquatic, wetland, and upland habitats to be restored to the site, including species selection; planting methods; and habitat features to benefit wildlife. CCBER also lead the development  of the maintenance and monitoring methods and adaptive management strategy.The intent of this Restoration Plan is to describe the methodology for post grading restoration, enhancement, monitoring, and management of native habitats within the North Campus Open Space (NCOS) Restoration Project

Ecological Aspects and Conservation of Wild Grapevine Populations in the S.W. of the Iberian Peninsula

Populations of wild grapevine, Vitis vinifera L. subsp. sylvestris (Gmelin) Hegi, were discovered in S.W. of the Iberian Peninsula over the last years. Location, ecological aspects, sanitary characteristics, including the ELISA test to detect specific virus attack, are described. In vitro propagation and conservation are also considered. The paper also contains a global description of female and male individuals. This material could be used to start breeding programs of cultivated varieties and also to restore riverbank forests, which constitute one of the worst preserved ecosystems in the area

Greenways and Ecological Networks: Concepts, Differences, Similarities

In recent decades green infrastructure (GI) frameworks have been widely used for developing theoretical and practical models of sustainable land reorganization. Although there is still much confusion regarding various aspects of green infrastructure, since many differing perspectives have generated different definitions that emphasise the complexity of the green infrastructure concept, it is possible to find important differences and common points

North Campus Open Space Restoration Project As-Built Grading and Hydrology Report

This report describes the as-built geomorphology and hydrology of the North Campus Open Space (NCOS) restoration project at the completion of the grading phase of the project. Topics covered include: a comparison of the predicted and as-built grading elevations, as-built cross-sections and thalwegs of the two main channels, and a comparison of the hydrology of the project site before and after the completion of the grading phase. A selection of photos of the project site taken before and after the completion of grading are provided at the end of the report. Ongoing project work not covered in this report includes: trail and bridge construction, planting and site maintenance, and the planned construction of a visitor interpretative plaza and maintenance equipment shed

Feminist Ecological Economics

This article provides an overview of feminist ecological economics, with special attention to three particular aspects: its theoretical foundations and relation to other schools of thought, its implications for activism and public policy, and directions for future research work.This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canad

North Campus Open Space Restoration Project Annual Monitoring Report: Year 2 (2019)

Born out of a vision shared by the local community, students, faculty, researchers and state and federal agencies, the North Campus Open Space (NCOS) restoration project is recreating more than 40 acres of estuarine and palustrine wetlands that historically comprised the upper portion of Devereux Slough that was filled in the mid-1960s to create the Ocean Meadows golf course. Led by the UC Santa Barbara Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) in collaboration with other UCSB departments, faculty, student and local community groups, contractors and government agencies, the project is also restoring more than 60 acres of upland habitats that include native grassland, coastal sage scrub, riparian, oak chaparral woodland, vernal pools and patches of annual wildflowers in clay and sandy soils. In addition to wetland and upland habitat restoration, the goals of the NCOS project include flood reduction, support for threatened and endangered species, public access and the provision of educational opportunities. Ancillary benefits of the project include carbon sequestration, preservation of local genotypes, and protection of adjacent ecological values and infrastructure through a design that integrates sea level rise considerations.Currently in its third year of implementation, the main planting phase of the project is approximately 90% complete, and the focus is now turning towards maintenance, continued monitoring, new research projects, and supplemental planting to add diversity, including special status species such as the Ventura marsh milk-vetch (Astragalus pycnostachys var. lanosissimus). This report describes the methods and results of monitoring for the first two years of the project, from vegetation and wildlife to wetland geomorphology, hydrology and water quality, carbon sequestration studies, community use and a detailed record of restoration efforts by type of worker, task and site location. This work documents the progress of the project and supports longer-term research and monitoring programs. Results from the second year of monitoring show substantial progress towards the project’s restoration goals, with many being met or exceeded