干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): A biome-wide experiment to assess the effects of propagule size and treatment on the survival of Portulacaria afra (spekboom) truncheons planted to restore degraded subtropical thicket of South Africa

Arid

DOI	10.1371/journal.pone.0250256
	A biome-wide experiment to assess the effects of propagule size and treatment on the survival of Portulacaria afra (spekboom) truncheons planted to restore degraded subtropical thicket of South Africa
	van der Vyver, Marius L.; Mills, Anthony J.; Cowling, Richard M.
通讯作者	van der Vyver, ML (corresponding author), Nelson Mandela Univ, Bot Dept, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
来源期刊	PLOS ONE
ISSN	1932-6203
出版年	2021
卷号	16 期号:4
英文摘要	Insights from biome-wide experiments can improve efficacy of landscape-scale ecological restoration projects. Such insights enable implementers to set temporal and geographical benchmarks and to identify key drivers of success during the often decades-long restoration trajectory. Here we report on a biome-wide experiment aimed at informing the ecological restoration of thousands of hectares of degraded subtropical thicket dominated by the succulent shrub, Portulacaria afra (spekboom). Restoration using spekboom truncheons has the potential to sequester, for a semi-arid region, large amounts of ecosystem carbon, while regenerating a host of associated ecosystem services. This study evaluates, after about three years post-propagation, the effects of spekboom truncheon size and treatment on survivorship in 40 fence-enclosed (0.25 ha) plots located in target habitat across the entire spekboom thicket biome. In each plot, locally harvested spekboom truncheons, comprising eight size/treatment combinations, were planted in replicated rows of between 24 and 49 individuals, depending on treatment. The experiment assessed the role of truncheon size, spacing, application of rooting hormone and watering at planting on survivorship percentage as an indicator of restoration success. All eight combinations recorded extreme minimum survivorship values of zero, while the range of extreme maximum values was 70-100%. Larger truncheons (>22.5 mm diameter) had almost double the survivorship (ca. 45%) than smaller truncheons (< 15 mm) (ca. 25%). Planting large, untreated truncheons at 1 m intervals-as opposed to 2 m intervals recommended in the current restoration protocol-resulted in no significant change in survivorship. The application of rooting hormone and water at planting had no significant effect on restoration success for both large and small truncheons. While our results do not provide an evidence base for changing the current spekboom planting protocol, we recommend research on the financial and economic costs and benefits of different propagation strategies in real-world contexts.
类型	Article
语种	英语
开放获取类型	gold, Green Published
收录类别	SCI-E
WOS记录号	WOS:000644138300139
WOS关键词	SEMIARID SUCCULENT THICKET ; EASTERN CAPE ; ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION ; ECOSYSTEM SERVICES ; SOIL-MOISTURE ; NAMA-KAROO ; CARBON ; DESERTIFICATION ; TRANSFORMATION ; DETERMINANTS
WOS类目	Multidisciplinary Sciences
WOS研究方向	Science & Technology - Other Topics
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/351394
作者单位	[van der Vyver, Marius L.; Cowling, Richard M.] Nelson Mandela Univ, Bot Dept, Port Elizabeth, South Africa; [Mills, Anthony J.] Stellenbosch Univ, Dept Soil Sci, Matieland, Western Cape, South Africa
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	van der Vyver, Marius L.,Mills, Anthony J.,Cowling, Richard M.. A biome-wide experiment to assess the effects of propagule size and treatment on the survival of Portulacaria afra (spekboom) truncheons planted to restore degraded subtropical thicket of South Africa[J],2021,16(4).
APA	van der Vyver, Marius L.,Mills, Anthony J.,&Cowling, Richard M..(2021).A biome-wide experiment to assess the effects of propagule size and treatment on the survival of Portulacaria afra (spekboom) truncheons planted to restore degraded subtropical thicket of South Africa.PLOS ONE,16(4).
MLA	van der Vyver, Marius L.,et al."A biome-wide experiment to assess the effects of propagule size and treatment on the survival of Portulacaria afra (spekboom) truncheons planted to restore degraded subtropical thicket of South Africa".PLOS ONE 16.4(2021).