Evaluating species response to erosive perturbations: implication for the ecological restoration of eroded lands

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to illustrate how current investigations on species response to erosive perturbations can be of major interest for the ecological restoration of eroded marly lands in the French Southern Alps. Indeed, restoration ecology and ecological engineering are close fields, both stemming from applied ecology, but belonging to two different circles, respectively the researcher’s and the practitioner’s world. These two disciplines are complementary and present strong interactions. The aim of our investigations is to determine, explain and predict species resistance to uprooting and burial by marly sediment caused by concentrated runoff and shallow mass movements. The use of plant traits to relate species performance to their morphological characteristics offers the possibility to generalize the results and is therefore highly relevant. The results of our study can be integrated in different ways into ecological rehabilitation or restoration actions. They can be used to evaluate the success of restoration projects or the vulnerability of eroded lands, and to optimize management strategies.