Restoration of OCBILs in south-western Australia: Response to Hopper

Standish, R.J.ORCID: 0000-0001-8118-1904 and Hobbs, R.J. (2010) Restoration of OCBILs in south-western Australia: Response to Hopper. Plant and Soil, 330 (1-2). pp. 15-18.

Abstract

In an authoritative review on biodiversity conservation in old, climatically buffered infertile landscapes (OCBILs) Hopper (2009) recently argued that Cramer et al. (2008) were ‘overly pessimistic’ to suggest that restoration of historical ecosystems on some old-fields of OCBILs in south-western Australia was unlikely. Here, we argue that this view was realistic rather than pessimistic, and that the conservation of OCBIL biota requires both a radical shift in the willingness of society to make the investment that is currently necessary to restore historical floristically rich OCBILs and further research to find more cost-effective options for broadscale restoration. Advancing the science and practice of ecological restoration in this landscape requires acknowledgement of current constraints. Ultimately, an approach that combines restoration and conservation is required to ensure the persistence of OCBIL biodiversity in the face of ongoing degradation and climate change.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publisher:	Kluwer Academic Publishers
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/55624

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