*Please note that animations in this presentations are not visible when viewed through Slideshare.
- Tom Robinson, Director of Conservation, Science, and Innovation, Bay Area Open Space Council
- Robin Grossinger, Program Director and Senior Scientist, San Francisco Estuary Institute & The Aquatic Science Center
- Nicole Heller, Director of Conservation Science, Peninsula Open Space Trust
- Matt Gerhart. Program Manager, San Francisco Bay Area Conservancy Program, California Coastal Conservancy
These panelists spoke at the 2017 Open Space Conference, Eyes on the Horizon, Boots on the Trail on May 18, 2017 at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond, CA. More info on the Bay Area Open Space Council's website: http://openspacecouncil.org/community-events/conference/
2. BUILDING LANDSCAPE RESILIENCE
Robin Grossinger
Co-Director, Resilient Landscapes Program
San Francisco Estuary Institute
BAOSC Annual Conference
May 18, 2017
3.
4. Resilience =
Resilience = over-used jargon
Resilience = anything we want
OR
Resilience = really important!
self-help buzzword
5. “We need to demushify resilience.”
Richard Hobbs
10. An ecologically resilient landscape…
• Supports biodiversity and
the ecological functions
that sustain it over time
• Can persist, recover, and
adapt in the face of
climate change and other
anthropogenic stressors
16. Landscape Resilience Framework: re-oaking
• Ensure oaks are in sufficient proximity for gene flow
• Maintain diverse age structure, spacing, and understory
• Emphasize valley oak because greatest historical and
projected decline
• Create additional oak populations in a variety of settings
• Leverage urban landscape for broad habitat restoration,
including medians, campuses, backyards, plazas, and parks
• Establish groves of 20+ trees within several hectares
Goal = Prioritize oak community restoration in areas with
appropriate soil types and groundwater levels likely to be sustained
over time
• Actively manage oak communities to maintain diverse age
structure, spacing, and understory
17. Restoring Landscape Resilience
• A shift or expansion of our focus
• Science is available to support
• Need strong, broad coalitions to
implement
• Time is now
27. Conservation Lands Network is climate
smart ~ it protects climate space
Heller et al. 2015, Ecosphere
TBC3.org
Captured
in CLN
Available climate
space
28. AND new conservation activities
• Holistic landscape ~ urban investments
• Connectivity
• Novel conservation partnerships
• Increased stewardship and monitoring
29. Critical linkages to create climate stability and
provide migration pathway – through urban zone
San Jose
Gilroy
Persistence – adaptation - scale
When we’re talking when we say landscape resilience is….
Of what: about sustaining biodiversity – diversity and abundance of life, from genes to ecosystems – + ecological components, processes that sustain it, over time and under changing conditions
To what:
Landscape part: At large scales….
===========
Before we go further, get on same page – define terms…
What do we mean by resilience? Lots of different types – social, ecological, cultural, economic
While all are important,
Our focus is on ecological resilience at a landscape scale- key aspect of larger concept of social-ecological resilience
Not social/cultural resilience, ecosystem services – important but we focus on ecology component
What do we mean by that?
A key component of this the “over time” component – able to not just sustain function, but persist and adapt under changing conditions
In particular, adapt to climate change – in addition to persistence, has option and alternatives for adaptation
Our focus on landscape resilience emphasizes the importance of considering resilience at the scale of both the human actions and biological/physical processes needed to sustain ecological functions of wildlife over time, and create ecosystems with the flexibility/capacity to respond and adapt to stressors over time.
Landscape part = at the scale needed to sustain ecological functions and physical processes & drivers
==========
Resilience of what system attributes, to what environmental stressors/drivers of change?
Biodiversity = abundance of life at all levels, from genes to ecosystems
Ecological functions = ways that ecosystem components (species, habitats, processes) support life
Climate change: sea level rise, increased temperature, changes in timing and patterns of precipitation and snowmelt, etc\
Specific functions and stressors of greatest relevance determined on case-by-case basis, based on setting…
In summary,
Future different from present or past –
We clearly can’t restore the SCR to how it once was…
But we can use historical research to understand what resilience [to climatic extremes] looked like not just for a healthy ecosystem, but for this particular system in the recent past – LS potential
We believe this kind of large-scale, long-term, interdisciplinary, process-based historical research can help provide a framework for making management decisions based on a deep understanding of local conditions and drivers.
A way to operationalize the concept of resilience in a local, meaningful way.
==========
historical ecology provides inspiration for what that might look like
Understanding the historical landscape is a useful context for creative envisioning of future landscape potential
Using historical ecology, we can develop creative strategies for more resilient, adaptive systems
In summary,
Future different from present or past –
We clearly can’t restore the SCR to how it once was…
But we can use historical research to understand what resilience [to climatic extremes] looked like not just for a healthy ecosystem, but for this particular system in the recent past – LS potential
We believe this kind of large-scale, long-term, interdisciplinary, process-based historical research can help provide a framework for making management decisions based on a deep understanding of local conditions and drivers.
A way to operationalize the concept of resilience in a local, meaningful way.
==========
historical ecology provides inspiration for what that might look like
Understanding the historical landscape is a useful context for creative envisioning of future landscape potential
Using historical ecology, we can develop creative strategies for more resilient, adaptive systems
Here’s current effort – how give structure to insights
Work in progress, approach to how we’re thinking about things coherently/comprehensively…
Help see how all the pieces fit together, think about places in more dynamic way…
Note lots more detail in each principle (each has many components, EG…)
Framework = powerful way to get from HE & change to visions
Resilience = great frame
HE to ID potential, framework to figure out how to leverage
----------
Developed major tool to do this in the past year = Landscape Resilience Framework
Synthesizes resilience science into conceptual framework to help systematically apply resilience science at a landscape scale
Seven core principles, each with key components – comprehensive yet with sufficient detail to apply
Use to think about opportunities across whole landscape
History helps us understand what resilience means for specific ecosystem.
HE as a fundamental component of setting goals
Link back to history
=============
Draws on theory + empirical ecological studies
Input from expert advisory team
In summary,
Future different from present or past –
We clearly can’t restore the SCR to how it once was…
But we can use historical research to understand what resilience [to climatic extremes] looked like not just for a healthy ecosystem, but for this particular system in the recent past – LS potential
We believe this kind of large-scale, long-term, interdisciplinary, process-based historical research can help provide a framework for making management decisions based on a deep understanding of local conditions and drivers.
A way to operationalize the concept of resilience in a local, meaningful way.
==========
historical ecology provides inspiration for what that might look like
Understanding the historical landscape is a useful context for creative envisioning of future landscape potential
Using historical ecology, we can develop creative strategies for more resilient, adaptive systems
Prioritize oak community restoration as emblematic habitat and foundation species of Silicon Valley in areas with appropriate soil types and groundwater levels
animate on Google image + say working with Google and others to implement
Incorporate appropriate proportion of individuals from projected future climates (assisted gene flow).
20+ trees for acorn woodpeckers – to support colony
In process, but could imagine…
E.g. these are objectives
These aren’t to level of metrics/actions yet – in process of doing this with team of science experts for SCV
In summary,
Future different from present or past –
We clearly can’t restore the SCR to how it once was…
But we can use historical research to understand what resilience [to climatic extremes] looked like not just for a healthy ecosystem, but for this particular system in the recent past – LS potential
We believe this kind of large-scale, long-term, interdisciplinary, process-based historical research can help provide a framework for making management decisions based on a deep understanding of local conditions and drivers.
A way to operationalize the concept of resilience in a local, meaningful way.
==========
historical ecology provides inspiration for what that might look like
Understanding the historical landscape is a useful context for creative envisioning of future landscape potential
Using historical ecology, we can develop creative strategies for more resilient, adaptive systems
In summary,
Future different from present or past –
We clearly can’t restore the SCR to how it once was…
But we can use historical research to understand what resilience [to climatic extremes] looked like not just for a healthy ecosystem, but for this particular system in the recent past – LS potential
We believe this kind of large-scale, long-term, interdisciplinary, process-based historical research can help provide a framework for making management decisions based on a deep understanding of local conditions and drivers.
A way to operationalize the concept of resilience in a local, meaningful way.
==========
historical ecology provides inspiration for what that might look like
Understanding the historical landscape is a useful context for creative envisioning of future landscape potential
Using historical ecology, we can develop creative strategies for more resilient, adaptive systems
Land conservation is key to resilience -- Making long term investment in protected land provides options – enables restoration and protection of the processes that create resilience.
Invisible benefits are the ecological functioning. Not just a focus on species origin or ‘as is’ or historical conditions – and also stewardship and monitoring.
Here add some lines that say – available climate space; climate range captured in network
And we also have to do some things differently –
Lots of uncertainty – but also lots of no regret options are out there.
People are doing it already.
POST hired me in part to bring in climate change.
Here is an example of regional investment – Coyote Valley.
What about stewardship? We are going to protect these lands but is that enough to provide resilience?
Historical water ?