Tag Archives: restoration
Shifting restoration’s mindset away from the ‘Garden of Eden’
There has been a recent recommendation to set restoration baselines as pre-degradation ecological communities. However this is a nostalgic aspiration, akin to restoring the ‘Garden of Eden’. It is unrealistic, expensive and does not acknowledge ecosystem change. Restoration should respond to the … Continue reading
Local is not always best
The use of local seed is widely advocated for habitat restoration and is based on the premise that locally sourced seed will be the best adapted for the local conditions at restoration sites. However, a ‘local is best’ seed sourcing practise … Continue reading
Tiger, tiger, burning bright*
Since yesterday’s post was a bit of a depressing one (and there’s the understatement of the year), today’s will be a bit lighter. It seems that I missed out on marking International Tiger Day, which falls on 29th July. And … Continue reading
Wild and wilder
I wrote about one approach to revegetating recently – the suggestion was to clone some of the extremely old trees in the UK and offer them to people and groups to plant. Another approach is taken by George Monbiot. He … Continue reading
Caution: animals crossing!
Why did the brush-tailed phascogale cross the road? Kylie Soanes knows, but she’s not telling. She is, however, telling how she convinced that phascogale to cross using rope bridges. Well, not exactly convincing them – rather setting up the situation … Continue reading
De-extinction – zombie wooly mammoths? (Biodiversity ethics part 4)
It’s now theoretically possible to re-create an extinct animal, provided a sufficient sample of its DNA is found – tar pits would be a good source, as they would capture the whole animal and protect it from environmental decay. For … Continue reading
Where’s the value in biodiversity?
I sometimes get asked where the value is in biodiversity: you can’t eat it, drink it, or sell it, so what’s the good of it? Well, in a previous post I talked about some of the reasons why we need it, … Continue reading
Wild!
I found a great blog t’other day, which I’d like to share. Well, when I say ‘I found’, I mean the blogger found us, so I can take no credit. The blog is gabbywild, and the tagline is “Global adventures … Continue reading
Marsupial superhighway
Australia is a big continent with low population density, with most of the population living within 50 km of the coast. This has generated a string of high-density city areas, and lower density towns, connected by a network of roads … Continue reading
Tree lobster, anyone?
Welcome back to Biodiversity Revolution for 2013. Today I’ve got another insectile treat: indeed, a tree insectile treat. It’s called the Lord Howe Island stick insect, and while that doesn’t sound too exciting, there are some unusual features to this … Continue reading
