麻豆淫院

As the world focuses on repairing damaged ecosystems, especially with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and new EU Nature Restoration law in place, a new study sounds a clear message: when it comes to restoring nature, one size doesn't fit all.

A team of scientists, led by the University of G枚ttingen and Freie Universit盲t Berlin, found that even ecosystems that look similar on the surface can respond very differently to the same restoration methods. If we want to bring back nature in a way that helps absorb carbon, keep water in the ground, and recycle nutrients, policymakers need to think locally. The findings were in the journal Ecography.

In 2019, researchers from around the world joined forces to study how to best restore dry, Mediterranean-style landscapes鈥攑laces with wet winters and dry summers, like parts of the Mediterranean, California, Chile, South Africa, and Australia. These regions are under serious environmental stress and urgently need support.

The team wanted to find out which combinations of native plants could best bring back the land's natural functions. Because these ecosystems are so vast and varied, they built a computer model鈥攚hich works like a strategy computer game for scientists鈥攖o test how different plant mixes would perform in different soils and climates.

The model matched up well with real-world results from a large restoration project in southwestern Australia. In addition, it showed that trying to achieve all goals at once鈥攕toring more carbon, saving water, and holding on to nitrogen鈥攊s tough. Compromises are often needed, and what works best depends a lot on local soil and climate conditions.

"The great news is that this tool can help us choose the best plants for a local area, depending on what we want to achieve," said Dr. Sebastian Fiedler, Postdoctoral Researcher at Technische Universit盲t Berlin, who led this research at G枚ttingen University and Freie Universit盲t Berlin.

Fiedler continues, "But we're not done yet鈥攔ight now, the model doesn't include things like wildfires, which are becoming more common and could change everything. That's our next step."