He ‘Rewilding ‘includes various strategies that are aimed at improving biodiversity in broken environments through human action. Re -introduce species, rehabilitate habitats or promote ecotourism and responsible and ethical tourism or other conservation actions are some initiatives of this new form of regrettative Or renaturalization.
Is Nature -based solutions help to reduce climate changeBoth for the recovery of plant species and through the recovery of the water cycle or the introduction of species that promote the rehabilitation of processes that were typical of that ecosystem and were lost.
Show strategies
In Mozambique, after the war, the reintroduction of ñus and buffalo helped fight the expansion of an invasive mimosa. This is one of LOs 42 cases of renaturalization – Amuilic known as herwilding in English – that were assessed in a study published in Journal of Environmental Management And what he is considering 19 countries of the world.
The review, published in the context of the Horizon Europe Wilde project and led by researcher Miriam Selwyn, proven that 70% of the Herwildding studied have improved the response of nature against the effects of invasive species, drought or burning, including disturbances.
One of the most effective strategies on the one hand, reintroduce large herbivores To reduce populations of invasive plants And on the other hand, promoted known as prescribed burns, controlled fires that help, among other things, grow more resilient species to shoot.
The places where this strategy has been less successful are those who have suffered extreme phenomena, such as Long -term droughts or large forest fires, especially in moderate or Mediterranean environments.
According to the team, there is a possible explanation that they have tried to restore ecosystems as they were in the past, without taking into account that the species is no longer in advance Adapted to the new environmental conditions caused by climate change.
“Nature is like a equipment that has stopped working because we have removed many pieces; with the We want to re -compile it and To work more autonomouslyBut not necessarily like before, but taking into account the new panorama of climate change and our cultural history, which must maintain and promote new landscapes such as Agroforestry -Mosaics, ”says Miriam Selwyn, main author of the research and member of the Wilde project.
According to the authors, this assessment study shows that the strategies of regrettative They are very effective and that The results can be useful to advise the implementation of the Nature Restoration ActBecause it contains a whole catalog with examples and an X-ray of what has worked the most.
Planned fires and recovery herbivores
Under the quarantine of cases and more than 300 variables that analyzed, one that illustrates the advantage of recovering cooking It is located in the Gorongosa National ParkMozambique. There, during the war, a large number of mammals and the invasive bush were sacrificed Mimosa lazy He benefited from it and expanded his territory; To reverse the situation, large herbivores such as ñus and Buffalo were pulled again and, after a decade, The invasion of Mimosa was reduced to earlier levels of the conflict.
Along the same lines, another Recent initiative in India has also shown that Reintroduce megaherbivorosSuch as elephants and rhinosIt reduces the presence of invasive plants and increases the abundance of indigenous plants. «Although we did not analyze it in this study, In Spain there are also initiatives that introduce grass animals, such as horsesTo prevent forest fires and to promote biodiversity.
These herbivores restore the function that was traditionally done with extensive cattle, ”adds Miriam Selwyn. There are also successful examples in the case of carnivores, such as the Wolf Reintroduction in Yellowstone (US).
In particular the presence of Lobos ensured that the Alces stopped eating in the open parts of the river edges And this, in turn, facilitated that vegetation in these banks grew, because these large herbivores no longer ate them.
As for burning, there is an excellent business in Sierra Nevada (California), where The logging of excessive trees and the extinction of fire has caused That forests are less resistant to fire, drought and vermin.
After comparing three scenarios for two decades: don’t take a measureMake prescribed bones or eliminate the flammable load manuallyThey showed that combining the last two was the most effective strategy to reduce the fuel load.
Josep Maria Eostelta, researcher, co -author of the study and member of the Wilde project explains that explaining that explains “In ecosystems that are used to living with fire, such as Mediterranean, strict fire suppression policy are sometimes counterproductive, because habitat conditions change and the forest structures prefer that are more vulnerable to this disruption“.
Don’t forget the past
According to the publication, in contrast to more traditional restoration approaches, the new renature strategy, the Rewilding does not necessarily try to replicate the past, But to promote living, diverse and dynamic ecosystems, “with the aim That nature adapts to uncertain scenarios such as new invasive species, extreme climatic phenomena, etc. “Josep adds Maria Eostelta.
This newer perspective also takes into account interaction with people on the one hand, Because part of the landscape has evolved with our history. For example, species of birds and butterflies are linked to agricultural spaces.
On the other hand, this new idea works to do Compatible socio -economic needs with the preservation of nature in certain contexts“For example, improve domestic herbivores that have the same function as the Wildes, so that it is positive for the ecosystem, but also for society (offering cheese, meat, etc.)”, Miriam Selwyn clarifies.
Another case would be Take advantage of trees caused by recurring droughts to prefer forest structures that are more resistant to forest fires.
What is herwilding or renatureization?
The expression that ‘nature is wise’ hides a truth and is that An effective solution to protect ecosystems against the impact of climate change is to return to nature the ability to support themselves. To do this, Ecology proposes to implement actions of territory management aimed at regrettative. With these practices, after a first management management and a certain subsequent guidance, “nature can be more autonomous and resilient,” adds Josep María Eostelta.
In particular, the study has analyzed projects that the regrettative Of his three most important approaches. First, those who had the goal of restoring the complexity of the trophic chain, for example, for example, Introducing or eliminating certain animals, Both herbivores and carnivores that can regulate the population, or facilitate the restoration of indigenous plants.
Second, measures looking for Adjust ecosystems to disturbances that can happen naturally and that are more prepared– An example is prescribed bones to reduce the risk of large forest fires.
And finally, actions that were looking for Connect Habitats To facilitate that kind of movement can And expanding its territory, for example, connects a nature park with agricultural areas to facilitate seed dispersion.
Moreover, the expert points out that it is important to keep in mind that the Renature or Herwildding tries to reduce human intervention in ecosystems So “in some situations it can also consist of not intervening and making nature only evolve,” explains Miriam Selwyn.
Nasty Analyze the effect of reviling initiatives on the resilience of ecosystems, The team compared them with control cases that they had not applied any measure to make the comparison, More than 300 variables includedSuch as species richness, planning or fuel load.
“With this study we show that the Renature or Herwildding can help ecosystems be more resilient for climate changeAlthough its success depends on the intensity of extreme phenomena and sometimes you need additional support measures, “concludes Miriam Selwyn.