Vegetation structure, species diversity, and ecosystem processes as measures of restoration success

Most restoration projects have focused on recovery of vegetation to assess restoration success. Nevertheless if the goal of a restoration project is to create an ecosystem that is self-supporting and resilient to perturbation, we also need information on the recovery of other trophic levels and ecosystem processes. To provide an example on how to assess restoration success, we compared four measures of vegetation structure, four measures of species diversity, and six measures of ecosystem processes among pre-reforested, reforested, and reference sites. In addition, we described how Bray Curtis Ordination could be used to evaluate restoration success. Vegetation structure recovered rapidly due to the increase in vegetation height and the decrease in herbaceous cover. Other measures such as litter cover, number of litter layers, and DBH size class values are recovering at slower rates, but they also have increased vegetation heterogeneity in the reforested site. Species diversity recovered rapidly. The increase in vegetation structure changed the local conditions in the reforested site facilitating the colonization of woody seedlings, ants, reptiles, and amphibians. Ecosystem processes, particularly litter production and turnover, have enhanced the incorporation of nutrients and organic matter in the soil. By including vegetation structure, species diversity, and ecosystem processes measures we have better information to determine the success of a restoration project. Moreover, the Subjective Bray Curtis Ordination is a useful approach for evaluating different restoration techniques or identifying measures that are recovering slowly and would benefit from additional management.