South Florida Landscapes of the Future. Guidance from the Biodiversity and Restoration Sectors

Presented at the South Florida Native Plant Seminar October 18-19, 2023 Naples Botanical Garden

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South Florida Landscapes of the Future Guidance from the Biodiversity and Restoration Sectors George D. Gann Chief Conservation Strategist, The Institute for Regional Conservation International Policy Lead, Society for Ecological Restoration October 19, 2023

SER Programmatic work in the Policy, Standards, and Certification Space

Collaborative Efforts

Contributions from the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Best Practices Task Force

High-Level Guidance Assists with implementation of Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets, SDGs and other global targets and goals • There is a growing body of guidance to support ecosystem and ecological restoration at the national and global levels • Using agreed principles and standards can improve restoration outcomes and reduce uncertainly • Technical support is key to assist parties in translating commitments into restoration plans

The Institute for Regional Conservation Uniting Global Thinking with Local Expertise

North American Coastal Plain Global Biodiversity Hotspot Noss et al. 2014

>50% of region in conservation; United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 2020 Protected Areas Target was 17%. CBD Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework 2023 target is 30%. Either way, everything should be great. But it’s not, due to lack of protection of coastal and upland ecosystems, ongoing and increasing degradation – and climate change.

FNAI 2023

NASA Johnson Space Center; August 14, 2013

Broward County Regions and Proportions of Native “Local Diversity”

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1/3 of flora

97% of flora

Issues affecting remaining ecosystem patches (in part) • Habitat destruction • Collecting & poaching • Destruction of natural hydrologic systems • Water pollution • Urbanization & fragmentation • Coastal erosion • Invasive species • Fire suppression • Loss of pollinators & dispersers • Sea level rise • Extreme weather • Climate change • Ignorance & misinformation • Apathy & greed

Fragmentation leads to inexorable loss

Wilcove 1986

Some species and groups go faster, some slower

Local extinctions: about 30 vascular plant species have been lost from Everglades National Park

Restoration and landbased climate change mitigation actions are viewed as key elements of the transformative change needed to avert mass extinctions and the subsequent loss of ecosystem services (IPBES 2018, 2018).

What happens in South Florida matters

P3 - The “Restorative Continuum” recognizes the broad array of ecosystem management activities that can assist in the recovery of degraded ecosystems (adapted from Gann et al 2019)

Ecological restoration, when implemented effectively and sustainably, contributes to protecting biodiversity; improving human health and wellbeing; increasing food and water security; delivering goods, services, and economic prosperity; and supporting climate change mitigation, resilience, and adaptation.

Ecological restoration is increasingly recognized as a critical tool for mitigating and adapting to the effects of environmental disasters and the impacts of climate change.

SER Standards Principle 3 Reference models should be developed with an explicit focus on understanding temporal dynamics to develop feasible and relevant restoration designs that allow local species to recover, adapt, evolve, and reassemble.

This recommendation is valid along the entire restorative continuum.

• Native ecosystem: An ecosystem comprising organisms that are known to have evolved locally or have recently migrated from neighboring localities due to changing environmental conditions including climate change. In certain circumstances, traditional cultural ecosystems or semi-natural ecosystems are considered to be native ecosystems. Presence of nonnative species or the expansion of ruderal species in native ecosystems are forms of degradation. (Gann et al. 2019) • Native species: Taxa considered to have their origins in a given region or that have arrived there without recent (direct or indirect) transport by humans. Among ecologists, debate exists over how precisely to define this concept. (Gann et al. 2019)

www.regionalconservation.org

Facilitate Recovery: Habitat for Birds, Butterflies, and Other Wildlife

Planning for Change (Climate Change and Sea Level Rise)

Lancewood – Nectandra coriacea

iNaturalist 2023-10-16

Climate Change and Provenance Provenancing decisions can be as important as species selection decisions in the face of climate change From Nany Shaw, USFS: “Trailing edges of a distribution relative to climate change are most vulnerable to loss of a species.

Longevity, dispersal, breeding system etc., determine ability to adapt/migrate. When sourcing, consider material from currently adapted sources plus sources adapted to projected near future conditions to hopefully provide current adaptation plus ability to adapt.”

In other words, for South Florida projects local propagules + propagules from the south are better than propagules from the north.

Appendix A, SER Standards

Assisting Migration Augmenting species at the edges of their ranges, which A beneficial impact of ecological restoration is improved may seem logical in many cases, may also be problematic connectivity between native ecosystem patches that allows as species are rare along the edges of their ranges for species to migrate more freely and evolve in the face of climate ecological reasons that may be poorly understood. change.

Additionally, populations along range edges are sometimes Some researchers have advocated that certain species will genetically distinct. Introducing germplasm from other need special assistance to migrate (“assisted migration”) populations could reduce climate readiness or lead to the extinction of the local population through hybridization.

Many provenancing strategies could be considered a form of assisted migration at the population level.

Often, range edges are very ragged with many outliers, a condition not well illustrated by many distribution maps However, when and where assisted migration might be (e.g. maps using presence/absence by local political units). warranted is subject to intense debate and comes with risks (e.g. hybridization with closely related species; species become The question of when to pull species “up latitude and up invasive in the new environment). slope” along those edges or continue to support populations at low latitudes and at the low-elevation edges of their ranges is complex and deserving of careful thought.

Sometimes Species Tolerances Don’t Match Natural Ranges

Florida natives planted outside of their native ranges can be benign, or they can misbehave.

Clusia rosea Pitch-apple

Guaiacum sanctum Lignumvitae, Holywood lignumvitae

Three Key Questions for Range Extensions Including Assisted Migration • Will the plants perform?

• Will they contribute to conservation and ecological recovery?

• Will they cause collateral damage?

That Depends On You

Humility Would be Wise