Restoring Californias Coastal Ecosystems

Dr Karen Holl- Union of Concerned Scientists UCSC Science Network, 14th April 2017

Two-thirds of all California residents live in coastal counties leading to increased stress on
these coastal ecosystems.
University of California Santa Cruz professor and researcher, Dr Karen Holl, investigates the
restoration programmes currently in place as well as potential programmes designed to
promote healthy ecosystems.
The community members of California have previously proven to be quite committed to the
cause that is restoring their coastal ecosystems with multiple elections having positive
outcome towards restoration projects.
Conservation of those ecosystems already healthy is the priority, however ecological
restoration is also of high importance in Holls conservation efforts.
Research is carried out to conclude what restoration and management techniques should be
used to combat each stress.
The University acknowledges that the next generation are the next leaders of environmental
change and ensure that students are given opportunities to gain the experience needed to
influence ecosystems worldwide in a beneficial manner.

Population pressures upon the abundance of coastal ecosystems within California are beginning to
take a toll on the health of these environments. Whilst these ecosystems hold great intrinsic value,
provide for great utility value in the services they provide and have a large biodiversity, however, the
demand for urbanisation and agriculture have placed stress onto these ecosystems causing them to
diminish in size; as seen in the wetland ecosystems that have reduced to less than 10 percent of
their original area, making the reasons to manage and protect significant to this region.

The functioning of these ecosystems is of high importance as due to their reliance on the services
that these ecosystems provide. When habitat is lost to create more land for urbanisation the
biodiversity of the ecosystem is at risk due to the displacement of many organisms leading to
increased competition in the smaller, divided ecosystem for both food and habitat. As a result, loss
of both species and genetic diversity can occur. The functioning of this ecosystem is put at risk due
to the reduced amount of linkages within the food chain and energy flow. The ecosystem hence
becomes more vulnerable due the loss of biodiversity.

Invasive species are placing stress upon these ecosystems as they threaten the native species, take
over their habitats and modify the previous environment. These successive biogeographical
processes demolish the native species and their habitats thus research and restorative action is
initiated to find the most effective method of combat. In designing these restorative action plans
specific to each ecosystem the resilience of each habitat is considered, with the most effective
actions leading to fast elasticity and a very minimal malleability.

In response to the stress of over-population and urbanisation, researchers are actively taking part in
action strategies to reduce the impact of the Californians and restore the ecosystems to their
original state. Conservation techniques paired with a romantic or stewardship philosophical
approach is encouraged by the academics who aim to educate the public on the importance of
managing and protecting these ecosystems. It should be noted that the Californian public have
historically proven to implicate positive impacts on the environment such as their voting to
implement an action strategy to form a California Coastal Commission in 1972 who were to protect
the coastal resources and balance development to ensure that ecosystems werent declining at an
alarming rate. Furthermore, in the 2016 election, 9 counties in California approved a parcel tax to
provide an estimated $500million to support wetland restoration.

The University of California is working towards ensuring that there is strong intergenerational equity
coming from these restoration projects by acknowledging the next leaders in environmental change
are students. Through education, students are given a great opportunity to gain experience and gain
a firsthand understanding of the importance of these ecosystems and their resilience.

Intragenerational equity was identified as not as strong due to the small group of students within
this program and the low-income and minority communities who are disproportionately affected by
negative environmental impacts, but they are generally underrepresented in ecology. However, the
university is aiming to reduce this gap by offering financial aid and paid internships.