Ecological Restoration Plants

About

Ecological restoration‚ an important tool in these missions‚ is how we can most sustainably heal the planet Urbanization‚ coupled with climate change‚ is making it more important to repair degraded ecological systems․ The use of ecological restoration plants ‚ and more specifically native plants that are well adapted to the site‚ is an important part of ecological restoration․ Many plants contain adaptations that are helpful in keeping an ecosystem healthy‚ while some function as keystone species in an ecosystem's community interactions․ The choice of native species in ecological restoration projects is important for creating ecologically resilient ecosystems for both humans and nature that are less prone to collapse․ Plants That Have Evolved for Millions of Years Indigenous species are endemic to the environment in which they are found․ Since species in an environment have co-evolved for hundreds and thousands of years‚ they naturally thrive in their environment without outside help․ Their interactions with local fauna (pollinators‚ herbivores‚ etc․) create webs of biodiversity that affect soil building‚ carbon sequestering‚ and the creation and buffering of habitats that support other species․ Native plants create habitat for other life‚ a sense of place for humans‚ and serve culturally and ecologically meaningful roles in the landscape․ This selective pressure is key to the ecosystem‚ since it is part of its dynamic equilibrium and health․ Biodiversity increases the resilience of an ecosystem‚ that is‚ its ability to tolerate disturbance (for example‚ fluctuations in climate‚ outbreaks of disease‚ and invasion by alien species)‚ because of the greater number and diversity of interactions between species‚ and the resulting greater efficiency of energy flow and cycling of nutrients․ In addition to stabilizing and encouraging diversity in a natural wetland community‚ native restoration plants help the ecosystem maintain its ecology and stability․ For example‚ divers