Restoring degraded riparian forest ecosystems of the Western Ghats for ecological sustainability

Abstract

The riparian ecosystems of the Western Ghats are highly diversified tropical forest ecosystems. The synergic effect of various threats may adversely affect and reduce the capacity of these riparian ecosystems to resilience, even though they have specific adaptations for living in extreme conditions. These diversity-rich riparian ecosystems provide critical ecological services such as influencing environmental processes, acting as habitats for both terrestrial and aquatic biota, and supporting the livelihood of the surrounding community. Hence the restoration of such damaged ecosystems is highly significant. This article presents a scheme for sustainable restoration of the disturbed riparian ecosystems with the involvement of multi-stakeholders. The threestage scheme ensures the support and livelihood of the local community, along with the ecological restoration of riparian ecosystems using nature-based solutions with a scientific approach. The restoration will enhance the ecosystem services, climate change adaptations, and resilience, as well as the carbon sequestration capacity of the tropical region.

Restoring Riparian Ecosystems During the UN-Decade on Ecosystem Restoration: A Global Perspective

“…Since time immemorial, riparian landscapes have influenced the traditional culture, economic and political life of forest-dwelling local indigenous communities (Celentano et al 2014;Mohan et al 2020). The wild, non-cultivated, and non-domesticated plants and animal species from riparian ecosystems provide an important hidden harvest for the livelihoods and sustenance of natural forest dwellers and rural communities (Klapproth and Johnson, 2009;Oestreicher et al 2014;Richardson 2012).…”

“…They are highly resilient in nature (Capon et al 2013). Riparian ecosystems connect various habitats linearly, link aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and function as thermal and wildlife refugia (Meave et al 1991;Seavy et al 2009;Mohan et al 2020). These characters can contribute to the ecological adaptation of riparian ecosystems to climate change adaptation (Seavy et al 2009;Capon et al 2013).…”

“…The riparian restoration consists of three phases such as preassessment, restoration, and post monitoring and maintenance (Fig. 3) (Bigley and Deisenhofer 2006;Shafroth et al 2008;Withrow-Robinson et al 2011;Mohan et al 2020). These are general steps for riparian restoration.…”

“…It consists of time and area for planting, development of nursery for the indigenous plants, identification of parameters to be monitored, finding out naturebased solutions, etc. (Mohan et al 2020). The second phase of restoration activities consists of creating awareness and stakeholder involvement, nursery development, bank stabilisation, and planting (Gamborg et al 2019).…”

“…Down the ages, human activities have impaired ecosystems around the world (Dybala et al 2018;Lewis et al 2019;Álvarez-Yépiz 2020) The acreage of pristine ecosystems is decreasing across the planet and is on the verge of degradation (Lengyel et al 2020). Restoration of ecosystems is required for the survival of all organisms (Vollmer et al 2015;Daigneault et al 2017;Mohan et al 2020). Restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed (SER (Society for Ecological Restoration), 2004).…”