Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
Environ Manage. 2010 Jan;45(1):155-64. doi: 10.1007/s00267-009-9404-7. Epub 2009 Dec 3.
In the midwestern United States, oak (Quercus spp.) forests are considered critical habitat for conserving biodiversity and are a declining resource. Ecological conditions, such as deer herbivory and competition from more mesic broad-leaved deciduous species, have been linked to poor oak regeneration. In the Midwest, where up to 90% of forestland is privately owned, a greater understanding of social dimensions of oak regeneration success is especially critical to designing effective restoration strategies. We sought to determine factors that serve as direct and indirect constraints to oak restoration and identify policy mechanisms that could improve the likelihood for restoration success. We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 32 natural resource professionals working in the Midwest Driftless Area. We found that most professionals anticipate that oak will remain only a component of the future forest. Furthermore, they identified the general unwillingness of landowners to adopt oak restoration practices as a primary driving force of regional forest change. The professionals pointed to interdependent ecological and social factors, occurring at various scales (e.g., economic cost of management, deer herbivory, and exurban residential development) as influencing landowner oak restoration decisions. Professionals emphasized the importance of government cost-share programs and long-term personal relationships to securing landowner acceptance of oak restoration practices. However, given finite societal resources, ecologically- and socially-targeted approaches were viewed as potential ways to optimize regional success.
在美国中西部，橡树（Quercus spp.）森林被认为是保护生物多样性的关键栖息地，也是一种正在减少的资源。生态条件，如鹿类的食草性和更湿润的阔叶落叶物种的竞争，与不良的橡树再生有关。在中西部，高达 90%的林地为私人所有，因此，更好地了解橡树再生成功的社会层面，对于设计有效的恢复策略尤为关键。我们试图确定哪些因素是橡树恢复的直接和间接限制因素，并确定可能提高恢复成功可能性的政策机制。我们对在中西部无山脉区工作的 32 名自然资源专业人员进行了深入的定性访谈。我们发现，大多数专业人员预计橡树将仍然只是未来森林的一个组成部分。此外，他们还发现，土地所有者普遍不愿意采取橡树恢复措施，这是该地区森林变化的主要驱动因素。专业人员指出，相互依存的生态和社会因素，在不同的尺度上（例如，管理的经济成本、鹿类食草性和城市郊区住宅开发），影响着土地所有者的橡树恢复决策。专业人员强调政府成本分担计划和长期的个人关系对于确保土地所有者接受橡树恢复措施的重要性。然而，考虑到有限的社会资源，生态和社会为目标的方法被视为优化区域成功的潜在途径。
