In degraded landscapes, recolonization by pioneer vegetation is often halted by the presence of persistent environmental stress. When natural expansion does occur, it is commonly due to the momentary alleviation of a key environmental variable previously limiting new growth. Thus, studying the circumstances in which expansion occurs can inspire new restoration techniques, wherein vegetation establishment is provoked by emulating natural events through artificial means. Using the salt-marsh pioneer zone on tidal flats as a biogeomorphic model system, we explore how locally raised sediment bed forms, which are the result of natural (bio)geomorphic processes, enhance seedling establishment in an observational study. We then conduct a manipulative experiment designed to emulate these facilitative conditions in order to enable establishment on an uncolonized tidal flat. Here, we attempt to generate raised growth-promoting sediment bed forms using porous artificial structures. Flume experiments demonstrate how these structures produce a sheltered hydrodynamic environment in which suspended sediment and seeds preferentially settle. The application of these structures in the field led to the formation of stable, raised sediment platforms and the spontaneous recruitment of salt-marsh pioneers in the following growing season. These recruits were composed primarily of the annual pioneering Salicornia genus, with densities of up to 140 individuals/m² within the structures, a 60-fold increase over ambient densities. Lower abundances of five other perennial species were found within structures that did not appear elsewhere in the pioneer zone. Furthermore, recruits grew to be on average three times greater in mass inside of the structures than in the neighboring ambient environment. The success of this restoration design may be attributed to the combination of three factors: (1) enhanced seed retention, (2) suppressed mortality, and (3) accelerated growth rates on the elevated surfaces generated by the artificial structures. We argue that restoration approaches similar to the one shown here, wherein the conditions for natural establishment are actively mimicked to promote vegetation development, may serve as promising tools in many biogeomorphic ecosystems, ranging from coastal to arid ecosystems.

中文翻译：

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通过创造机会窗口来支持自然建立过程来恢复生物地貌系统

在退化的景观中，由于持续存在的环境压力，先锋植被的重新定植通常会停止。当自然扩张确实发生时，通常是由于之前限制新增长的关键环境变量的暂时缓解。因此，研究扩张发生的环境可以激发新的恢复技术，其中通过人工手段模拟自然事件来激发植被建立。使用潮滩上的盐沼先驱区作为生物地貌模型系统，我们探索了自然（生物）地貌过程的结果是局部隆起的沉积物床如何在观察性研究中促进幼苗的建立。然后，我们进行了一项旨在模拟这些促进条件的操纵实验，以便能够在未殖民的潮滩上建立。在这里，我们尝试使用多孔人工结构产生促进生长的沉积物床形式。水槽实验证明了这些结构如何产生一个隐蔽的水动力环境，悬浮沉积物和种子优先在其中沉降。这些结构在田间的应用导致形成稳定的、凸起的沉积平台，并在接下来的生长季节自发招募盐沼先驱。这些新兵主要由年度开拓者组成 水槽实验证明了这些结构如何产生一个隐蔽的水动力环境，悬浮沉积物和种子优先在其中沉降。这些结构在田间的应用导致形成稳定的、凸起的沉积平台，并在接下来的生长季节自发招募盐沼先驱。这些新兵主要由年度开拓者组成 水槽实验证明了这些结构如何产生一个隐蔽的水动力环境，悬浮沉积物和种子优先在其中沉降。这些结构在田间的应用导致形成稳定的、凸起的沉积平台，并在接下来的生长季节自发招募盐沼先驱。这些新兵主要由年度开拓者组成Salicornia属，密度高达 140 个体/m ²在结构内，比环境密度增加了 60 倍。在先驱区其他地方没有出现的结构中发现了其他五种多年生物种的丰度较低。此外，新兵在结构内的质量平均是邻近周围环境的三倍。这种修复设计的成功可能归因于三个因素的组合：(1) 增强了种子保留，(2) 抑制了死亡率，以及 (3) 人工结构产生的升高表面上的加速生长速度。我们认为，类似于此处所示的恢复方法，其中自然建立的条件被积极模仿以促进植被发展，可以作为许多生物地貌生态系统中的有前途的工具，