Ecological restoration within urban areas is challenging on many levels. Generally, restoring to a historical or remnant target is inappropriate and unrealistic. Urban restoration targets are chosen based on trade-offs between environmental needs and human values. Thus, although the chosen restoration target is more desirable than current conditions the target system does not naturally occur within the region of concern. A novel ecosystem, which is defined as a system that has no current or historical analog, will emerge as a result of trade-offs between competing and/or contrasting human vs. environmental needs. Trade-offs can include: leaving invasive species in place, incorporation of neighborhood volunteers in the restoration process, integration of recreational and educational features and combining ecosystem services, such as flood storage. If ecological restoration does not attempt to recreate a historical condition, is ecological restoration within urban areas worth it? And what are the benefits of novel ecosystems? Eugene Field will be presented as a case study of urban ecological restoration and emerging beneficial novel ecosystems. Eugene Field is located in Chicago, IL, along the North Branch of the Chicago River and was restored from 2009 to 2013.
Results/Conclusions
Multivariate statistical analyses show that although the vegetation composition is different, the native plant community has similar functional groups as remnant and older restored native plant communities within the region. Functionally similar native plant communities support native species of concern that disperse along the river corridor. Eugene Field serves as an important refuge and breeding site in an urban environment. This case study presents evidence of the importance of urban ecological restoration and resultant beneficial novel ecosystems. The return on investment on restoration in urban areas may be much greater than originally perceived.