Modified ecosystems that fit the classification of novel ecosystems are integral to conservation reserve systems in the Australian urban and peri-urban landscape. These conservation reserves are currently managed with the objective to restore them to historic (pre-European) ecological vegetation class benchmarks. This management framework, when applied to novel ecosystems, commonly results in high-cost and poorly successful management strategies. A greater understanding of the decision context for novel ecosystems is required to improve management outcomes. Questions remain about the acceptability of novelty as a benchmark that cannot be answered by reductionist science alone. Conceptualisation of novel ecosystems and environmental management decisions is a deeply social process. Decision frameworks for determining when novel ecosystems should be used as a management benchmark must incorporate social and environmental values. This study explored what drivers determine when ‘novel ecosystems’ are the acceptable benchmark for managing modified ecosystems. A qualitative study, using a grounded theory approach, was conducted through in-depth semi-structured interviews. Purposive sampling targeted urban conservation area stakeholders of two large-scale restoration projects, identified as novel ecosystems. Interviews were conducted with 20 participants from stakeholder groups that included land management authorities, conservation practitioners, professional botanists and ecologists, and community conservation groups.
Results/Conclusions
Interviews explored stakeholders’ beliefs about biodiversity conservation; perceptions of modified (novel) ecosystems and how they should be managed; understanding of mechanisms and processes underpinning current management strategies; and decision frameworks around current management practices. Analysis of interview transcripts used a developmental approach, where knowledge generated in early interviews was compared, challenged and built upon in later ones. From this process, patterns were identified and themes emerged. Preliminary results revealed five emergent themes as strongly influencing conservation management decisions for modified (novel ecosystems): 1) positive views on native ecology and nuanced understanding of ecological processes; 2) barriers to conservation work, e.g., insufficient funding, lack of institutional support, resource limitations and misconceptions; 3) implementation strategies, e.g. institutional capabilities and creating the right team; 4) community perception and response; and 5) relative representation of novel ecosystems within the landscape matrix. The results reinforced the complexities and differentiated perspectives on determining site specific management strategies. Participants revealed the centrality of people to current decision frameworks, although intrinsic value of native ecosystems was also emphasised. This study sheds light on barriers to managing novel ecosystems as conservation areas, while at the same time identifying influence pathways toward developing a Bayesian network model for novel ecosystem management.