School Notes: School of the Environment
July/August 2009

Most polluted ecosystems recoverable

Most polluted or damaged ecosystems worldwide can recover within a lifetime if societies commit to their cleanup or restoration, according to an analysis of 240 independent studies by researchers at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Their findings appeared in the June edition of the journal PLoS ONE.

The Yale researchers found that forest ecosystems recovered in 42 years on average, while ocean bottoms recovered in less than 10 years. When examined by disturbance type, ecosystems undergoing multiple, interacting disturbances recovered in 56 years, and those affected by either invasive species, mining, oil spills, or trawling recovered in as little as five years. Most ecosystems took longer to recover from human-induced disturbances than from natural events such as hurricanes. "The damages to these ecosystems are pretty serious," said Oswald Schmitz, an ecology professor at the environment school and co-author of the analysis with Yale PhD student Holly Jones. "But the message is that if societies choose to become sustainable, ecosystems will recover. It isn't hopeless."

The Yale analysis focuses on seven ecosystem types, including marine, forest, terrestrial, freshwater, and brackish, and addresses recovery from major anthropogenic disturbances -- agriculture, deforestation, eutrophication, invasive species, logging, mining, oil spills, overfishing, power plants, and trawling -- and from the interactions of those disturbances. Major natural disturbances, including hurricanes and cyclones, are also accounted for in the analysis. The researchers analyzed data derived from peer-reviewed studies conducted over the past century that examined the recovery of large ecosystems following the cessation of a disturbance. The studies measured 94 variables that were grouped into three categories: ecosystem function, animal community, and plant community.

Geographer named Leopold Fellow

Karen Seto, associate professor in the urban environment, is one of 19 environmental researchers from across North America to be awarded Leopold Leadership fellowships for 2009.

Seto's research is on the dynamics of urban land-use change, with a particular emphasis on urban development in China. She is co-chair of the Urbanization and Global Environmental Change Project of the UN's International Human Dimensions Programme, and is a recipient of the NASA New Investigator Program Award, the NSF Career Award, and a National Geographic Society research grant.

The fellows are chosen for outstanding scholarship, leadership, and an interest in communicating science beyond traditional academic audiences. Based at Stanford University's Woods Institute for the Environment, the Leopold Leadership Program was founded in 1998 to help academic scientists make their research accessible to decision makers.