6. Conclusion: Towards greater use of invertebrates and microbes
If ecological restoration is to move forward as a more complete science,
it is critical that we further investigate the role that rewilded
invertebrates and microbes play during restoration. Recent advances in
the field of restoration ecology have explored both the potential of
whole-of-community rewilding as a restorative tool (Wubs et al. ,
2016) and how benthic stream invertebrates can be translocated as whole
communities (Dumeier, Lorenz and Kiel, 2020). We hope that the ideas and
practical case studies proposed in this article will spur further
empirical testing of whole-of-community rewilding which extend beyond
soil inoculation studies. Monitoring throughout the life of invertebrate
and microbial rewilding projects will be vital to determining their
efficacy and the conditions under which it will enhance recovery rates.
Ecosystem functions mediated by rewilded vertebrates can vary across
abiotic gradients (Decker, Eldridge and Gibb, 2019). Whether the
restorative potential of rewilded invertebrates and microbes varies
spatially, and temporally, should therefore be explored.
Restoration projects currently overlook two groups that make up the bulk
of biodiversity (Kollmann et al. , 2016). This brings into
question whether most restoration projects are failing to attain their
end goal: the reinstatement of biodiversity and ecosystem function in
its entirety. Our argument for rewilding invertebrates and microbes
addresses this shortfall, but we stress that their use should be
considered for the novel advantages alone. Whole-of-community rewilding
is a unique and potentially very powerful tool that land managers are
largely unaware of. A greater incorporation of invertebrates and
microbes in rewilding projects may also simultaneously answer the
resounding call for more thorough monitoring of this underappreciated
group (Eisenhauer, 2019). This
would also help to fill substantial gaps in baseline knowledge of what
species are present and what their functional role is before they are
lost, thus assisting future recovery efforts of globally declining
invertebrate populations (van Klink et al. , 2020). We hope that
the ideas raised in this discussion engender a greater appreciation for
the restoration and rewilding potential that invertebrates and microbes
deserve. This can help mould restoration ecology into a more holistic
science that values the role of all biota, irrespective of size.