Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Ecological Disturbance

Ecological Disturbance

An ecological disturbance is a temporary disruption in the environment resulting from abiotic, biotic, or anthropogenic factors, causing a pronounced change in an ecosystem. The impact of an ecological disturbance, which can depend on its intensity, frequency, and spatial distribution, plays a significant role in shaping the species diversity within the ecosystem.

What is an Ecosystem?

What is an Ecosystem?

Bioremediation

Bioremediation

Bioremediation is the use of prokaryotes, fungi, or plants to remove pollutants from the environment. This process has been used to remove harmful toxins in groundwater as a byproduct of agricultural run-off and also to clean up oil spills.

Environmental Applications of Microorganisms

Environmental Applications of Microorganisms

Microorganisms play a pivotal role in maintaining ecosystem balance by recycling essential elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, as well as supporting processes like bioremediation, wastewater treatment, and biofuel production.Microbes in Elemental CyclesIn the carbon cycle, microorganisms decompose organic matter, releasing carbon dioxide via aerobic respiration. This carbon dioxide is subsequently used by photosynthetic organisms to synthesize organic compounds, closing the...

Ecological Succession

Ecological Succession

Ecological succession is influenced by the processes of facilitation, inhibition, and toleration. Facilitation occurs when early successional species create more favorable ecological conditions for subsequent species, such as enhanced nutrient, water, or light availability. In contrast, inhibition happens when early successional species create unfavorable ecological conditions for potential successive species, such as limiting resource availability. In some cases, later successional species...

Keystone Species

Keystone Species

Measures of species biodiversity, such as richness (i.e., the number of species present) and evenness (i.e., their relative abundance), describe an ecological community’s structure. Many factors affect community structure, including abiotic factors (e.g., sunlight and nutrients), disturbances (e.g., fire or flood), species interactions (e.g., predation or competition), and chance events (e.g., foreign species invasion). Certain species—such as keystone species—also play a...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Three decades of classifying threatened species: lessons learned from and about the IUCN Red List criteria for quantifying extinction risk.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026

Same author

Assessing the net climate benefits of improved grazing intensity in global rangelands.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2026

Same author

Impact of global change on the distribution of mountain mammals and birds.

Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology·2026

Same author

Interspecific variation in shorebird population trends in relation to migration stopover habitat.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026

Same author

Growing nickel supply from the tropics threatens priority conservation areas.

Nature ecology & evolution·2026

Same author

Assessing Potential Data Sources for Landscape-scale Terrestrial Biodiversity Indicators.

Environmental management·2026

Same journal

Retraction Note: NSD2 targeting reverses plasticity and drug resistance in prostate cancer.

Nature·2026

Same journal

Enhanced B cell priming induces broadly neutralizing HIV-1 apex antibodies.

Nature·2026

Same journal

Vaccination elicits HIV broadly neutralizing antibodies in primates.

Nature·2026

Same journal

Child online safety needs more than social-media bans.

Nature·2026

Same journal

Ebola preparedness must start with ecosystems and before humans show symptoms.

Nature·2026

Same journal

AI tools can speed up thinking, but evidence still comes from the lab bench.

Nature·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 5, 2025

Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy-Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration

Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy-Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration

Published on: June 7, 2024

Global priority areas for ecosystem restoration.

Bernardo B N Strassburg^1,2,3,4, Alvaro Iribarrem^5,6, Hawthorne L Beyer⁷

¹Rio Conservation and Sustainability Science Centre, Department of Geography and the Environment, Pontifical Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. b.strassburg@iis-rio.org.

|October 15, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Ecosystem restoration is crucial for biodiversity and climate. Identifying priority areas for restoration can prevent extinctions and sequester significant carbon dioxide (CO2).

More Related Videos

Prospecting Microbial Strains for Bioremediation and Probiotics Development for Metaorganism Research and Preservation

Prospecting Microbial Strains for Bioremediation and Probiotics Development for Metaorganism Research and Preservation

Published on: October 31, 2019

Watershed Planning within a Quantitative Scenario Analysis Framework

Watershed Planning within a Quantitative Scenario Analysis Framework

Published on: July 24, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 5, 2025

Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy-Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration

Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy-Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration

Published on: June 7, 2024

Prospecting Microbial Strains for Bioremediation and Probiotics Development for Metaorganism Research and Preservation

Prospecting Microbial Strains for Bioremediation and Probiotics Development for Metaorganism Research and Preservation

Published on: October 31, 2019

Watershed Planning within a Quantitative Scenario Analysis Framework

Watershed Planning within a Quantitative Scenario Analysis Framework

Published on: July 24, 2016

Area of Science:

Ecology
Environmental Science
Conservation Biology

Background:

Ecosystem restoration is vital for biodiversity conservation and climate stabilization.
Global targets for restoration exist, but priority areas considering benefits and costs are not identified.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and apply a multicriteria optimization approach to identify global priority areas for ecosystem restoration.
To estimate the benefits and costs associated with restoration in these priority areas.

Main Methods:

A multicriteria optimization approach was developed and applied.
Analysis covered all terrestrial biomes to identify priority areas for restoration.
Benefits (biodiversity, carbon sequestration) and costs were estimated.

Main Results:

Restoring 15% of converted lands in identified priority areas could prevent 60% of expected extinctions.
This restoration effort could sequester 299 gigatonnes of CO2, equivalent to 30% of the post-Industrial Revolution atmospheric increase.
Optimized spatial allocation using the multicriteria approach can increase cost-effectiveness up to 13-fold.

Conclusions:

Ecosystem restoration offers substantial contributions to addressing global biodiversity and climate challenges.
Identifying and prioritizing areas for restoration is essential for maximizing benefits and cost-effectiveness.
Synergistic pursuit of restoration goals across multiple biomes is necessary for achieving multiple benefits.