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IMAGE: The new study found that, when restoring habitat, the effects of management strategies on animal communities were six times stronger on average than the effects of plant biodiversity. One such. view more
Credit: Holly Jones, Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, Ill. If you build it, they might not come. That s the key finding of a new study on habitat restoration practices that challenges a commonly accepted principle in ecology.
The study tested the Field of Dreams hypothesis, which predicts that restoring plant biodiversity will lead to recovery of animal biodiversity. The prediction, which often guides restoration practices, is infrequently tested because restoration studies typically measure plant or animal biodiversity, but rarely both, said lead author Pete Guiden, a post-doctoral researcher at Northern Illinois University.