ON GROWING AND BEING: SITUATED APPROACHES TO RESTORATION ECOLOGY IN THE DRYLANDS OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

Abstract

Global land degradation is a result of systems of coloniality and extraction. Therefore, supporting the healing of ecosystems must work to dismantle systems of oppression while fostering ecological flourishing. My dissertation aims to support contextualized ecological healing in dryland ecosystems in the desert southwest of the United States. I approached this work with the ecofeminist understanding that systems of harm like colonialism and its subsequent structures of white supremacy culture, cis-heteropatriarchy, and extraction economies fracture people and land from each other, and that therefore, the restoration of ecological and social health are intertwined. In this work I asked 1) what restoration strategies may result in ecological healing through encouraging plant establishment in drylands, 2) what are the social and ecological nuances embedded within these dryland restoration practices, and 3) how can restoration practice be rooted in embodiment and liberation? All chapters within my dissertation focus on different aspects of these questions. The first two chapters emphasize how human action can support ecological health and analyze data about how ecological beings interact with each other. (1) Chapter 1 frames the dissertation through outlining intersections between land degradation and colonialism, as well as practices which support the healing of drylands through seed-based and precision restoration being entwined with centering communities. (2) Chapter 2 asks how indaziflam, an herbicide developed to manage cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), impacts native plant communities and the soil microbiome. I found that application of indaziflam reduces cheatgrass cover and increases native plant establishment but also shifts the microbiome towards chemical decomposers. (3) Chapter 3 focuses on precipitation dynamics of seeding native desert southwest plants with seed-based restoration treatments (seed pellets). In this study, I report that mechanically-made seed pellets significantly increased native plant establishment. (4) Chapter 4 addresses various levels of relational healing through analysis of a regional, community-based, and networked ecological restoration experiment called RestoreNet. I found that compost, mulch, and soil pitting resulted in higher seeded plant density and cover than seeding alone. Finally, (5) Chapter 5 is a synthesis paper that proposes principles of practicing an embodied approach to ecological restoration (“Embodied Ecology”) which draws from articulations of Cuerpo Territorio, ecofeminism, and environmental justice. In this work I learn from the conceptualization of Cuerpo Territorio by Indigenous feminists from Abya Yala, and trace how histories of violence against the land and violence against women, queer people, and children have been interconnected, to propose a framework for ecological restoration that embodies liberatory practice. By grasping at these intricate questions in each of these chapters, I work towards an ecological restoration practice that embraces and intertwines itself with fields of environmental justice and ecofeminism. By inviting these fields into my positionality, writing, and context, I move to advance the field of restoration ecology towards a more holistic ecological healing practice.