The Ridgefield Multiple Ecosystem Services Experiment was established in 2010 to explore the provision of ecosystem services by different plant species in the context of restoration and global change in the wheat belt of south-western Australia. The focus of the experiment lies on a number of ecosystem attributes and processes, including those likely to be valued as services by land managers as well as the broader public.

Design
Ten different plant assemblage treatments are used in the plots. The treatments form a gradient of species richness, functional group richness, and structural complexity. Species were selected based on their nutrient acquisition traits and morphological traits such as growth form: trees, fabaceous shrubs, myrtaceous shrubs, and proteaceous shrubs. Bare plots are included to examine the changes that will occur in the absence of deliberate planting. The plots are blocked according to soil type, aspect, and soil moisture.
Two environmental changes will be manipulated experimentally at the site: N deposition and non-native weed cover. Half of each plot is subjected to N deposition, with weed removal (by herbicide application) nested in quarter plots within these halves. Weed removal was done until the end of 2015. Measurements will take place on, or in the area enclosed by, the 16 individuals within each quarter.
The species are arranged in a stratified random way in the plots, to maintain composition within each plot quarter. Shrubs and trees were planted on alternate rows c. 2 m apart, with 2.5 m between the individuals in the rows: 10 trees per line in each plot. The outer rows of a plot always have shrubs, apart from the bare and tree-only plots. The border trees/shrubs will be excluded from measurements.

The plots of the Ridgefield Multiple Ecosystem Services Experiment and an example plot layout. Former land use: crops (CRPD) or sheep grazing (GRZD). Capital letters denote blocks; numbers denote the 10 different plant assemblage treatments.

Site characteristics

location	Ridgefield
former land use	crops (24 plots), sheep pasture (100 plots)
altitude	350 m
soil type
area	21 ha
no of plots	124
plot size	11 rip lines by 23 m: c. 21 m x 23 m
no of trees planted	11 660
planting date	14-16 August 2010
diversity variables	species richness functional diversity structural complexity
diversity gradient	0, 1, 2, 4, 8 sp. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 FD levels 0, 1, 2 growth forms
size species pool	8
species pool	tree species: Eucalyptus loxophleba, E. astringens shrub species: Acacia acuminata, A. microbotrya, Banksia sessilis, Callistemon phoeniceus, Calothamnus quadrifidus, Hakea lissocarpha
contact person	Mike Perring, Rachel Standish

Research

In the first stages of the experiment, studies will focus on C sequestration, biotic resistance, nutrient cycling, soil erosion control, biodiversity maintenance, and pollination.

Extra information
Send an e-mail to the contact persons, visit the experiment's own website, or explore the publications: theses

• Fiedler S (2021) Long-term Multifunctionality across Mediterranean-type ecosystems: Improving Restoration Outcomes through trait-based Modelling. PhD thesis, Freie Universität Berlin
• Yeeles P (2017) Mechanistic pathways of diversity-function relationships in Australian ants. PhD thesis, The University of Western Australia
• Garibello-Peña J (2016) Interactions of native seedlings with non-native plants for restoration in degraded ecosystems with Mediterranean climate. PhD thesis, The University of Western Australia
• Harrop-Archibald H (2015) The influence of litter quality, fungi and invertebrate decomposers on litter decomposition in a Mediterranean-climate ecosystem. PhD thesis, The University of Western Australia
• Johnson B (2015) Plant-pollinator networks in a restoration planting, and the effects of non-native plants and nitrogen fertilisation. PhD thesis, The University of Western Australia

papers

• Fiedler S, Monteiro JAF, Hulvey KB, Standish RJ, Perring MP, Tietjen B (2021) Global change shifts trade-off among ecosystem functions in woodlands restored for multifunctionality. Journal of Applied Ecology 58(8): 1705-1717 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13900
• Messier C, Bauhus J, Sousa-Silva R, Auge H, Baeten L, Barsoum N, Bruelheide H, Caldwell B, Cavender-Bares J, Dhiedt E, Eisenhauer N, Ganade G, Gravel D, Guillemot J, Hall JS, Hector A, Hérault B, Jactel H, Koricheva J, Kreft H, Mereu S, Muys B, Nock CA, Paquette A, Parker JD, Perring MP, Ponette Q, Potvin C, Reich PB, Scherer-Lorenzen M, Schnabel F, Verheyen K, Weih M, Wollni M, Zemp DC (2021) For the sake of resilience and multifunctionality, let's diversify planted forests! Conservation Letters e12829 - https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12829
• Fiedler S, Perring M P, Tietjen B (2018) Integrating trait-based empirical and modeling research to improve ecological restoration. Ecology & Evolution 8: 6369-6380 - doi: 10.1002/ece3.4043
• Yeeles P, Lach L, Hobbs R J, Van Wees M, Didham R K (2017) Woody plant richness does not influence invertebrate community reassembly trajectories in a tree diversity experiment. Ecology 98: 500-511 - doi: 10.1002/ecy.1662
• Harrop-Archibald H, Didham R, Standish R, Tibbett M, Hobbs R (2016) Mechanisms linking fungal conditioning of leaf litter to detritivore feeding activity. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 93: 119-130 - doi: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2015.10.021
• Perring M P, Standish R J, Hulvey K B, Lach L, Morald T K, Parsons R, Didham R K, Hobbs R J (2012) The Ridgefield Multiple Ecosystem Services Experiment: Can restoration of former agricultural land achieve multiple outcomes? Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 163: 14-27 - doi:10.1016/j.agee.2012.02.016

The Ridgefield Multiple Ecosystem Services Experiment in 2012 and 2013 (Click on the pictures to see a larger version.)

The Ridgefield Experiment in spring 2016 (Bec Campbell) and in 2018 (R. Hobbs)