The primary objective of RENOURISH was to quantify how different wildlife management actions alter the chemistry of diverse landscapes, from tropical forests to European temperate forests. This was achieved principally through the development and validation of a generalisable computer model, where animals can roam landscapes, consuming and egesting various chemical elements. By carefully parameterising important animal traits (e.g. movement patterns and reproduction rates), this model could then determine which species were particularly important for modifying landscape chemistry. Wildlife management actions, such as animal reintroduction or off-site removal programmes were then enacted on top of the base model to understand how such actions impact the fertility and chemical heterogeneity of the landscape.
The model was first validated in two locations; Kruger National Park, South Africa and the Amazon Basin in South America. These landscapes contain diverse animal communities, from which it was possible to determine which functional traits (e.g. body size, diet) were most important for animal nutrient redistribution. Resulting patterns in landscape chemistry were then compared to in-situ local field data.
The model was then applied to diverse wildlife management scenarios. Simulations in Kruger National Park highlighted that large animals were particularly important for long-distance nutrient transport, but other animal characteristics (e.g. diet) could influence local patterns. In the Amazon rainforest, human communities have settled close to rivers for accessibility. However, extensive bushmeat hunting in these landscapes have severed animal nutrient arteries from from the nutrient-rich floodplain to nutrient-poor uplands. In the Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany, recent lynx and wolf reintroductions have (to some degree reduced the need for ungulate culling), thereby increasing the annual number of carcasses returned to the land and increased overall nutrient heterogeneity.
