Degraded Habitat Restoration Simulator

Restoration Effort

Habitat reconstruction rate 0.50

Disturbance / invasive pressure 0.15

Simulation speed 1.0×

Recovery Status

Years elapsed

0.0

Avg habitat quality

12%

Biodiversity index

0.00

Guilds established

0 / 3

Trophic Guilds

Pioneer plants≥25% quality0

Herbivores≥45% quality0

Apex predators≥70% quality0

How it works

Each of the 144 cells in the plot holds a habitat quality H ∈ [0,1]. Reconstruction effort r raises it, background disturbance d (invasive species, edge effects) pulls it back down — a logistic recovery model:

dH/dt = r · k1 · (1 − H) − d · k2 · H

This is the standard assisted-recovery curve used in restoration ecology: recovery slows as quality approaches 1 (diminishing returns fixing the last damaged patches), while disturbance removes a share of whatever quality currently exists.

Species are reintroduced in trophic order, following real assembly-rule practice — you cannot skip the food web:

Pioneer plants establish first, once average quality passes 25% (bare, low-nutrient ground).
Herbivores need 45% quality — enough vegetation cover to support grazing.
Apex predators need 70% — a mature habitat that can already sustain herbivore prey populations.

Each guild's population is capped by carrying capacity K = quality_fraction_above_threshold × K_max, and grows toward K logistically once established. The biodiversity index is a Shannon-style measure over the three guild populations: H′ = − Σ pᵢ ln(pᵢ) / ln(3), so it only approaches 1 when all three guilds hold a balanced, non-zero population — a single dominant guild scores low even if its own numbers are high.

Year 0.0

Pioneer plants Herbivores Apex predators

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