©Danilo Lima, Agripalm Ambiental
The RRC database contains a wide variety of resources and publications related to ecological restoration, and we are actively working to expand this collection. It is our aim to serve as the principal clearinghouse for information and tools to support the work of researchers, practitioners, land managers, educators, students, and anyone else interested in restoration. Use the filter tool below to search the database by title, author, resource type, keyword, or any combination of these factors.
Although SER does review all entries in the database for relevance and quality, these resources have not been rigorously reviewed or extensively vetted in every case, and SER therefore makes no claim as to their accuracy or accordance with generally accepted principles in the field. The database is provided as a resource for visitors to the SER website, and it is ultimately left to the individual user to make their own determinations about the quality and veracity of a given publication or resource.
If there is a resource we missed, please let us know! We are interested in current books, articles, technical documents, videos, and other resources that are directly relevant to ecological restoration science, practice or policy, as well as resources treating the social, cultural and economic dimensions of restoration.
Beyond habitat protection: Restoring, rewilding, and bear-human conflict prevention to improve landscape level connectivity for grizzly bears
Abstract:Based in Missoula, Montana, The Vital Ground Foundation is a land trust focused on protecting private lands that connect larger wild strongholds, building lifelines for grizzlies and all things wild. We also work outside of the traditional land trust model of land protection; this talk will cover two case studies focused on how we collaborate with other organizations to rewild and restore habitat and the importance of supporting community led efforts to prevent conflicts between bears and humans, key aspects of improving overall habitat permeability. Through protecting and improving these connections, species can move more easily across the landscape, whether to access different food sources seasonally or to expand their range into different ecosystems.
The first case study focuses on a project in a key corridor connecting genetically isolated grizzly bear populations near a rural town in northwest Montana. The property is a partially developed subdivision and an old homestead. Our efforts at the property are focused on removing the existing developments and restoring the highly altered ecosystems – including forests, grasslands, and riparian areas- in order to benefit habitat connectivity for multiple species. We’ll discuss opportunities as well as challenges faced as part of this project. The second case study focuses on our work to support living with wildlife practices and increase social tolerance for grizzly bears, examples of the social aspects of rewilding. As grizzly bears’ range expands and distinct populations are connected, they will need to pass through more developed valleys, increasing the risk for conflicts.
Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Mitigating Road Corridor Habitat Connectivity Barriers for Increased Terrestrial Ecosystem Climate Change Resilience: a pilot project in Vermont
Abstract:Maintaining and restoring regional-scale habitat connectivity is a frequently cited strategy for promoting climate adaptation for terrestrial biodiversity, as many taxa will need to respond to anthropogenic warming by attempting large scale range expansions across a network of connected habitats otherwise intersected and fragmented by road corridors and associated land uses. The Staying Connected Initiative (SCI) has worked since 2009 to address landscape-scale connectivity conservation needs across the bi-national Acadian/Northern Appalachian ecoregion by developing multiple approaches to conserve a network of connected habitat. In Vermont, SCI is now increasingly focused on implementing on-the-ground connectivity restoration projects, both to ameliorate road corridor fragmentation to increase terrestrial climate resilience and connectedness and, with a primarily focus on wide-ranging terrestrial species, improve individual-level habitat access needs. Towards this end, SCI has initiated a pilot project to enhance/restore connectivity across a busy state highway in Vermont. By combining site-scale road infrastructure modification with habitat restoration techniques such as reforestation, wetland creation/restoration, and hedgerow planting , the project seeks to 1) restore site-scale connectivity across a road corridor through habitat enhancement and modification of existing bridges and culverts; and 2) incorporate additional values (flood resilience and water quality) to engender broad-based project support amongst interested local parties. Relying on a novel integration of theory from a coarse filter terrestrial climate change resilience framework with site-scale taxa-oriented project design considerations, the project demonstrates an approach to ameliorate connectivity fragmentation from road-corridors to better connect habitat networks capable of supporting climate-related range expansion needs of multiple taxa.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Models, Monitoring, and Migratory Monarchs
Abstract:Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) have undergone considerable population declines over the past decade, and the governments of Mexico, Canada, and the United States, as well as conservation organizations and concerned individuals are working to conserve the migratory phenomenon of this charismatic insect. Given limited resources, understanding where to focus conservation action is key for widespread, migratory species like monarchs. Multiple monitoring efforts, many of them citizen science projects, have resulted in data that can be used to address this need. Models that assess factors that are likely to be driving monarch numbers suggest that habitat loss and temperature conditions in the breeding range are the most important drivers of the eastern North American monarch population, although other factors throughout the migratory cycle are also likely to contribute to population variation. To support planning for continental-scale monarch habitat restoration, my colleagues and I used a spatially explicit demographic model that simulates the multi-generational annual cycle of the eastern monarch (see figure). Improving monarch habitat in the north central or southern parts of the monarch range yields a slightly greater increase in the population growth rate than restoration in other regions. However, combining restoration efforts across multiple regions yields positive population growth with smaller simulated improvements in habitat per region than single region strategies. These findings suggest that conservation investment in projects across the full monarch range will be more effective than focusing on one or a few regions, and will require international cooperation across many land use categories.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Restoring and conserving connectivity in Canada
Abstract:While Canada contains some of the world’s last areas of wilderness, the southern region of the country has been significantly altered by habitat conversion and fragmentation. Loss of connectivity is impacting ecological functions, increasing the extinction risk of threatened and wide-ranging wildlife, and limiting the capacity of species and ecosystems to adapt to climate change. Protecting and restoring connectivity in southern Canada is critical to maintain biodiversity nationally and in adjacent regions of the U.S. Our recent analysis of terrestrial connectivity across southern Canada and the northern U.S. supports conservation efforts by highlighting corridors between existing protected areas and large habitat blocks. Many of these key areas for connectivity are well-known (such as Yellowstone to Yukon), but other important sites currently have a limited conservation response. The results of our analysis will be presented along with several case studies of on-going efforts to restore and conserve ecological corridors. These case studies from across Canada include connectivity projects that will maintain wildlife migrations, reduce in-breeding, and facilitate range shifts. The case studies will each include a summary of lessons learned and suggested best practices for the planning and implementation of connectivity conservation and restoration in Canada including ecological, social and political factors.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Ecology and Management of Lowland Northern White-Cedar
Abstract:Northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.) is a common tree throughout northeastern and north-central U.S. and adjacent Canada. Though a minor component of upland forests, cedar is a dominant species on lowland swamps and seeps with moving groundwater. Yet over-browsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), competition from other trees and shrubs, and harvesting to meet commercial demand for cedar products have caused undesired species shifts. Our investigations of lowland cedar revealed characteristics important to compositional and structural sustainability. These sites typically have water table at or near the surface, organic soils, pronounced microtopography, highly decayed downed logs, and a moss-covered forest floor. These attributes facilitate cedar regeneration and growth through seed germination and branch layering (rooting). Based on our observations, we are evaluating the potential of irregular shelterwood cutting (thinning and small gaps) for sustainable management of lowland cedar. Construction of permeable roads, winter harvesting, designating machinery trails in areas of low microtopography, avoiding damage to residual trees and downed logs, and laying tree tops and branches in trails are recommended. Where regeneration must be supplemented, seedlings should be planted on elevated microsites and protected from browsing. Mechanical (brushsaw) regeneration release is warranted if competition is high. In all cases, some proportion of overstory cedar trees should be retained for multiple rotations for seed and ecological memory. In areas where cedar is uncommon or deer populations are high, harvests are unlikely to have favorable outcomes.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Modifying Hydrologic Management of Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Greentree Reservoirs for Long-term Habitat Sustainability
Abstract:Bottomland hardwood forests (BLH) once were the dominant landcover in wetlands of the southeastern United States. Historical coverage in the lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley (MAV) was estimated at 19-25 million acres, but these habitats have been reduced by about 75% today. Mallards evolved to respond to the natural hydrologic pattern of variable BLH flooding in late fall and early winter. Early conservationists – primarily duck hunters – saw value in these unique wetland habitats. In the 1930s, landowners around Stuttgart, Arkansas, created the first greentree reservoirs (GTRs) by constructing levees to consistently provide waterfowl habitat and hunting opportunity. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) constructed GTRs assuming their management imitated natural flooding and would not have negative impacts on plant communities. Research now highlights negative effects as a result of the artificial hydroperiods created by GTR management, including increased overstory tree mortality and low regeneration rates of seedlings and saplings of desirable species. Current GTR evaluation, restoration and management planning has shifted focus to the emulation of natural hydrologic regimes across a complex of wetlands rather than providing consistent public hunting opportunity at the expense of long-term system integrity. Our GTR evaluation team has focused on analyzing individual GTR infrastructure, management and ecological setting. We are using hydrogeomorphic analysis principles to define forest communities based on forest inventory plot data assigned to elevation using LiDAR imagery. We can relate inundation levels to forest communities in order to adapt restoration and future management to the requirements of key species and communities
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Multi-objective conservation and restoration planning in urban landscapes
Abstract:Human activities have led to the degradation of wetlands, impinging on their capacity to deliver essential ecosystem services to society. Wetland restoration now appears as an essential strategy to recover the supply of these ecosystem services, particularly in regions of high agricultural or urban development. The cost and limited resources available for restoration call for cost-efficient systematic planning approaches. Here, we aimed to develop a framework to prioritize wetlands for protection and restoration accounting for their complementary roles at maintaining ecosystem services to local beneficiaries in the agglomeration of Quebec City, Qc, Canada. We quantified anthropogenic pressures within existent wetlands and used those to estimate restoration costs. We modeled the supply and demand of nine key ecosystem services associated with wetlands. As additional sites for restoration, we mapped historical wetlands that were fully converted to other land uses over time, using Landsat images. Using the systematic planning software Marxan, we prioritized sites to achieve a range of conservation targets. We show how restoration can help, or even allow, meeting conservation targets. Despite higher costs compared to protection, restoration was part of optimized solutions, substituting protection interventions of pristine sites. These results highlight the importance of considering cost-benefit ratios of the different conservation interventions (protection VS restoration), as well as the demand for ecosystem services by society. Finally, we show how keeping a dual perspective on restoration priorities, by accounting for both their intrinsic value and cost-efficient complementary role within an integrated plan, brings more transparency to prioritization outcomes.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Point Pelee National Park Marsh Restoration (The Open Marsh, Healthy Marsh Partnership)
Abstract:Established in 1918, Point Pelee National Park is located in Southwestern Ontario and consists of 15 km2 mainland peninsula as well as Middle Island (18.5 hectares). The park is home to over 60 federally listed species at risk. Approximately 72% of the park’s mainland is comprised of marsh habitat and 19 species at risk are dependent upon its continued presence. Since the late 1950s, the overall percentage of open water habitat in the marsh has decreased by 10 percent (100 hectares) due to habitat alterations, reducing overall habitat biodiversity for all marsh species, including species at risk. The objective of this project is to increase open water and edge habitats in the marsh through removal of invasive floating cattail mats and invasive Phragmites to restore habitat diversity for species at risk where the park can influence recovery. Planning involved an Open Standards workshop to review threats to the marsh and develop a Community of Practice on marsh management, as well as contacting wetland managers from various organizations within Canada and the USA to discuss management methods. This process provided a foundation for the project’s conservation and restoration planning. The park is proposing to use an aquatic vegetation cutter and aquatic weed harvester to recreate open water areas, and use “cut to drown” techniques and herbicide application for treatment of Phragmites in species at risk areas of concern. As such, preliminary management of Phragmites began in summer 2020, expanding on previous small-scale Phragmites removal work within the park, and will continue as the project proceeds. Creation of open water areas in order to increase habitat diversity within the marsh will proceed in 2021.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
A tool to assess and restore multiple ecosystem functions and services in human-impacted ecosystems
Abstract:Successful restoration must address multiple goals for ecosystem service delivery and ecosystem functionality. This is particularly true in highly impacted socio-ecological systems, such as industrial landscapes, where practitioners aim to kickstart ecosystem recovery towards desired ecosystem states by balancing local ecological imperatives, uncertainty associated with climate change and the socio-economic and environmental values of stakeholders. We present a tool to assist managers in
developing restoration strategies that can accommodate these multiple goals. We use the case of Cu-Ni smelter damaged forests of Sudbury (Canada) to demonstrate how this tool allows managers to identify species mixtures that optimize the delivery of targeted ecological functions and services, as captured by functional traits, under a set of economic and logistical constraints. Following a plant community engineering approach, we use an economic optimization model to generate different costeffective combinations of species that optimise desired restoration goals. These virtual plant assemblages can serve as a “thinking tool” to inform planting strategies. What should we plant now so future forests will provide the desired ecosystem services? In the Sudbury system, stakeholders prioritized a range of ecosystem services that included rapid vegetation cover growth and soil building. Importantly, the weight attributed to each ecological goal or economic constraint led to contrasted optimal plant assemblages. This finding demonstrates the need to balance competing objectives in developing species mixtures for restoration, and functional traits can help us capture these tradeoffs. We discuss potential application of this approach to other socio-economic systems.
Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Closing forest roads to restore caribou habitat: assessing the effects on boreal caribou, alternate prey and predators
Abstract:Anthropogenic activities and their impacts on boreal caribou have received considerable attention from wildlife ecologists for more than two decades. A general consensus emerging from this body of knowledge is that concrete actions such as active habitat restoration will be required if we hope to save dwindling caribou populations living in heavily disturbed areas. In some regions of eastern Canada, intensive forestry activities have led to the creation of dense forest road networks, which predators such as wolves often use to efficiently patrol caribou ranges. In collaboration with the Essipit First Nation, we evaluated the efficacy of 4 forest road treatments to restore caribou habitat in Akumunan, east of the Saguenay region, Québec, Canada. Preliminary results suggest that 3 years after treatment, closed roads planted with spruce trees had a higher density of herbaceous plants compared to roads that were only closed to traffic. Interestingly, environmental conditions surrounding treated sites seemed to have a strong effect on regeneration, potentially more than treatments per se. A network of 230 game cameras installed across our experimental design also allowed us to evaluate use of closed forest roads by boreal caribou, grey wolves, black bears, and moose; these results will be discussed during the presentation. Results from this study will help to identify efficient strategies to forest road restoration in regions where forestry activities are believed to be the main driver of boreal caribou declines.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Defining and quantifying the reclamation and restoration economy in Alberta
Abstract:Achieving restoration targets may not be possible without a significant impact on economic activities coming energy, mining and forestry companies that currently contribute to landscape degradation and landscape fragmentation. However, missing from this debate has been a detailed accounting of the economic output and jobs that are actually created through restoration and reclamations activities. In order to fill these gaps, we have developed and conducted a survey to define and quantify the reclamation and restoration (R&R) economy using the province of Alberta as pilot study. The survey composed of 22 questions was circulated among the restoration practitioners in the province such as extractives industries, private consultants, academia, federal and provincial governments as well as NGO’s. The specifics goals of the survey was to have a better understanding of the revenues, expenditures, and the jobs for each type of R&R activities as well as identify the keys players in the supply chain.The presentation will highlight the preliminary results as well as the challenges of conducting such project. The study will also help demonstrate the critical role of reclamation and restoration in ensuring that Alberta can achieve sustainable resource development and multifunctional landscape.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Is mounding contributing to the successful restoration of seismic lines in the in-situ oil and gas landscape in Alberta, Canada?
Abstract:The oil and gas exploration leaves a significant footprint on the landscape, predominantly in much of northern Alberta, where thousands of kilometers of seismic lines dissect various ecosystems throughout the boreal forest. In particular, treed peatlands are of interest, as natural recovery is minimal, having an important contribution to forest fragmentation. Efforts are in place for mitigating this footprint through human intervention, with the expectation that treatments will successfully restore disturbed sites. Mounding is a commonly used technique and the objective of this study is to assess early responses following treatment application and provide knowledge on whether it contributes to improving site conditions. Environmental and biodiversity data were collected from two areas in which mounding has been applied, with additional data from untreated sites and the adjacent undisturbed forest. Results show that mounding increased topography and influenced ground temperature and moisture, providing better conditions for natural regeneration and establishment of planted tree seedlings. In terms of biodiversity, mounding influenced species composition compared to untreated sites; however, assemblages in treated areas were also different from those typical of undisturbed conditions. Given the short time post-treatment at these sites (0-6 years), it is still too early to provide evidence of successful restoration, and therefore long-term monitoring is necessary to evaluate recovery trajectories and provide an assessment on whether this technique is effective for restoring linear disturbances. Nonetheless, these results are relevant as they contribute to a better understanding of short-term effects following mounding and inform the industry about restoration efforts.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Knowledge extension on techniques for active restoration in response to cumulative impacts to caribou habitat
Abstract:Boreal Caribou, an iconic species in Canada’s boreal forest, are facing numerous threats that have resulted in population declines across its ranges. Threats include anthropogenic disturbances such as extractive natural resource development and forestry. This is compounded by the increasing impacts of climate change. All these factors combined, also known as cumulative effects, have a detrimental impact on caribou habitat, as well as caribou conservation and recovery. Efforts are underway to develop tools and techniques to improve return to forest cover of disturbed sites, especially in Alberta’s oil sands region with the ultimate goal of improving caribou habitat. The extent of legacy disturbances in the boreal forest is vast, however, and if forest habitat restoration objectives are to be met at landscape scale, there is a need to significantly build workforce capacity. In addition, participation in habitat restoration is of specific interest to indigenous communities. We present several restoration tools and techniques and novel ways to share this information with end-users, such as land managers and reclamation workers. We’ll be highlighting industry-led successes, as well as strong collaborative initiatives to move the yardstick when it comes to successful restoration and its role in caribou habitat improvement. Lastly, we will provide some examples of successful restoration examples, that will clearly outline the difference in restoration techniques, based on site conditions and intended outcomes.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Timber harvesting and climate change are predicted to reduce future habitat suitability for boreal caribou in Quebec
Abstract:Most boreal populations of woodland caribou in Canada are declining. These declines are likely the result of widespread anthropogenic pressures, yet climate change is expected to exert an increasingly negative influence on caribou populations in the coming decades. It is still unclear how human activities and climate change will influence habitat suitability for caribou at the supra-regional scale, and how important these agents will be relative to each other. In this study, we modelled boreal caribou habitat suitability across most of the commercial forest in Quebec for the period 2020-2100 under three climate scenarios (baseline, Representative Concentration Pathways [RCP] 4.5 and 8.5) and two harvest scenarios (no harvest and ecosystem-based forest management) using the LANDIS-II forest landscape model. Our analyses showed that timber harvesting was the dominant agent explaining future variations in habitat suitability in Quebec, although climate change is also expected to decrease habitat suitability, especially under RCP 8.5. Climate-induced decreases in habitat suitability were mostly related to an increase in natural disturbances at the expense of old conifer and mixed stands. Caribou habitat suitability by 2100 also varied spatially, with the northeastern part of the study area appearing as a potential “cluster” of suitable habitat for caribou regardless of climate and harvest scenarios. Slowing down harvest activities in areas where habitat suitability is currently high could contribute to maintain high habitat suitability even under more intense climate change scenarios. Our results also suggest that regions with currently very low habitat suitability may not improve unless active habitat restoration is performed.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Blueberry River First Nations Restoration Framework
Abstract:Situated in the Peace River region of northeastern British Columbia, Canada, Blueberry River First Nations (BRFN) is an Indigenous community that is prioritizing reciprocal restoration on their traditional lands that extend over 3.8 million hectares. There is a heavy presence of industrial activity on the landscape going back decades, including land degradation and legacy sites from forestry, agriculture, and oil and gas development. BRFN is developing a restoration framework to identify and prioritize community areas for restoration across the landscape to maintain the well-being and cultural continuity of the community and revitalize fragmented and critical ecosystems. This includes establishing evidence-based thresholds for ecosystem recovery and identifying priority areas for restoration across the landscape. Our presentation will showcase three BRFN restoration projects and identify how they fit into the proposed restoration framework. Critical to our success is establishing partnerships among industry, Indigenous governments, other levels of government, land users, and non-profits. We will demonstrate our framework planning process and identify preliminary obstacles such as funding limitations along with how the framework will work with complementary processes such as regional land management planning initiatives. Indigenous communities are leaders in so-called “voluntary” restoration efforts, that is, restoration projects not mandated by current legislation; sharing knowledge and experience will grow the broader network of restoration practitioners who work in and with Indigenous communities.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Chiixuu Tll iinasdll: Indigenous Leadership and Collaborations Foster Ecological Restoration for People and Place in Gwaii Haanas
Abstract:Indigenous societies and governance systems worldwide are based on relationships, knowledge and practices reflecting a deep history of interdependence between people and place that sustains biological and cultural diversity. Using the Chiixuu Tll iinasdll kelp forest restoration project along 3-kilometers of coastline in Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site, in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada, we demonstrate how Indigenous leadership and collaborations can restore balance in social-ecological relationships while advancing conservation and restoration goals. Here, relationships between indigenous Haida, sea otters, and ecosystems adapted and persisted for millennia until the maritime fur trade disrupted Haida culture and extirpated sea otters almost 200 years ago. Loss of sea otters, voracious shellfish predators, freed macroinvertebrates from top-down control. Kelp forests today are diminished in abundance, depth and area from intense grazing by hyperabundant urchins, impacting marine ecosystems, species at risk, and culturally important species by reducing habitat, primary productivity and coastal protection. We mimicked sea otter predation by removing and cracking >75% of urchins on site, providing traditional foods, guuding.ngaay (red urchin) and styuu (green urchin), to Haida communities. Subtidal monitoring showed remarkable increase in kelp depth and density 6-9 months post-restoration, yet great year-to-year variation, highlighting importance of continued maintenance and monitoring to understand ecosystem dynamics. We also demonstrated correlations between urchin removals and increased red urchin growth rates, gonad mass, and metabolism. Gwaii Haanas’ cooperative management partners offer a transformative path forward in conservation and restoration for and by local communities.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Combining Indigenous and Western Science Approaches to Restore Grassy Balds in the San Juan Archipelago, Washington State
Abstract:The Samish Indian Nation Department of Natural Resources works with Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Skagit Land Trust, Washington Conservation Corps, and Samish Tribal citizens to restore grassy bald ecosystems in the San Juan Islands. Grassy balds and prairies are rare in western Washington due to early conversion to European agriculture; the remaining sites are threatened by conifer encroachment due to lack of maintenance by clearing and burning. With Samish culture and Indigenous science as a guide, this project quantifies the ecological integrity of these ecosystems and uses the data to inform strategic restoration.
We used the Ecological Integrity Assessment (EIA) format, which consists of three “levels” designed to help prioritize restoration efforts where they are most likely to succeed. First, remote sensing is used to locate areas of interest. Second, a rapid assessment is performed in each identified area to determine broad-scale characteristics. Using data from this rapid assessment, areas with the best potential for restoration are chosen. Third, these areas are assessed using a detailed, quantitative method appropriate to the ecosystem.
For each bald selected using the EIA method, we created and followed a site-specific restoration plan. Early monitoring shows success in each restored site. Plans for continued restoration and research include post-restoration monitoring; expansion to other balds and prairies; and sharing knowledge back to the greater Samish community and partners. This project demonstrates that the use of scalable, practical, standardized research methods, Indigenous management priorities, and interagency collaboration can lead to successful restoration of imperiled ecosystems.
Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Indigenous and TEK-Led Restoration Enables Survival At Present Through Addressing of Past Damages: Case of Finland
Abstract:Background Climate change is affecting the Sámi disproportionally worse than other regions of the world. Given \ that Sámi economies and livelihoods as well as culture are all fully dependent on reliable cryosphere (snow and ice) conditions and safety, climate change that warms up the North boreal ecosystems has cascading local and regional impacts. This is why the Skolt Sámi living in NE Finland have joined forces with Snowchange Cooperative and their Landscape Rewilding Programme to rewild critically important habitats to increase resilience. Objectives In this paper we review success and failures of the first five years of Landscape Rewilding Programme in Sápmi, Sámi homeland. We demonstrate how Indigenous knowledge- led rewilding of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems has been able to respond to climate change impacts and paves a road ahead on survival under rapid changes. Methods We explain success by identifying river Vainosjoki, subject to man-made alterations in 1960s to 1970s as a fully restored ecosystem using Sámi knowledge. Secondly we review community-based observations and expanding the work to boreal peatlands and forests to increase land-based ecosystem actions. Ecosystem baselines are explored using oral histories, cultural indicators and culturally-appropriate land use and occupancy mapping. Results We demonstrate how salmonid fish spawning locations and juvenile fish habitats become healthy through Indigenous led restoration. Conclusion Landscape Rewilding Programme seems to deliver on those most critical aspects involved in restoration – engaging in practical terms with Indigenous knowledge as led by Indigenous peoples AND delivering in scale new solutions to an urgent problem.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Walking on two legs: a pathway of Indigenous restoration and reconciliation in fire-adapted landscapes
Abstract:Worldwide, Indigenous peoples are leading the revitalization of their cultural systems and practices as well as the restoration of ecosystems in which they are based. At the same time, a major driver of ecological restoration, particularly throughout western North America, is the recent and rapid increase in the socio-economic and ecological impacts associated with ‘megafires’. As such, ecological restoration is increasingly promoted alongside conservation as key for achieving multiple biodiversity and human wellbeing objectives and is now seen as a global policy priority. However, while there is increasing recognition of the important roles of Indigenous peoples in achieving global conservation targets, we argue that the critical and active roles of Indigenous peoples in advancing the theory and practice of ecological restoration have received insufficient attention. Drawing on our diverse experiences conducting research with and for (our) Indigenous communities in British Columbia (BC), Canada, we will present the framework of ‘walking on two legs’ to guide restoration scientists and practitioners in upholding respectful and reciprocal relationships with Indigenous peoples, and to advance a paradigm shift towards Indigenous-centred and Indigenous-led restoration. Situating our discussions in interior BC and the traditional territory of the Secwepemc Nation, Secwepemcul’ecw, we consider how this framework could be applied to scale up restoration initiatives and ‘restory’ these fire-adapted and fire-affected landscapes. Finally, we will explore how these shifts towards Indigenous restoration paradigms offer an opportunity to advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, revitalize Indigenous knowledge systems and decolonize restoration.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Improving and verifying ecological restoration outcomes: Recently published EPA guidance
Abstract:Ecological restoration practitioners face unique challenges associated with controlling and documenting the quality of ecological monitoring data that are used to 1) define pre-restoration conditions, 2) implement restoration activities correctly, and 3) assess post-restoration success. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Interagency Ecological Restoration Quality Committee are pleased to announce the recent publication of the Application of Quality Assurance and Quality Control Principles to Ecological Restoration Project Monitoring (EPA-905-K19-001, April 2019) to address these unique challenges and improve project outcomes. This guidance is intended to assist ecological restoration practitioners with developing and implementing effective QA/QC strategies. If designed and implemented properly, these QA/QC strategies can improve the quality of the data collected, increase the certainty of project decision making, and ultimately save time and money. This document provides guidance on how to 1) apply basic QA/QC concepts, 2) establish quality goals and objectives, 3) implement QA/QC practices to achieve quality objectives, 4) monitor the quality of data collection activities, 5) verify and validate the quality of data collected, 6) incorporate quality management principles into data analysis and reporting activities, 7) apply adaptive management approaches, and 8) implement best practices for information management. This presentation will provide an overview of the guidance document and introduce key concepts to control and document the quality of ecological monitoring data to support sound decisions.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
International principles and standards for the practice of ecological restoration: an overview
Abstract:Ecological restoration is recognized as a global imperative for reversing environmental degradation. When implemented effectively, restoration can deliver ecosystem services, benefit people and their local communities, enhance biodiversity, and support mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Declaration of 2021-2030 as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration challenges all of us to ensure the promise of restoration. Although many restoration projects achieve their goals, a significant number of projects are not successful in delivering desired outcomes. Many factors contribute to the effectiveness of restoration including design, implementation, and monitoring of projects, as well as an understanding of ecosystem dynamics. To provide a framework for achieving desired outcomes of restoration projects, SER published its International Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration in 2016, and a revised edition in 2019 followed extensive international consultation. The revised Standards articulate eight core principles for ecological restoration, incorporate concepts related to traditional ecological knowledge, describe the process of creating reference models, and introduce a social benefits wheel to accompany the existing ecological recovery wheel – enabling practitioners and decision makers to assess the ecological and social benefits of restoration. The Standards also identify the relationship between ecological restoration and other restorative activities through the “restorative continuum.” The SER Standards offer a framework to help individual restoration projects as well as global restoration initiatives achieve their intended goals while addressing the many challenges for effective implementation.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Environmental Policy Tensions Between the Vietnamese State and Upland Ethnic Minority Livelihoods
Abstract:In Socialist Vietnam, the state is increasingly imposing environmental reform through ecological restoration and protection programs. Upland ethnic minorities in northern Vietnam have been increasingly subjected to interventions ranging from afforestation/reforestation, agricultural intensification, and market integration for the past three decades. State policies have aimed to ‘modernise’ or ‘enlighten’ ethnic minorities and their ‘backwards’ livelihood practices with the façade of addressing poverty, food insecurity, and environmental degradation (Michaud, 2009; McElwee, 2016). One policy, funded by the German development agency (GIZ) and initiated in 2015, established a nature reserve, while also funding village-level forest patrols, restricting non-timber forest product cultivation, and promoting alternative income sources (including silviculture), aiming to protect old growth forests for natural succession. However, the establishment of this reserve and other provincial government
policies have ended up limiting a key livelihood strategy (the cultivation of black cardamom) that ethnic minority farmers have used to fund much of their modernised life and have arguably improved closed-canopy forest cover doing so (Turner and Pham, 2015; Slack, 2019). In addition to these policies, extreme weather events have devastated this crop, leaving farmers vulnerable and without reliable income sources. Rooted in four months of ethnographic fieldwork during 2018 around the new forest
reserve in Lào Cai province, I aim to explore the forest policy tensions that have arisen in these borderlands. In this paper, I highlight the local conflicts that have precipitated, the increasingly vulnerable livelihood security that upland ethnic minorities are subjected to, and the duality of community perceptions regarding forest policies.
Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Factors influencing the social acceptance of landscape restoration initiatives: Lessons drawn from conservation initiatives on private lands.
Abstract:Private lands are increasingly targeted for ecological restoration and conservation initiatives in high income countries. However, the fragmented nature of private land tenure along with the large number of landowners and heterogenous socioeconomic profiles pose major challenges for pro-biodiversity land management initiatives. Landholders’ attitude toward conservation initiatives range from rejection to acceptance. Some initiatives will be met with resistance while others with consent and adherence. Most research dealing with social outcomes of conservation or restauration initiatives address geographically specific cases and few studies have attempted to derive general trends out of existing studies. Attempting to fill this gap, we performed a systematic literature review of conservation initiatives in high income countries. Based on this review, we developed a typology of factors that influence the acceptance of conservation and restoration initiatives on private land. The purpose of this review was to develop a comprehensive typology to support conservation program design and help identify which factors may be acted upon to improve the social acceptance of such initiatives. The two-level typology we propose suggests general trends which can support conservation effort planning and by extension restoration actions. Our results show that although conservation proponents have little power over structural factors, however, they can seek to improve the perceptions of their actions and shape social and institutional interactions in order to make conservation measures more easily accepted among landowners.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
On-farm land restoration and Intrahousehold Gender Dynamics : risks and opportunities for gender equality in the drylands of eastern Kenya
Abstract:In the context of a project that tested land restoration options selected by communities across different conditions and locations, we examined the trial of two on-farm restoration practices: tree planting and planting basins; with over 2,500 farmers in the eastern drylands of Kenya. With the objective of identifying synergies and mitigating potential trade-offs between land restoration and gender equality, the study combined results from household surveys, interviews and focus group discussions, to assess changes in women and men’s time use and labour, control over resources and benefits, and decision-making dynamics. Our findings revealed that although restorative practices may increase women’s labour burden these can still be seen as worthwhile, as farmers, especially women, may value costs and benefits differently and perceive that the benefits outweigh the labour requirements. Furthermore, changes in social norms around the gender division of labor in the studied communities are creating opportunities for women to take up restorative practices. However, gender-division of reproductive labor remains unchanged.
The study also found that decisions regarding the uptake of new technologies are largely made jointly between husband and wife, and a trend towards more joint decision-making is observed in recent years, influenced by women’s increased participation in innovation processes and broader societal changes, particularly the outmigration of rural men. This study confirmed that efforts to restore agricultural land at the farm scale require a context-specific understanding of intrahousehold dynamics and that a gender-responsive design and implementation can help identify restoration options and approaches that enhance women’s empowerment.
Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Ten golden rules for socially sustainable ecosystem restoration
Abstract:The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) frames restoration as a momentous nature-based solution for achieving all of the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet, a critical void lies at the heart of this agenda: the lack of attention to social and political dimensions of nature and restoration initiatives. This gap has important implications not only for equity, but also for the sustainability of restoration. This presentation offers ten golden rules for enhancing the sustainability of ecosystem restoration by thoroughly considering and addressing socio-political dimensions of the landscapes under restoration. The contribution responds to similar guidance (di Sacco et al. 2020) that only superficially engages, if at all, with the socio-political issues that lie at the heart of restoration. The ten golden rules synthesize findings from a special issue titled ““Restoration for Whom, by Whom?”, that brings together case studies and learnings across geographies for socially inclusive restoration. The ten golden rules draw attention to: 1) recognizing the diversity of stakeholders; 2) understanding the socio-historical context, 3) examining and strengthening tenure rights, 4) engaging communities as agents of change, 5) addressing the multiple dimensions of equity, 6) emphasizing quality (over quantity) in restored ecosystems, 7) equitably distributing costs and benefits and mitigating risks, 8) recognizing diverse forms of evidence and knowledge, 9) questioning dominant discourses, and 10) practicing inclusive and holistic monitoring, learning and evaluation. This attention to power relations, distributional issues, and historical factors can help enhance the voice and agency of marginalized actors, and enhance the equity and sustainability of restoration
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
A Rewilding Theory of Change
Abstract:Rewilding has the potential to create transformational change in social-ecological systems, with long-term goals of restoring complete, self-sustaining ecosystems and ecocentric societal values. Since the emergence of the concept in North America in the 1990s, the concept of rewilding has evolved and grown in complexity, becoming more difficult to define, apply and evaluate. As a result, the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management commissioned a Rewilding Task Force (now the Rewilding Thematic Group) to establish a globally recognized definition and principles for rewilding (Carver, Convery, Hawkins et al., forthcoming). To inform this work, we surveyed 60 international rewilding “pioneers” to trace the evolution of the concept and establish the common intentions of rewilding in research and practice. This oral presentation presents the results of this survey, giving a brief history of the concept, and proposes a rewilding theory of change based on the results. While this theory of change establishes that rewilding intentions are shared, it allows for adaptability and complexity in socialecological systems, recognizing that the most effective rewilding interventions will differ across systems based on the current social-ecological conditions. Rewilding requires and promotes transformational ecological and social change, the application of rewilding therefore requires innovative and interdisciplinary approaches. By creating this theory of change we hope to provide a focus for remaining debates and a framework for planning, monitoring and evaluating rewilding, enabling researchers and practitioners to affect vital change
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Forest Landscape Restoration initiatives in the Brazilian Amazon
Abstract:Alliance for Amazon Restoration is a multi-institutional and multisectoral articulation created in 2017 whose main objective is to promote, qualify and expand the scale of forest landscapes restoration in the Brazilian Amazon. It currently consists of 80 member institutions (10 governmental, 13 academic and research institutions, 21 companies, and 36 from civil society). In 2020, the Alliance made a systematically survey through both primary and secondary data collection and identified 2,773 forest restoration initiatives in the Brazilian Amazon, totaling 113,500 hectares. Productive restoration through Agroforestry Systems (AFS) accounts for most initiatives (59%), but ecological restoration through seedlings planting represents 59% of the area under restoration. Civil society organizations are responsible for most initiatives (2,426), while companies account for 52% of the total area under restoration. Most of the initiatives (79%) are small-scale (areas smaller than 5 hectares). The Alliance for Amazon Restoration recommends expanding the scale of restoration in the Amazon, through a positive agenda focused on compliance and improvement of legislation, the development of sustainable production chains, and the engagement of all sectors – all of whom must commit to combat deforestation and promote forest restoration. The restoration of degraded areas and the organization of productive chains can generate work and income for the communities and contribute to the consolidation of a forest-based green economy with sustainable products from socio-biodiversity and ecosystem services – creating economic value for the standing forest.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Metagenomic Applications to Restoration Ecology
Abstract:Microbial ecology is of growing research interest within the field of restoration ecology due to increasing awareness of valuable microbial effects on plant and ecosystem health. Studies have discovered strong plant growth promoting effects that beneficial microbes confer to plants. Land management techniques, such as mowing or fertilizing, affect the microbial community of a landscape; management techniques thus can improve the success of a restoration project by increasing the presence of beneficial bacteria and fungi. Recent developments in metagenomic technology have made it feasible to survey the microbial community existing in an ecosystem of interest, where partnerships between land managers and microbiology researchers can reap benefits for both parties. Simply by taking soil, root and stem samples, land managers can learn what microbes are present in their ecosystems and within plant tissues. My research, funded by the SER-NW, aimed to discover the microbial community comprising a native Puget Prairie ecosystem. In this discussion, I present questions that metagenomics can answer, and demonstrate the process of collecting and processing samples. The knowledge gained through microbial research directly benefits land managers hoping to improve their restoration sites with microbial diversity and community interaction enhancing techniques. These techniques can be expanded for use in fields beyond microbial ecology, where environmental DNA has been used to investigate the presence and interactions of animals. With further research, metagenomics can be used to enhance our understanding of reference ecosystems from micro to macro scales, and applied to improve restoration techniques.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Reach for the sky! Fluvial Geomorphological Applications of LiDAR, Remote Sensing and Drone Technology
Abstract:This presentation will focus on how innovative tools involving LiDAR, remote sensing and drone technology are increasingly being used to inform river management. We will provide insight into our recent experiences using practical case studies that demonstrate:
• Use of LiDAR and Earth Observation data in hydrogeomorphological analysis – Globally, in the context of a changing climate, there has been movement towards more sustainable river management based on the concept of working with natural processes and giving appropriate space to rivers for natural flooding and erosion to occur. The “Freedom Space” for rivers relies on LiDAR and hydrogeomorphological interpretation and has been applied in several case studies in the province of Quebec to provide insight into erosion risks that is not provided using standard Meander Belt Width delimitation procedures which is used in Ontario and across Canada.
• Use of repeat drone survey in river monitoring – Drone technology offers a valuable tool to complement more traditional field river monitoring techniques. Applications have included monitoring geomorphological response to dam removal and erosion monitoring based on quantitative bank profile retreat over time using images and topographic data gathered by drone
Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program
Thermal imaging for biodiversity monitoring in large and fragmented restoration projects
Abstract:Scalable indicators of biodiversity change are needed for monitoring of restoration. We tested if vegetation species diversity affects surface temperature change over time during the growing season, when controlling for biomass and shade, based on the idea that more species can use more of the incoming solar energy and re-emit less as sensible heat. We studied the relative temperature change of 31 post-agricultural fields (300+ hectares total) as they were restored into oakwoodland ecosystems in Southern Ontario, Canada 2002-2018. Thermal imagery was acquired from three Landsat satellites and the ECOSTRESS instrument on the International Space Station. Three of the fields had been surveyed for vegetation diversity and cover annually, allowing for comparisons between vegetation and temperature. When controlled for vegetation ground cover, canopy cover, stem count and NDVI, an increase of one ‘effective number of species’, or Hill number, caused a 5 % decrease in relative temperature (p<0.001) between the restoration area and a paired mature forest area. When dividing native and exotic species diversity, only the former decreases relative temperature significantly (p<0.001). For all fields studied, we found a mean decrease in temperature of 1.5% per year since restoration. Paired day and night ECOSTRESS image products from 2018 showed a significant (p=0.002) decrease of 4%-points of diurnal temperature difference per year since restoration for the same fields. Our results offer evidence that relative temperature could be used as an indicator to measure change after restoration, and to identify problem areas in restoration projects in order to guide ground-level staff.
Resource Type:Conference Presentation, SER2021Publication Date: 2021
Pre-approved for CECs under SER's CERP program