Resource Database

Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance – Driving Innovation in Environmental Science and Technology through Collaboration

Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) is a collective of oil sands companies that collaborate on environmental research and technologies to accelerate environmental performance improvement in Canada’s oil sands. The oil sands are the third largest oil reserve on earth and development of this global scale resource requires unique and novel approaches to research and development. COSIA was created in 2012 with Environmental Priority Areas (EPA) in Land, Water, Green House Gases and Tailings. The Land EPA at COSIA actively develops and manages a significant portfolio of projects to gain knowledge, technologies and improved practices for restoration and effective reclamation in the boreal forest of Alberta Canada. This presentation will highlight the COSIA processes and a sampling of the innovative project work lead by COSIA Land EPA members within the focus areas of Caribou Conservation & Recovery, Footprint Reduction, Biodiversity and Species at Risk Management, Uplands Soil-Vegetation and Wetlands.

Institutionalizing the Adaptive Management of a Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration Program: Continued Progress in the Lower Columbia River and Estuary

Adaptive management and ecosystem restoration in the lower Columbia River have been ongoing as part of the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program (CEERP) for roughly 20 years. CEERP has supported 77 restoration projects and restored over 14,000 acres of floodplain habitat in the lower Columbia River between 2004 and 2020. The success of the program is due to a continuous feedback loop between science, coordination, and management; with each element playing a more or less prominent role through different time periods. In addition to these basic components, a longstanding commitment to addressing outstanding uncertainties through complimentary research and restoration actions improved program outcomes over time. The institutionalization of CEERP adaptive management benefitted from the ongoing support of an Expert Regional Technical Group, scientists, state and federal agencies, Tribes, and restoration practitioners supporting research, monitoring, and evaluation. This work provides an overview of CEERP’s evolution and highlights key developments under each of the aforementioned CEERP components. As examples, CEERP managers have recognized the need to acknowledge and overcome programmatic and process uncertainties related to effective landowner engagement, evolving agency priorities, and constraints within the project universe to meet long-term restoration goals. We share lessons learned that are applicable to restoration programs elsewhere.

One decade of ecological restoration networking in France: achievements and perspectives at national and international level.

For a few decades, ecological restoration and nature-based solutions have expanded worldwide. In the context of global change, this phenomenon has been accelerating in the last years as knowledge is growing along with political interest and demand for restoration. Founded in 2008, the French restoration network REVER* is inspired by organizations like the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) and is affiliated to its European Chapter (SERE) since 2014, and gathers hundreds of researchers, practitioners and students. It aims to promote restoration by facilitating horizontal exchanges and collaborations between practitioners, scientists, environmental managers, companies, etc. By co-organizing annual workshops, REVER provides regular feedbacks and assessment of the restoration practices in a diversity of habitats and environmental contexts and creates opportunities to discuss the evolution of the field. The next event will be held in the French Alps in June 2021 and will be focused on soils and plant-soil interactions. REVER provides the French restoration community with links to international networks and to French institutions, such as the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) or National Botanical Conservatories. Through educative programs, the network contributes to improve practices and to train future practitioners. Despite Covid-19 context, a national summer school has been held in Brittany in 2020 about monitoring in restoration. REVER is also a member of national committees and councils to promote a better inclusion of ecosystem functions and issues in national policies. Founding member of A-IGECO**, an organization gathering numerous ecological engineering stakeholders, REVER contributes to develop the ecological restoration economy. After more than one decade however, due to lack of manpower and funding, REVER did not manage to create a national database drawing up an inventory of restoration sites, their characteristics and geolocalization. REVER aims to thus push for the creation of this database and to develop more collaborations with other local or regional networks and to contribute to the objectives of reduction of the biodiversity losses and habitat destruction through national and international actions.

The World Water Quality Alliance: Upping the ante for global ecosystem recovery

United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) Resolution 3/10 on “Addressing water pollution to protect and restore waterrelated ecosystems” (UNEP/EA.3/Res.10) requested UNEP to develop a global water quality assessment in collaboration with UN-Water and relevant stakeholders, which planted the seed for the World Water Quality Alliance (WWQA). The WWQA Ecosystem workstream on protection and restoration has an initial focus on water quality management in lakes and their catchments, and works on a unifying concept to support the development of novel restoration strategies combining socioeconomic and biophysical evidence to drive the transition from heavily polluting activities towards those that relieve stress on the aquatic environment whilst releasing economic growth. The realization of this vision will work across policy, academic and private sector interests to progress the agenda on global priorities for action, foster new partnerships to support large–scale and transboundary programmes. It will foster collaboration and work with others to develop a Theory of Change for open discussion and to provide an estimate of scale and ambition of water quality management investment and returns currently planned across the world’s lakes in the time period of the UN Decade of Restoration. Initial phase of the work will be to develop a knowledge-sharing platform through the World Environment Situation Room collating evidence on restoration cases. This phase will also produce a White paper to identify key issues and actions for better coordination to protect and restore water quality in lakes, as a first step to wider consideration of other water body types.

Biocrusts under fire: post-fire regeneration in an Australian Savanna

In Australia’s northern savanna, fire management research has focused on its effects on grassland regeneration. Less has been done to understand how fires affect the biocrust, a community of cyanobacteria, lichens, mosses, fungi, and other microbes that live on the soil’s surface. Passive restoration of a burnt dryland savannas relies heavily on the ecosystem services provided by
biocrusts, especially soil stabilization and nitrogen fixation.

This project was located at Kidman Springs Research Station, where a fire management program had been established over the past 28 years. Samples were collected from two different soil types, burnt every two, four and six years with either cool or hot fires. Microcosms collected from before fire and after fire were regrown under conditions simulating the wet season.

Over 30 days, biocrust function was measured by photosynthetic yield where the rate of recovery was significantly faster in the burned treatments than the unburned treatments and higher in the grass patches than the open inter-patches. Yet, the biocrust biomass was significantly lower in the burnt samples compared to the unburnt samples. At the end of the recovery period, late dry season (hot) fires resulted in significantly lower percentages of nitrogen and carbon compared to early dry season (cool) fires. All other factors had insignificant effects on biomass, carbon, and nitrogen.

Fire and drought have a long-term effect on the functional integrity of the dry savannas. Seasonal fire management strategies and post-fire restoration can be facilitated by informed practices such as post-fire wet season grazing exclusion.

From the ashes: predicting the need for restoration in fire-affected landscapes

The fires in Australia in 2019/2020 were unprecedented in terms of their scale, severity and impact on native flora and fauna communities. These wildfires also occurred in the context of many ongoing threats (e.g., pests, diseases, habitat fragmentation) and stressors (e.g., drought), which can influence the inherent regenerative capacity of fire-affected communities. Given the level of extent and impact, it is crucial to understand how and where restoration strategies can be used to facilitate post-fire recovery and how these can be used for risk amelioration and improving landscape resilience to future fire events. These activities may range from providing protection to allow natural regeneration or assisted regeneration, to targeted seed inputs to facilitate the recovery of non-regenerating groups or species. We present the results of our predictive framework to help identify the vegetation communities and locations in greatest need of intervention to assist natural regeneration. This framework and spatially based model focusses on fire history, fire severity, pre-fire drought and proximity to cleared areas, but also considers the context of pre-disturbance vegetation condition. For each community, we also use plant trait data such as fire response (obligate seeder and resprouter) and regeneration (e.g., soil seed banks, time to seed production, seed storage) to help identify at risk communities and develop strategies to promote resilience to subsequent fire events. Our aim is to develop a practical and applicable model to assess the need for post-fire intervention while considering landscape resilience and that recovery will occur in a rapidly changing world

The role of nitrogen sources in enhancing drought resilience of tropical tree seedlings

Global temperatures are expected to increase by 1.5°C in the next 20 years from pre-industrial periods due to anthropogenic activities. Rising temperatures induce drought stress and mortality in trees, which is pertinent to restoration efforts as seedlings that are drought resilient have a higher chance of survival in water limited environments. Drought-related studies discount the role of nutrients, particularly nitrogen, in conferring drought survival. When exposed to high quantities of nitrogen, plants increase shoot growth at the expense of root growth and consequently require more water to recoup losses from increased transpiration. Most studies focus on inorganic nitrogen (i.e., ammonium and nitrate) as the main source for plant growth. However, plants can take up organic nitrogen (e.g., amino acids) for growth. The effect of organic nitrogen on the hydraulic properties of plants is unknown. The aim of our study was to determine if organic nitrogen (e.g., arginine) versus inorganic nitrogen confers drought resilience in pioneer Australian rainforest seedlings Acacia mangium and Alphitonia petriei, exposed to drought conditions in the glasshouse. Seedlings were grown from seed in 2L pots containing peat and sand for three months from September 2020. The treatments comprised of two inorganic N sources (Osmocote and ammonium nitrate), and two organic N sources (ArGrow and arginine) with 20 replicates per treatment. In December 2020, drought was induced (45-50% water holding capacity) in 10 replicates per treatment while the rest remained well watered. Pots were weighed and watered daily to maintain water holding capacity. Xylem pressure, total biomass, specific leaf area, root volume, and stem density to be determined and analysed in late January 2021.

Tropical Dry Forest Restoration at Berenty Reserve, Madagascar

Tropical Dry Forests (TDF) are the most endangered tropical forest ecosystem. This holds true for TDF in Madagascar, where almost 42% of their original forest cover has been lost. Remaining forests are increasingly being fragmented and degraded due to human and natural impacts, resulting in biodiversity loss. Forest restoration projects have been proposed as an option to reverse this situation. However, prolonged periods of drought and variable rainfall regimes in the TDF make restoration projects challenging, and knowledge about best restoration practices are lacking. Our research project was set up to fill in some of those knowledge gaps, allowing us to elucidate which species and which planting distances were associated with the highest seedling survival and growth during the initial phases of a TDF restoration trial. We set up 3 forest restoration plots in the TDF at Berenty Reserve in Madagascar. A total of 1354 seedlings of 24 species were planted at two different planting distances (1 and 1.5m). Seedling height, canopy breadth, stem diameter, and mortality were measured for three years. We found that lower planting distance explained faster growth rates and enhanced survival in the first three years of the experiment, making planting distance an important variable to consider when planning and implementing future restoration projects in the dry forest. Our data also show which common native species thrive best. Results from this trial will guide future restoration projects in the reserve and can serve as a reference for other TDF in Madagascar and around the globe.

Forest restoration practices under a sustainable landscape approach: Experiences from the field

The Alto Mayo landscape of Peru’s San Martin region covers approximately 780,700 hectares and is home to 231,000 people (33.7 inhabitants per km2). It is a biodiversity hotspot and an Alliance for Zero Extinction site, holding record-high numbers of endemic bird and orchid species, as well as providing habitat for the only three endemic monkey species in Peru. Conservation International (CI) has been working in the Alto Mayo landscape since 2007. CI works with indigenous communities and smallholder farmers to reverse deforestation and restore critical areas of the landscape to reconnect forest patches and the habitat of keystone species like the San Martin titi monkey. CI’s approach includes land use planning, governance, best practices in agricultural production and conservation of priority remaining forests. As part of its sustainable landscape approach CI is using innovative practices to restore forest connectivity and promote conservation corridors. These corridors aim to facilitate wildlife habitat and movement of wildlife as well as the future viability of populations of endangered species under climate change scenarios. This has promoted the implementation of diverse forest restoration strategies including restoring: (1) riverine vegetation, (2) abandoned and degraded pastures and flooded rice fields, and (3) enrichment of coffee and cacao agroforestry systems with more diversity of native shade tree species. In this presentation CI reviews lessons learned and results from its forest restoration practices and its role in promoting conservation corridors.

From Initiative 20×20 to 30×50

Back in 2014, Initiative 20×20 was launched with the objective of bringing 20 million hectares into the process of restoration in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) by the year 2020. With 7 countries initially committing to lead and support the restoration process, Initiative 20×20 has grown since then – another 10 countries have pledged to work on restoration. In support, more than 80 technical and financial partners have joined this process to build the land use transformation through national programs or privately funded productive projects. In this process, all members have collaborated in improving policy, mobilizing capital, exchanging technical know-how and communicating the relevance of the key restoration movement-actions to achieve the Initiative 20×20’s objective.

After five years of engagement, countries and partners to Initiative 20×20 have begun the transformation of 19 million ha of land through more than 100 projects. Through this movement, they are ever more aware of the relevance of restoration for climate action, preserving biodiversity and ensuring sustainable livelihoods. Without losing any momentum, the platform is being relaunched with a new hectare goal – to bring 50 million hectares into the process of restoration by 2030. In doing so, Initiative 50×30 will continue working in promoting sustainable agroforestry systems, sustainable silvopastoral systems, holistic cattle-ranching and pasture management, reforestation, afforestation, low-carbon agriculture, and avoiding further degradation and deforestation. As the new movement begins, this presentation will highlight the lessons learned from Initiative 20×20 and call all participants to contribute to the its new objective.

New approaches to driving ecological restoration at scale in Australia’s Great Southern Landscapes

The way land is currently used in Australia’s agricultural landscapes is unsustainable and this is affecting our biodiversity, landscape health, agricultural productivity and economic resilience. Further, the collective restoration response to date has been referred to as a “mere cautious fiddling” that is insufficient to prevent ongoing decline and degradation. Recently, the Australian National Outlook has called for re-establishment of trees and habitat at an unprecedented scale (ie. 11 to 20 Mha by 2060) as part of a national vision for a bright and prosperous future.

Aligned with this vision, Greening Australia is implementing an ambitious restoration program across Australia’s Great Southern Landscapes. The program aims to move beyond business-as-usual and match the scale of intervention to that of the problem, but this requires a new approach. For example, carbon markets are seen as a core enabler for this program and delivery of biodiverse restoration at scale. When integrated effectively into a landscape, environmental plantings for carbon can realise genuine benefits to multiple assets, providing habitat for biodiversity, providing increased production and returns from agricultural land and reversing land degradation.

The carbon market will drive a shift in magnitude of funding for environmental plantings through our agricultural landscapes – transitioning away from traditional government funded programs. Additionally, it will demand new thinking to meet the challenge, related to planning and design, supply chains, on-ground delivery, accounting frameworks, and monitoring and evaluation. During this presentation, we will share new approaches to environmental plantings, demonstrating our drive for positive, biodiverse outcomes at scale

Restoration Appalachia: a Visual and Literary Analysis of Ecological Disturbance and Restoration Potentials in the Central Appalachian Coalfields

Appalachia follows the topographical boundary of the Appalachian Mountains which runs along the Eastern Coast of the United States. This paper focuses on the Central Appalachia subregion of West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, Southwestern Virginia, and Eastern Kentucky, as characterized by large-scale Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining operations. Indigenous nations reliant for subsistence on this region’s ecological base were, over-time, increasingly displaced by communities dependent on resource extraction-oriented companies.

This transition is chronicled through historical overviews and visual aids of Timber Harvest, Underground Mining, and Surface Mining processes. These resource extraction methods are then analyzed as ecological disturbances that damage, degrade and destroy ecosystems that previously served as an ecological base for subsistence communities.

Potentials for ecological restoration of Appalachian minelands are presented through relevant policy initiatives and collaborative institutions that implement the Forestry Reclamation Approach. These concepts are applied through a case study of Bishop, West Virginia, whose immediate vicinity to a mountaintop removal coal mine raises concern about public health.

In furthering current reclamation practices, I propose applying community-based conservation theory from international development agencies to Appalachian coalfield communities in order to benefit the present, and future generations by i) aiding in the ecological restoration of natural resources to post-surface mined landscapes, ii) providing socioeconomic development opportunities for local communities, and iii) creating sustainable eco-tourism opportunities in the region.

In conclusion, I present the creation of Uganost Cooperatives to revitalize the ecological base as a public common to communities who were historically reliant upon the land for sustenance and survival.

Scaling up fen restoration in Canada: in size and number of projects

While peatland restoration in Canada have mainly focused on repairing bog ecosystems, peat extraction activities can also expose the deeper, underlying sedge-peat layers. These minerotrophic remnant peat conditions command a restoration towards a fen, a type of peatland for which restoration methods applicable in North America are yet to be developed. Fens are also impacted by multiple infrastructure in the boreal forest. Since fens are fed with water coming from multiple sources (vs precipitation only in bogs), water management is a major challenge when designing restoration plans. Furthermore, the first trials of vegetation transfer with the Moss Layer Transfer Technique used for Sphagnum peatlands did not result in satisfactory moss establishment in large scale fen restoration projects. For these reasons, new approaches more closely linked to site characteristics and regional landscape have been developed. Recently, this approach has been applied to sites in Manitoba and
Alberta (Canada) where restoration technique relies mainly on site rewetting (return water levels close to the surface) and connectivity with the surrounding natural habitats.

In this presentation, we will review the basics and the objectives of fens restoration in Canada. Examples of fen restoration projects conducted in Québec, Manitoba and Alberta will be presented.

Waterworks: Lessons Learned from Restoration at Multiple Scales, Ives Road Fen, Michigan, U.S.A.

The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Ives Road Fen Preserve in Michigan, U.S.A., was discovered in 1979. Past efforts to farm the land resulted in water being drained from the site and allowed invasive species (glossy buckthorn) to thrive, leaving only 2 ha (5 ac) of fen. Hydrologic restoration and research have been primary components of the long-term goal to restore over 40 hectares (100 acres) of healthy prairie fen. The removal of invasive plants and removal of agricultural drainage systems contributed to early success in re-establishing the water table for native plants. TNC used monitoring wells to document the recovery of the water table following restoration efforts. Recent modeling efforts have identified the source groundwater recharge areas for the fen; both local and regional recharge areas contribute water to the fen, and some water travels many kilometers over decades before reaching the fen. Current challenges include protecting distant, disjunct recharge areas to ensure an adequate fen groundwater supply and responding to impacts from land use changes decades ago that have yet to be expressed in fen groundwater conditions. Successful conservation and restoration of fen hydrology requires knowledge and action at multiple spatial and temporal scales.

Carbon Storage in Privet-Invaded Forests of Central Texas: Another Reason to Restore Invaded Forests?

Invasive trees have come to dominate many urban forests, causing losses to ecosystem services and biodiversity. Restoration of invaded sites is often warranted, but costs cannot always be easily justified when considering multiple management goals within urban parks departments. With recent climate plans and policies, like the 2020 Austin Climate Equity Plan, cities are increasingly looking at ways to mitigate excess CO2 emissions by increasing sequestration through natural systems. Ecological theory predicts that more diverse native forests should sequester more carbon than species-depauperate invasive forest patches, so there may be emerging opportunities for climate policies directed toward restoration. However, data are lacking about how much carbon invasive trees store compared to the native species they displace. In this study, our objectives were to quantify the carbon storage potential of trees and soils in forest patches in and around Austin, TX, that were invaded by privet species (Ligustrum spp.) compared to native Ashe juniper-live oak forests. We measured total carbon in surface (0-10cm) and deeper (25-35cm) soil layers, soil organic matter (SOM) in these same layers (using the loss on ignition method), and estimated carbon stored in trees and shrubs by measuring their diameters (DBH) at 13 sites covering a range of soil types. At the completion of the study, we will have measured carbon at 10 sites for each forest type. Our preliminary results (from 9 native, 4 invasive sites) suggest that native Ashe juniper forests may have a higher carbon storage potential compared to invasive privet forests. Basal area was 39% higher in native forest patches than privet sites, suggesting more carbon storage in biomass. Although SOM was not significantly different between the two forest types, in privet-invaded sites, privet cover (which ranged from 45-99%) was strongly negatively related to SOM (R2 = 0.82). Our results can be used to inform local land management policy seeking to maximize carbon storage potential in the region, and should be of broad interest to restoration ecologists and invasion biologists working in other urban environments.

Restoration of montane, coastal and miombo forests in East and southern Tanzania: lesson learned

Forest loss in Tanzania is estimated at 469,000 ha- per- annum. WWF’s Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) work in Tanzania started in the early 2000s spanning over 20 years in different ecosystems from the East Usambara Mountains to coastal and miombo forests in the southern parts of the country. Restoration activities include establishment of Village Land Forest Reserves (VLFRs), woodlots and agroforestry. Nineteen VLFRs and six community forests (CF) were established in the East Usambara making a connectivity corridor of 97 ha. Alternative income generating activities including butterfly farming, fish farming, agroforestry and beekeeping were introduced in the East Usambara to increase benefits from FLR. In the Ruvuma landscape dominated by the dry forest miombo woodlands, our work has scaled up Community-Based Forest Management and established over 40 VLFRs covering about 500,000 ha. We have also promoted timber value addition with introduction of mobile sawmills and group FSC certification. High value trees like Teak and Cedrela have been particularly useful in improving income from for communities. WWF is working with the government to restore over 8,000 ha of remnants of coastal forests near the commercial city of Dar Es Salaam in efforts to support the implementation of the AFR100 pledge of restoring 5.2 million ha of degraded and deforested land by 2030. Emerging approaches include Foresters of the Future program to engage the youth. This presentation will examine these achievements paying particular attention to the factors for success, current challenges and opportunities for forest restoration at scale in Tanzania.

Seeing the Forest for the Trees & the Ecosystems for the Indicators: Comparative Approaches to Measuring Restoration Outcomes

Measuring the outcomes of restoration ecology experiments or projects depends first on clear statements of intent and objectives; surprisingly, that first step is muddled because there is a temptation to conflate long-term aspirations with short-term, often seemingly mundane achievements. If these are properly characterized, deciding if the measures should be qualitative or quantitative is made clearer. The measures need not be complex but should be only if the intent is more ambitious. My talk will explore the qualitative and quantitative approaches to measuring outcomes and reflect upon the types of indicators used in measuring outcomes such as qualitative analyses for assessing policy impacts and stakeholder feedback, proxy variables centered on resilience, the legacy of p-hacking, taxon-based measures, measures of ecosystem attributes, measures of alternative stable states, effect size vs. endpoint measures, and measures of large-scale change. The intent will be to explore how each of these categories of measures of outcomes arises from conceptual and theoretical frameworks and how they have been used or perhaps misused. Each will have a case example to illustrate; any examples showing misuse will focus on my own errors as one can learn a lot from failure or at least misguided approaches just as much as one may learn from success. The talk will conclude with reference to united efforts across not only restoration project managers but across scientific publications and societies to raise the bar on how one measures outcomes and constitutes acceptably rigorous evidence.

The Social-Innovative Forest and Landscape Restoration

Forest and Landscape Restoration is a viable solution to adapting and mitigating climate change, preventing mass species extinctions, and improving rural livelihood, and is one of the strategies under the UN Decade Ecosystem Restoration. FLR is the science, practice, and art of dealing with multiple interests to preserve native remnants and restore degraded lands, bringing shared benefits to people and other living beings.

FLR is based on ecological restoration but encompasses other fields to comprise socio-ecological dynamics at the landscape level, favoring more context-oriented and politically viable solutions. Although prominent, FLR is a new approach, and its experiences have shown difficulties in coping with contemporary societal transformations. Both governments and markets have been unable to respond with the agility and intensity required by an increasingly dynamic and connected society that demands more efficiency and transparency in managing multi-use landscapes, a breeding ground for social innovation.

Based on a conceptual review of Socio-Ecological Systems, Nature’s Contribution to People, Sustainable Livelihood, and Social Innovation, we develop the Social-Innovative Forest and Landscape Restoration (SI-FLR) theory of change. This new approach emphasizes the intrinsic connection between the landscape’s ecological, productive, and social transformation processes, highlighting the political option of putting sustainable livelihoods needs in the foreground. Integrating these aspects is fundamental to adapt to the shocks and stresses involved in the changing context of a deep and long lasting landscape restoration process.

SI-FLR calls for a more inclusive and socially structured process, focusing on the social innovators dedicated to improving forest landscapes’ wellbeing and nature.

Enabling the study of multi-trophic responses in restoration

A main goal of restoration is to sustain biodiversity at multiple trophic levels while improving resiliency and ecosystem function. Monitoring is a key component of successful restoration to evaluate and quantify success and adjust management as needed. However, it is often challenging to determine what the appropriate benchmarks for success should be with everchanging environments and multi trophic systems that might have opposing responses. In an effort to restore lands managed by Denver Botanic Gardens and establish projects that can be used to demonstrate and study successful riparian and prairie restoration, we endeavor to establish standardized long-term monitoring efforts, but also evaluate projects across multiple trophic levels to understand how the ecosystem is connected and how restoration techniques might differentially impact riparian and upland communities. For a riparian project initiated in 2015, we installed in-stream structures to reconnect the floodplain and long-term monitoring plots with extensive plant, water, and aquatic macroinvertebrate sampling. We will present the first four years of this work. In 2018, we started a prairie restoration experiment to examine the impacts of different seeding and herbicide treatments to remove a dominant non-native and increase plant diversity. In addition to measuring the impact on the plant community, we have invited colleagues to investigate the impact of these restoration treatments on the soil microbial and pollinator communities. Not only is this important for restoration in general but is especially important to the local land managers as the restoration site is also on a working farm that aims to implement sustainable agriculture practices.

Guidelines for Embedded Experiments in Ecological Restoration and Management in Australia

Over the past three decades, investment in ecological restoration across Australia has developed a network of highly knowledgeable and experienced practitioners. The recent UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) declaration to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide (https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/), and Australia’s pressing to restore ecosystems and threatened species habitat to improve resilience to fire and climate change, will likely spark a further increase in restoration activities. This increase in activity represents a significant opportunity to add value to restoration by upskilling practitioners to embed experiments within their projects. These experiments are needed to help quantify the effectiveness of our restoration investments and how we can improve them. The embedded experiments could address a broad range of questions, including: where should we source seeds from, does microbial inoculation improve plant growth, and what
are the optimal species combinations and spatial arrangements of plantings?

To assist practitioners to incorporate embedded experiments into their projects, over 30 researchers, practitioners and government agency staff have collectively developed the ‘Guidelines for Embedded Experiments in Ecological Restoration and Management in Australia’ (aka Guidelines). The Guidelines cover topics including developing science partnerships, planning, experimental design, monitoring and data management. While written for an Australian audience, the Guidelines will be globally relevant and aim to facilitate collaborative networks that improve partnerships between practitioners and scientists.
Ultimately, we hope that they will generate standardized and scalable data to addresses core national research questions.

Industry Research Collaboration for Advancement of Knowledge and Practice in Alberta’s In Situ Oil Sands

The industrial Footprint Reduction Options Group (iFROG) is a research collaborative of ten in situ oil sands operators. The group initially evolved from three energy companies and one forest company in 2003 to address poor reclamation outcomes on boreal forest well sites. Boreal wetlands have been iFROG’s focus since 2008. The group has identified three principles to guide selection of research projects to develop, implement, or fund: 1) Land Stewardship, 2) Research Intelligently, and 3) Collaboration. The group has identified gaps in wetland knowledge and prioritized these gaps for research directed at improving in situ oil sands practices with the dual aim of improving ecological outcomes and meeting the intent of provincial regulations. While priorities are multiple, most focus on:

• Reducing hydrologic impediment by newly constructed features,
• Restoring natural hydrology to reclaimed features,
• Re-establishing functional peatlands in altered environments, and
• Knowing when successful re-establishment has been achieved.

Thus, the primary considerations for both operations and research are: 1) effects of infrastructure on local and regional hydrology, and 2) how to reclaim boreal wetlands and restore natural hydrology where masses of material have been redistributed in the construction of roads, pads, and facilities. iFROG research has produced several scientific articles and contributed to best practice documents. iFROG’s gap identification and prioritization process is described, and several present studies are highlighted to illustrate the advancement of knowledge and best practice development via this collaboration.

The Greenchannel: unique research facility for managing and restoring rivers

In this study we introduce the Greenchannel, which is a unique research facility that brings together river scientists, engineers, and managers to explore river flows and riparian ]ones, particularly downstream from large hydropower plants. The Greenchannel will help to understand the underlying physical, biological, and chemical mechanisms that govern stream processes and their response to natural and human disturbances. This knowledge is critical to develop science-based approaches for managing and restoring the degraded rivers. The Greenchannel mimics a life-sized, indoor, regulated river reach, and is inspired by the integration of a hydraulic channel and a greenhouse. ,t consists of a water storage tank, and a channelcircuit where water circulates constantly and can vary arbitrarily its level, velocity and flow, variables that are particularly affected by hydropower production scenarios leading to the phenomenon of hydropeaking. ,n a margin of the channel a riverbank area is arranged on a mixture of natural soil. The whole facility is located inside an industrial-type, baseless greenhouse that guarantees the experimentation with riparian ]ones allowing the control of the inside temperature, light, and humidity, among others. The Greenchannel is uniquely equipped to conduct hydraulic, hydrological and instream and riparian ecological life-sized experiments under controlled conditions impose and repeat all kinds of hydrographs, including overbank floods quantify physical, chemical, and biological processes taking place both in the river and in the associated riparian areas from microscopic to reach scales provide verification for advanced computational models and host highly visible formal and informal education. In this work we want to publicise this facility, e[plaining from its design and hydraulic operation to its multiple possibilities for scientific experimentation.

Tree seedling performance and soil development across a forest restoration chronosequence

Transforming former agricultural fields into biodiverse habitats is an important objective for many agencies in eastern North America. Landscapes recovering from industrial agricultural practices differ from remnant sites in part due to their degraded soil and altered seed banks. Post-agricultural fields are often inhabited by invasive and weedy plants that may outcompete target restoration species. This pattern has resulted in planted tree seedlings having a low survival rate in young restorations. In this project, we sought to assess the role of soil degradation as a limiting factor in tree establishment following industrial agriculture. We collected soil from a chronosequence in temperate forests ranging from 0 to 100 years post-agricultural abandonment in Dayton, OH, USA. We planted Quercus macrocarpa seedlings in soils collected from each site in a greenhouse environment. We assessed soil nutrient content, chemistry and microorganism activity at each site to determine which factors promoted tree growth. We found that restorations older than 10 years increased the growth of Q. macrocarpa seedlings more than younger restorations. These soils had higher organic material and nitrogen availability, which likely led to larger trees seedlings. Microorganism activity associated with carbon and nitrogen cycling were also higher within these soils, suggesting more active microbiota aid in tree growth. Thus, after 10 years of restorative practices including tree plantation, soils have recovered enough to promote the growth of historically important biota. Overall, these findings indicate that soil characteristics are a key limiting factor in tree seedling establishment in forest restorations.

Applying scientific findings to peatland restoration practice: Experience from Borneo

High quality scientific research can and should feed into restoration practice on the ground to ensure improved and targeted efforts, success, and sustainability. Creating strong links between science and practice should be a key project goal. In this case-study we highlight how the UMCES-IPB NASA Peat Fire Research project has partnered with the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation since 2014 to date. Whilst the main outputs of this project are scientific: improving methods and calculations on carbon emissions from peat fires, we discuss how both the scientific findings and broader learnings from the project have been applied in the field, for local government and community stakeholders and restoration practitioners working on the ground. These include improved fire management practices, improved hydrology monitoring techniques, more targeted reforestation efforts, enhanced engagement and communication with surrounding communities, and supporting institutional capacity. Whilst BOSF’s ultimate goal is to ensure sustainable wild orang-utans populations, we are aware this cannot be achieved without applying an interdisciplinary, multi-sector, community-based, landscape-scale approach to all our activities. This includes improved management and reduction of tropical peatland fires and haze through holistic, integrative applied research and restoration efforts.

Effects of submerged drains on water level and GHG emissions in two cultivated peatlands

The vast majority of peatland in the North German Plain is cultivated as grassland. The created open grassland landscape may provide a valuable nesting habitat for meadow birds, but many peatlands are still exploited as highly productive meadows. In any case, ongoing peat decomposition causes CO2 emissions and land subsidence. Thus, new approaches in water management are required to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). Here we present the results of our four-year study with submerged drains and ditch blocking at intensively cultivated fen and bog peat sites in northwest Germany. During the first year, the water management system was optimized, but afterwards, mean water levels at the fields with submerged drains were 0.20 (fen site) and 0.65 m (bog site) higher than at the drained control field. Ditch blocking raised the water levels by 0.1 and 0.55 m only. Effects at the bog site were stronger due to lower water levels at the control site and less decomposed peat. During the first three years, fields with active water management at the fen site emitted 16-60 t CO2-eq. ha-1 a-1 and the drained control 27-49 t CO2-eq. ha-1 a-1. At the bog site, fields with active water management emitted 20-63 t CO2-eq. ha-1 a-1 and the drained control 35-65 t CO2- eq. ha-1 a-1. These results were especially surprising in the light of the significantly raised water level. Results from the fourth year (2020) will be presented as well, to clarify the effects of water management on GHG emissions.

Peatland greenhouse gas fluxes using a long-term plant community manipulation

Northern peatlands are an important store of terrestrial carbon with recent estimates exceeding 1000 Gt of sequestered carbon. Changes in climate and land use influence which plants can grow in peatlands. This plant community composition is a key factor determining the carbon balance of peatlands due to their feedbacks with the soil microbial community which regulate processes related to carbon cycling.

To understand long-term peatland carbon trends, a plant manipulation experiment has been maintained for 10 years on the largest expanse of active raised bog in Southern Sweden, the Store Mosse National Park. Gas flux readings were collected seasonally to understand to role of plant functional groups on the dynamics of key greenhouse gasses carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4).

The results indicate that loss of vascular plants reduces carbon uptake of the plant community (Fig. 1) and changes the composition of the microbial community. Microforms within the bog community have different responses. Hummocks switch from sink to source without ericoid plants to provide recalcitrant litter. Furthermore, the presence of aerenchymatous graminoids increases oxygenation of the soil promoting decomposition and release of carbon.

The function of bogs as an active carbon sink can be disrupted by loss of key plant groups. Appropriate conservation and monitoring of peat-forming wetlands under climate change is essential to maintain ecosystem services.

How do invested efforts alter perceptions and actual behavior towards fire usage on tropical peatlands? A comparative study across three districts in Indonesia

Land conversion, drought season, and logging were the main factors that led to the extensive Indonesian peatland fires in 2015 . The events caused major adverse effects in the environment, economy and public health. In order to mitigate the peat drainage and reverse the land conversion, Indonesian government has implemented various fire prevention schemes, including the establishment of the Badan Restorasi Gambut (BRG – Peat Restoration Agency) and Manggala Agni. However, the 2019 El Nino event led to further peatland fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Fires are caused by human activities to obtain natural resources from the peatland area, despite the ban on fire usage. We propose that socio-economic factors also influence the communities fire behaviour. Understanding the community’s reasons and motivations towards fire ignition and usage are needed to improve targeted fire management approaches. Therefore, in this study, we will explore both the perceived and actual changes of community members towards fire practices and behaviour, directly analysed against the quantified amounts of effort to bring about that change (education, capacity, resources, punishment). Data will be collected in three fire-prone districts in Indonesia: Kapuas, Tumbang Nusa, and Ogan Komering Ilir. Community questionnaires and stakeholder census will be used as data collection. Quantification of the actual fires and fire behaviour will be assessed using Fire Scene Evaluation data, fire hotspot and fire cover maps. We present this novel methodology, and anticipate the findings will be used to help improve targeted, community-friendly approaches which facilitate local people to control and minimize burning.

Impacts of rainfall on peat fire during the dry season and wet dry season on degraded tropical peatland in South Sumatra, Indonesia

Peat fires on cleared and drained tropical peatlands continue to cause tremendous damage to their ecological functions, such as decreasing the quantity and quality of the peat, forest habitat, hydrology, reduced diversity of flora and fauna as a source of germplasm, and contributes to global warming and reduction in health to local communities. Peat fires are a major occurrence during the dry season and their severity depends on the availability and sizes of surface and sub-surface fuel, water table depth and peat moisture content. Temporal rainfall distribution, quantity and duration is a determining factor for the transition of surface fires to peat fires, especially in the role it plays in the hydrology and moisture conditions of peat and surface fuels. This study will present the effect of rainfall in the dry season and wet dry season on peatland fires and the extent of peat fires that occurred in 2019 and 2020 in Ogan Komering Ilir Regency, South Sumatra. The research was conducted by recording rainfall data, surface and peat fuel and peat fire area data from 2019 to 2020. This research is to clarify how rainfall dynamics affects the incidence and severity of peat fires on degraded tropical peat, which will support Indonesia in its targets to protect and restore tropical peatlands by improved fire management practices.

Supporting Green Recovery Post COVID-19 Pandemic Through Peatland Restoration Activities in Indonesia: A review

The COVID-19 pandemic has been taking a major toll on public health, global economic and social conditions. Many countries globally, including Indonesia, were pushed into recession due to movement restrictions that impeded the countries’ economic growth. This crisis posed a major threat to the environment as it triggered the rise of illegal activities by people to survive. Peatland is one of the vulnerable ecosystems that might also be under pressure following the economic downfall. Notwithstanding that fact, the current peatland restoration approaches, 3R (Rewetting, Revegetating, and Revitalization of people livelihood), seem to possess potential ways to support the country’s economic recovery. This paper aims to review how peatland restoration can support the green recovery in Indonesia. I reviewed and synthesized the existing literature, including journal articles, grey literature, government and non-government reports, and news articles to examine the potential benefits of peatland restoration activities to ease the pressure on the environment while also supporting green recovery. It was identified that despite several challenges, the restoration activities could potentially mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by reducing peat fire hazards, minimizing the occurrence of future zoonotic disease, providing alternative sources of income and job opportunities. Accordingly, investing in peatland restoration activities might be one of the promising options to build back better, creating a resilient society with sustainable green recovery.

Ecological restoration during a time of rapid environmental change: Preparing for an uncertain, quickly approaching future

One of the greatest challenges facing the practice of ecological restoration in the 21st Century is the rapid pace and global scale of current and projected environmental change. There are many sources for these changes to the environment – conversion of ecosystems to other types and uses, habitat fragmentation, declines in species populations, extinctions of species, the human assisted movement of species from their original ecosystem to new ecosystems on a global scale, pollution, and global climate change. Almost all of these changes are either directly or indirectly related to continuing growth and movement of the human population. Restorationists have been aware of these changes for many years but only recently have been able to fully grasp the rapidity and scale of environmental changes. Given our current understanding of the rapidity and ubiquity of environmental change, it becomes obvious that the goals and practice of ecological restoration must change in order to accommodate the shifting conditions on the ground. Ecological restoration must be conducted with an eye to the future, planning for ways for the restored site to adapt as the environment around it changes. Restoration can help us keep up with accelerating rates of change if we: 1)maintain biodiversity, ecosystem structure, composition and function; 2)reduce the effects of disturbance and environmental stress; and 3)nurture or create refugia, redundancy and connectivity among ecosystems. Broad-based, forward looking restoration will be a vital tool as we respond to environmental change and prepare ecosystems for the future.