Resource Database

Natural Processes for the Restoration of Drastically Disturbed Sites

Natural systems have been ‘restoring’ disturbed sites (landslides, volcanic eruptions, shoreline erosion, etc.) for millions of years. By understanding how these natural systems operate they can be applied to sites humans disturb (mines, industrial developments, etc.). Natural systems initiate recovery using pioneering species such as Willows (Salix spp.), Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera L.) or Alder (Alnus spp.). The seeds of these species are designed to travel long distances and use commonly occurring conditions to get established. Balsam Poplar and Willows have light fluffy seeds that at some times of the year look like snow. They land on puddles or other waterbodies and are blown to the wet mud at the edges of the puddle or on the shore of the waterbody where they germinate and grow. By creating these conditions (making puddles) on a mine site these species can be encouraged to establish on sites that are being reclaimed. The cost of these treatments are a fraction of traditional reclamation costs and because the resulting vegetation is appropriate to the area and the site where it establishes, natural processes can provide effective strategies for the reclamation of mining disturbances. Examples are drawn from the author’s experience.

Elizabeth, New Jersey Wetland Restoration – Ecological Uplift in an Urban Setting

This urban wetland restoration site was a previously significantly disturbed mosaic of wetland and upland woodland comprised of a monoculture of common reed (Phragmites australis), and eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), respectively, on historic fill. Restoration efforts included removal of common reed, historic fill, and associated refuse; grading to appropriate elevations to support targeted freshwater wetland habitats; and subsequently planting desirable native flora. Inherent in all restoration projects in New Jersey and the surrounding region are the challenges associated with deer and Canada goose herbivory; invasive species management; and adaptive management strategies that are costly and time sensitive to maintain a restoration site’s positive developmental trajectory. Presently, there are a variety of freshwater wetland habitats, ranging from inundated emergent wetland to forested wetland that are rare in this highly urbanized portion of New Jersey. Additionally, its location adjacent to an existing tidal wetland mitigation site has resulted in a contiguous greenspace providing valuable ecosystem services, including sediment retention and roosting, foraging, and nesting opportunities for both resident and migratory bird species.

Enhancing ecosystem services through ecosystem restoration as part of climate change adaptation

Restoration of northern disturbed ecosystems has considerable potential in terms of adaptation to the rapidly changing climate. A number of ecosystem restoration projects were implemented in the Russian Arctic (Nenets Autonomous Okrug – NAO, Yamalo-Nenets AO, Republic of Sakha-Yakutia) and Finland (Oulu Province). This experience is limited in the Nordic regions. There is a lack of methodological support and channels for sharing information on ecological restoration projects, both in terms of planning and implementation and reporting on climate change adaptation. The Northern Forum launched the project “Enhancing ecosystem services through ecosystem restoration as part of climate change adaptation” to ensure that all actors involved in environmental management are aware of the effectiveness of Northern ecosystems restoration for climate change mitigation and adaptation purposes and to create the preconditions for introducing this experience into land use practice. The experimental works on ecological restoration were organised in NAO since year 2013. Monitoring works include assessment of changes in carbon balance including GHG emissions and could be used in the climate related regional reporting. Based on these results, the regions involved, will upscale the available experience and include ecosystem restoration activities in the regional adaptation plans supported by stakeholders. The project aims to produce the overview of the existing international experience on Northern ecosystems restoration; to identify the list of barriers and difficulties in ecosystem restoration projects implementation; to set up a Russian language web page informing all interested on the most recent information on methods, practices on Northern ecosystems restoration; and suggest the way for reporting on ecosystem restoration in the frame of NDCs. In preparation to the project planning and implementation in partner regions the inventory of degraded lands and prioritisation for needs of ecosystem restoration was carried out in the pilot area in the Numto Nature Park, KHMAO designating 8 % of the area or 1600 ha suitable for ecosystem restoration projects.

Exploring the potential of Finnish habitats restoration via citizen-level biodiversity conservation actions

In Finland, voluntary nature conservation programs have been widely accepted by the public, particularly in forest conservation. The state funded METSO program (2008-2025) has been widely accepted by forest family owners across Finland. However, the government funding for such schemes is limited and they do not exist for a wider range of habitat types nor with different approaches for non-landowners. Biodiversity offsetting has recently gained attention and there is ongoing discussion on how to implement it.

Our research assesses the possibility of voluntary biodiversity conservation actions in Finland. We evaluate how open Finnish citizens would be towards participating in different voluntary ecological compensation mechanisms, and whether they prefer certain habitats.

A choice experiment survey was designed with four attributes to identify citizen preferences towards voluntary biodiversity offset scenarios. The selected attributes were habitat, distance from home, habitat restoration class, and voluntary offset mechanism. For simplicity, we focused on five broad habitat types: spruce mires, herb-rich forests, meadows, headwater streams and archipelago, and the restoration actions were grouped in three classes. The voluntary offset mechanisms were volunteer work, donation to NGO and nature tax contribution. The survey is conducted in three stages online using Webropol: focus groups (15 people), pilot group (50 people) and finally a large-scale online survey in April-May 2021, in which any resident of Finland can answer. The results will be available before the conference. During the conference, we will describe what habitat types, restoration actions, and offset mechanisms are preferred and what are the main socio-demographic drivers behind those preferences.

Forests for Future: Developing forest landscapes for livelihoods and climate adaptation in Southwest Ethiopia

Forests in Southwest (SW) Ethiopia have been greatly degraded and reduced, leading to isolated forest patches, preventing gene flow of the forests’ flora and fauna, and reducing ecosystem services. This, in turn, increases the vulnerability of forests and two million people of forest dependent communities. To maintain SW Ethiopia’s valuable high forests as carbon sinks, habitats, sustainable livelihood sources and long-term ecosystem service suppliers, NABU and their project partner Ethio Wetlands and Natural Resources Association (EWNRA) are implementing a capacity building and forest landscape restoration (FLR) project (2020 – 2022) in three zones of Ethiopia’s Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region: Bench-Sheko, Kafa and Sheka Zones.

FLR demands strong collaboration of different actors, which needs improvement in SW Ethiopia’s forest sector. Hence, the project established the Southwest Forest Alliance platform to increase the exchange, capacity building and effective coordination towards FLR implementation. This happens through conducting participatory restoration potential assessments to identify suitable FLR options for the project sites; and enhancing the communities’ capacities in sustainably managing forests and improving their livelihoods.

We expect joint measures for FLR and conservation; updated maps of SW Ethiopia’s land cover/forest status; Forest Action Plans as community-based tools for FLR implementation and sustainable income resources; and the direct capacity support of over 2,000 community members.
The project will not only contribute to forest conservation, hence, climate adaptation and livelihood improvement, but also build a basis for follow-up, larger scale activities beyond our project sites. The outcomes will furthermore support Ethiopia’s 15 million hectare FLR commitment.

Franklin-98 Living Shoreline Project

Background: Highway 98 along Apalachicola Bay suffers from erosion that damages the roadway, requiring costly repairs.

Objectives: To enhance ecological productivity and reduce erosion, nearshore reefs and emergent saltmarsh will be created. These reefs will become colonized with various marine species, including oysters, which will help serve as a source of larval oysters for other parts of the bay. Reefs will be low and broad (like natural reefs) rather than high and narrow (like many living shoreline breakwaters).

Methods: The footprint of the reefs and marsh are determined by water depths and avoidance of seagrasses. To assess project performance, monitoring will occur for a total of five years (i.e., five annual events over about 4 ½ years) to provide a before/after comparison. Upon completion of the post-construction monitoring, scientists will conduct a full analysis and interpretation of the data using a before/after and control/impact (BACI) approach.

Monitoring will evaluate the following metrics:
• Reefs – acreage, live/dead oyster density, and size frequency distribution
• Intertidal marsh – acreage and percent cover by species
• Erosion Control – change in shoreline position and elevation

Results: The preliminary design involves a complex mosaic of estuarine habitats that are configured in natural shapes. The first round of preconstruction monitoring mostly indicates the absence of oysters and marsh, but small reference patches of both habitat types suggest good project performance in terms of oyster recruitment and marsh development.

Conclusions: Living shoreline designs that are driven by site characteristics, rather than traditional linear breakwaters provide a more-natural mosaic of habitats.

Freshwater mussel restoration approaches; a systematic review of the global mussel restoration toolbox

Particular species groups, such as unionid freshwater mussels, provide important ecosystem functions and services but are often overlooked and disproportionately in need of restoration. As species recovery often exhibits delays in recovery, refinement of current approaches and a better understanding of available tools are required. In the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America, 14 of 35 unionid mussel species found in Ontario, Canada are federally classified at risk of extinction. To inform efforts in the Great Lakes, we look to global efforts and in particular how aspects of their complex life history are being addressed. Unionids depend on multiple trophic levels to survive; they rely on fish hosts during juvenile stages, feed on algae and organic matter, and interact with other filter-feeding species. It is unclear how effectively such interactions are considered in restoration, and this may be an underexplored aspect underpinning restoration. Here we present a global review of unionid mussel restoration including the extent to which community interactions have been addressed. Preliminary results suggest that few efforts are being reported with a select focus on certain areas globally. Some efforts incorporate community interactions, but results are only promising for catchments where populations have not been completely extirpated. Sequenced approaches to managing abiotic and biotic aspects should be considered particularly if coordinated at appropriate scales. Further development of a restoration toolbox is necessary to not only determine suitable restoration tools, but also best direct the development of coordinated approaches that harmonize efforts across scales.

How resilient and generalist frugivores can surrogate specialized ones as seed dispersers in ecological restoration

One of the most ubiquitous plant-animal interactions mediated by vertebrates in the tropics is seed dispersal. In most restoring sites and urban fragments, forest-generalist partial frugivores represent the bulk of animal biomass, even though their potential as seed dispersers is disregarded in most restoration efforts. Our study aimed to propose a technique named Induced Seed Dispersal (ISD), aiming to amplify the role of generalist frugivorous in seed dispersal in a restoration context. As this technique was primarily intended for the enrichment of restored or degraded areas, we chose two experimental situations that represent a common environmental scenario in the Atlantic rain forest of Brazil: a heavily degraded 251-ha forest fragment and a 447-ha restored site. We kept suspended and ground feeding stations for more than a year (figure 1). Weekly, on the degraded fragment, we offered fleshy native fruits whereas, on the restored site, we provided fleshy commercial fruits (e.g., bananas) with seeds of Cecropia hololeuca (Urticaceae) embedded in the pulp and also some native fleshy fruits. On both sites, trail cameras monitored the frugivore’s visits. In total, 2928 fruits were consumed or removed, 830 in the degraded fragment, and 2098 in the restored area. At least 30 generalist frugivorous species (mammals, birds, and one reptile) interacted with the fruits offered in the feeders in both study sites combined. Our study consolidated a pathway to employ and consider resilient generalist frugivores as essential allies in restoration efforts in tropical regions.

Identifying and detecting species at scale to protect and restore ecosystems

Lord Howe Island is a World Heritage Property, home to 113 plant species that exist nowhere else in the world. To date, 20 species have gone extinct, and up to 50 species are listed as threatened. The world heritage site is working on a holistic island-wide restoration programme to protect this paradise, particularly from invasive species that pose a threat to the island’s unique environment. Dendra Systems is providing aerial mapping and AI technology to accelerate the LHI Board efforts, giving the opportunity to efficiently and accurately identify, locate, and quantify known, new, and emerging invasive weeds. Dendra Systems carried out 100Ha of ecosystem assessment and identified, located, and quantified more than the 10 priority weed species in less than 2 months, including: Round Asparagus (Asparagus aethiopicus), Morning Glory (Ipomoea cairica), Silky Oak (Grevillea robusta), Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolius), Coral tree (Erythrina xsykesii), Crofton Weed (Ageratina Adenophora), Formosa Lilly (Lilium formosanum), Tobacco bush (Solanum mauritianum), Bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundata), Fleabane (Conyza species), Cherry Guava (Psidium cattleianum), Bridal Creeper (Asparagus asparagoides). Combining data ecology, data science, machine learning and field operations we have accelerated scale, facilitated access to remote areas which reduces personnel risk and empowered an unparalleled control over ecosystem restoration to quickly direct work efforts where they are most needed.

In vitro asymbiotic germination of some indigenous terrestrial orchids of the Maltese Islands

In vitro seed germination used to propagate terrestrial orchids ensures rapid protocorm growth under optimal conditions. This research aims at optimising in vitro asymbiotic germination to increase survival rate of protocorms during and post acclimatization.

Mature capsules of three indigenous orchid species namely Anacamptis coriophora, Ophrys bombyliflora and Serapias parviflora were collected before dehiscence and stored at room temperature. Seed sterilization was achieved by soaking in 5% sodium hypochlorite solution followed by germination on various media supplemented with different growth regulators. Abiotic variables tested included different temperature regimes, relative humidity and different sucrose concentration which were analyzed at different stages of plantlet formation.

Orchid seeds were considered germinated after rhizoids formation. Malmgren’s modified orchid medium, supplied with 5% coconut milk and 1μM 6-benzylaminopurine has shown high germination percentages (95.7%, 90.2%, 93.7% respectively) as well as the fastest maturation rates (12, 35, 24 days) till rhizoid formation at 20°C in the dark. A. coriophora plantlets formed a well-defined bulbous root in less than six months on the same medium supplied with 10% sucrose. At present, well-developed plantlets of the three species plantlets are awaiting to be acclimatized. The study developed a successful method for the in vitro propagation for these indigenous orchids (Figure 1). Further studies are envisaged including the association with their natural fungal symbiont, the production of axenic fungal cultures and testing these on the plantlets to aid ex vitro acclimatization. This study is a collaboration with the SiMaSeed project intended for habitat restoration of Natura2000 sites in the Maltese Islands.

Influence of distance from forest on early spontaneous vegetation succession following small-scale gold-mining in the southeast Peruvian Amazon

The present study aimed to analyze the influence of distance from forest reference and stands age on spontaneous succession in abandoned gold-mining lands in the southeast of the Peruvian Amazon (Madre de Dios). We evaluated the species richness, floristic, forest cover, and vegetation structure of spontaneous vegetation stands with different times of abandonment (1-6 years). Twelve plots of 10 m x 25 m were used, where all individuals with DBH > 1 cm were inventoried. The DBH and height of all trees and shrubs were measured. We determined the Value of Importance (IV) and the Shannon Weaver index to evaluate the species diversity. We used the distance-based redundancy analysis (dbRDA) and regression analysis to evaluate the influence of the environmental variables on the floristic composition and floristics-structural attributes, respectively. We found 451 stems grouped into 59 species and 21 families. The three most important species were Cecropia membranacea, Chromolaena laevigata, and Ochroma pyramidale that together represented 54% of IV. The stands age, vegetation cover, and tree-shrub cover all were significantly correlated with vegetation diversity (P value<0.05), while the distance from the forest had a significant effect on abundance of natural regeneration. However, dbRDA analysis showed that only the distance from the forest had a significant effect on floristic composition of spontaneous vegetation (P-value<0.01). Our results suggest that the forest restoration of abandoned gold-mining areas in the Peruvian Amazon should take the distance from forest into account, and they should take advantage of the potential of natural regeneration to accelerate this process.

LIFE Nieblas – Reforestation & Climate Change Mitigation: tests, evaluation and transfer of innovative methods based on fog collection

The impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly perceptible and severe. Many semi-arid regions are suffering significant declines in water availability and temperature increases. This has led to faster desertification and more forest fires. It is necessary to implement adaptation measures aimed at reducing the vulnerability of these ecosystems and strengthening their resilience. LIFE Nieblas aims to evaluate the mitigation of the different impacts and effects of climate change by testing innovative methodologies of reforestation. These innovative methodologies, based on the collection of fog water for watering the planted seedlings on restoration projects, do not significantly increase the carbon footprint, and in some cases, it could even reduce it compared with the traditional methodologies. Their effectiveness and their costs and benefits, including as far as possible the externalities they produce, will be taken into account.
The main goals of the project are:
• Demonstrate and disseminate the effectiveness, efficiency and capacity of the innovative methodologies and the equipment linked to them in contrast to traditional methodologies.
• Create synergies between the results of the Project and reforestation, environmental, agrarian, and energy and water management sectors and policies in the EU.
• Awareness and consciousness raising on the relevance of forest covers (and specially the laurel one) regarding water resources; showing the environmental (and for the improvement of the resilience to Climate Change) importance of its conservation, recovery, and extension.

Long-term changes in the abundance of invasive alien plant species during the restoration of Pannonic sand steppes

Land use change and invasive neophytes cause much of the biodiversity loss in terrestrial ecosystems. Habitat restoration aims to counteract the former and control the latter, but restorative interactions themselves cause disturbance and invasive plants may be the first to colonize disturbed sites. Neophytes can alter ecosystem functions with their effects persisting even after removal, making restoration more difficult.

We evaluated the changes in the abundance of invasive species in five long-term datasets related to sand grassland restoration in the e Kiskunság and the Nyírség, Hungary. The experiments included mowing, microbiological nitrogen immobilization and seeding as main treatments. We identified all neophyte species and analyzed the long-term trends in neophyte cover at the species level and for annual and perennial species depending on time and treatments.

We found that initial chemical treatment and mowing was effective in targeting woody neophyte species, but other neophytes could colonize and spread to the treated plots. Carbon amendment had little effect on neophytes. Seeding significantly reduced their abundance compared to other treatments. We also found a decrease in annual species and a gradual increase of perennial neophyte species irrespective of treatments.

We conclude that direct restoration methods focusing on one species at a time can successfully control target species, but can inadvertently promote the spread of other neophytes. We also conclude that seeding is the best method to control the spread of invasive species in sand grassland restoration.

Marsh plants enhance coastal marsh resilience by changing sediment oxygen and sulfide concentrations in an urban, eutrophic estuary

Despite considerable efforts to restore coastal wetlands, the ecological mechanisms contributing to the success or failure of restoration are rarely assessed. Accumulation of hydrogen sulfide in sediments may accelerate rates of marsh loss in eutrophic estuaries. We used a chronosequence of restored marshes in urbanized and eutrophic Jamaica Bay (New York City, USA) to assess how sediment redox conditions change among seasons and over the lifetime of restored marshes. We also compared a stable extant marsh to one that has deteriorated over the past 50 years. We collected seasonal sediment cores from each marsh, and used a motorized microprofiling system to measure the vertical distribution of oxygen and sulfide. We fit a logistic function to each profile to estimate: (1) maximum concentrations, (2) rates of increase/decline, and (3) depths of maximum increase/decline. We quantified sediment density, porosity, organic content, and belowground plant biomass, and estimated differences in daily tidal inundation among sites using water-level loggers. We found that minimum oxygen and maximum sulfide concentrations occur during summer. Sulfide concentrations were highest in sites that experienced the longest daily tidal inundation, including the degraded extant marsh and the oldest restored marsh. Spatial patterns in oxygen and sulfide were related to belowground plant biomass, supporting our hypothesis that root growth increases sediment oxygen and partially alleviates sulfide stress. Our data support the growing body of evidence that belowground plant growth may enhance the resilience of marshes to sea-level rise by increasing marsh elevation and facilitating oxygen diffusion into marsh sediments.

Modern Monitoring Methods for Meadow Mending Mastery

Wet meadow restoration often targets a wide range of ecological issues. However, few comprehensive field studies have been performed to verify the performance of these restoration activities. For the impacted Deer Creek Meadow at the boundary of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges in California, USA, our team is fortunate to have the opportunity to establish and execute a monitoring strategy prior to the design and construction of a restoration project. This enables us to gather pre- and post-project monitoring datasets to aid in establishing realistic restoration goals. Here, we present our preliminary monitoring approach and datasets to solicit feedback.

The restoration will treat the incised channel likely through raising of the streambed. The rise of the stream’s water surface elevation will likely extend into the riparian zone, reducing the depth to groundwater. We hypothesize that a decrease in groundwater depth will support the recovery of hydric vegetation by reducing the pressure gradient that plants must exert to draw water out of the soil. This recovery will likely result in the increase in the rate of evapotranspiration due to plant uptake. Our primary goal is to validate this hypothesis with field data. Additionally, we would like to monitor if our restoration treatments lead to increased summer base flows and reductions to summer water temperatures.

We are eager to show a recently collected aerial drone-derived high-resolution digital surface model and orthoimage showing the impacted meadow and some associated preliminary datasets.

Multiphase marsh restoration at Galveston Island State Park, Texas

Galveston Bay is the largest major estuary along the Texas Gulf Coast and plays a key role in commercial fisheries in the United States. However, over 35,000 acres of emergent wetlands and 1,800 acres of seagrasses have been lost from Galveston Bay since the 1950s. Since 1999, HDR Engineering has been working in partnership with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas General Land Office, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to restore and protect critical estuarine habitats within Galveston Island State Park that would be lost from subsidence, shoreline erosion, and/or sea level rise. Through advanced engineering, environmental permitting, and adaptive management strategies, more than 90 acres of marsh complex has been created within Carancahua Cove and over 5,400 linear feet of rock breakwater has been constructed in Carancahua Cove during the most recent restoration phase in 2017. A total of 700 acres of critical habitat for fishes, colonial waterbirds, shorebirds, and wading birds have been restored through multiple phases of the project including design, permitting, vegetation planting, and yearly monitoring, with additional restoration and protection to be constructed. Yearly monitoring has been conducted to assess the performance of the restoration efforts based on criteria including marsh grass coverage, shoreline change rate, and breakwater condition. Three years of performance monitoring have been completed and indicate the success of the recent phase and provide valuable insight on implementation of habitat restoration and protection in Galveston Bay.

Peasant Territories and Stewardship of Nature in neoliberal Mexico

Success and permanence of ecological restoration rarely depends on ecological factors alone, especially in the Global South. Practitioners should knowledge that in many of the territories they pretend to restore, peasants are struggling to fulfill their right to a healthy environment and quality food. We will analyze Mexican approaches to reconciling nature care with food production in light of the international movement to recover the dignity of peasant and indigenous livelihoods. We compare the drivers and outcomes of efforts originating from governments (and allied NGO’s) with those of efforts emerging from the peasant sphere. The current populist federal government has established a massive program, Sembrando Vida, that seeks integration between rights to food and a healthy environment. Although this is the first time the Mexican government has paid serious attention to agroecology, the program largely follows a mainly neoliberal logic in which food production, restoration, and conservation occur in separate spaces. On the other hand, peasants’ initiatives more fully integrate stewardship of nature with the reproduction of their livelihoods and reassertion of their control of the land. In some cases, those initiatives take advantage of neoliberal government policy. Thus, shades of gray apparent in different territorial peasant strategies are born of the black and white extremes of agroecology and “fortress” conservation.

Peatland Vegetation Response Post-Fire in a Changing Climate

Peatland communities in western Canada have slowly developed over thousands of years with wildfires being a constant influence on these systems. As fires move through mature peatland communities, the aftermath is an open landscape where pioneer peatland species establish and develop. The open landscape supports the growth of successional species to create a mature forest, which is then ready for the fire interval cycle to continue. Fire cycles have been a constant on the landscape with little disruption; however, as climate change in western Canada has altered precipitation and temperature regimes, typical vegetation succession patterns that establish after peatland fires may be changing. The Chisholm fire of 2001 burned over 116,000 hectares of forest in northern Alberta, with most of the area being peatlands (treed fens). Vegetation surveys were completed throughout 2018 and 2019 within the burned peatlands of the Chisholm area and compared to an unburnt control area to identify species richness, diversity, composition and vegetation trends. I found, within the re-establishing peatland, a healthy, thriving and diverse community that is developing towards a community similar to the offsite mature treed fen. After almost 20 years of recovery, the affected vegetation community is dominated by peatland species. With temperatures and precipitation levels continually changing, the area is at a transition state in which the community may be maintained on the landscape or the area may experience a regime shift to a drier state.

Evaluation of survival and performance in plantings of Sideroxylon capiri (Sapotaceae) for ecological restoration in a deciduous forest

The Deciduous Forest (DF) has a high land use conversion, the 7% of the global deforestation is due to mining, while the 18.3% of Mexican territory and 29% of the total Morelos territory are under concession for this activity. This study was carried out in ecological restoration plantings as a mitigation measure for the limestone extraction activity, with the intention of maintain Sideroxylon capiri with viable populations. S. capiri is a Neotropical native tree and classified as near threatened species by the IUCN red list and as threatened in the Mexico national regulation. In 2017, plantings of ecological restoration were established in five different sites, one inside the quarry and four in external areas, with a total of 635 S. capiri trees. We evaluate the effect of the variables soil depth and circundante vegetation density and richness in each site as well as precipitation and temperature per year in S. capiri survival and performance (diameter size and height), in four years (2017 to 2020). The results of the variables analysis per year in each site and between sites will presented. The results of this work will help propose modifications or complements to improve the restoration strategy in this particular mining area and others ecological restoration sites in DF.

Performances of Alnus formosana seedling of mud planting and mulching in Taiwanese abandoned farmland

In the past decades, many vegetable farmlands had been abandoned in Taiwanese mid-mountainous areas. These lands are characterized by drought due to higher than 70% gravel content, and are extremely alkaline due to long-term use of chicken manure and a large amount of lime. In this globally unique degraded land, there is no natural regeneration of any tree species, and traditional reforestation methods are rarely successful. This study aimed to explore the effects of gravel-removed planting and mulching on Alnus formosana seedlings. After 30-month monitoring, both mud planting and mulching could improve the survival rate of seedlings (8.5% for original gravel soil planting, 47.8% for gravel removed soil planting, and 57.8% for gravelremoved mud planting; 46.7% without mulching, 53.3% with peat mulching, and 58.3% with biochar mulching). The results suggested that removing gravel and mulching can increase the water capacity of the field and thus increase the survival of the seedlings. On the other, removing gravel and mulching has no significant difference in the growth of seedlings in diameter and height. Consequently, removing gravel of soil and mulching could promote A. formosana survival in the degraded land, but these measures are not helpful to the initial growth of surviving seedlings.

Modo de Operación en situación de pandemia COVID19 – Parque Nacional Torres del Paine (Magallanes, Chile)

COVID-19 fieldwork and operation guidelines for the ecological restoration work being done in Parque Nacional Torres del Paine (Magallanes, Chile). Document includes guidelines in Spanish and English.

COVID-19 Fieldwork Safety Plan – SWCA

COVID-19 Field Safety Protocols from SWCA COVID-19 Task Force (released in June 2020) including guidelines for pre-fieldwork, prepping and cleaning vehicles, communal living, personal hygiene, and post-work communication.

COVID-19 Fieldwork Guidelines with Native American Community

These COVID-19 guidelines focus on fieldwork preparations that include a 2-week quarantine and working with a Native American/Indian community. The author has removed identifying information about the project and wishes them to be anonymous.

COVID-19 Protection Plan – Skagit Land Trust

Skagit Land Trust prioritizes the well-being of our community, including our staff, volunteers,
contractors, partners, landowners and members. This protection plan lays out the protocols we will
follow during the Washington Stay Home order in response to the spread of COVID 19 – this is the version of the plan shared with volunteers.

SER-WC Webinar: M.Sc. Projects

Join three recent graduates of the SFU/BCIT M.Sc. program as they discuss their Applied Research Projects. These projects are the central part of the M.Sc. Program.

Abby Wu – Assessing the potential impact of English ivy (Hedera helix) on the arthropod community of Stanley Park.

Shantanu Dutt – Biological Soil Crust for Reclamation of Mine Tailings.

Kate O’Neill – A climate adaptation plan: identifying thermal refugia for salmonids in the Tsolum River, BC.

COVID-19 Resources for the Restoration Industry – ERBA

ERBA’s mission during the COVID-19 pandemic is to support our members’ continued business operations in a safe manner and act as a resource to Congress and policymakers working to support infrastructure investments. To that end, we are pleased to provide this COVID-19 resource center that contains links to letters, legal alerts, and government recovery program applications.

Coastal Restoration Toolkit

The Coastal Restoration Toolkit was developed by Restore America’s Estuaries to provide high‐level, introductory educational information for community members on how to develop a coastal restoration project from concept to proposal. Divided into five topic areas (Flooding, Coastal Erosion, Water Quality, Invasive Species, and Wildlife Habitats), the Toolkit includes project examples, tools and resources, contacts, funding sources, and permitting information. The Toolkit is a launching point for developing solutions to coastal restoration opportunities that community members see in their local communities.

The Toolkit was commissioned by the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation/Restoration Center to support coastal communities and residents interested in using restoration to improve the condition of coastal habitats.  Coastal habitats provide valuable benefits to fish, wildlife, and communities. They are habitat for the fish we eat, are often the front line of protecting coastal communities from storms, and support cleaner water.

A discussion of the findings from the 2020 Australian Native Seed Report

High quality seed from a range of native species is the foundation for restoring Australia’s many fragmented and degraded native landscapes (even more so in the light of catastrophic bushfires of the summer 2019/20). Yet, for many years, there have been concerns raised within the native seed sector about the need for a transition from one that is essentially a disparate, poorly supported or capitalised cottage-industry to a forward-focussed, structurally sound and cohesive restoration-supporting industry – a evolution that is required if it is to meet the many challenges facing ecological restoration in Australia. In the past there have been many more unknowns than knowns about the native seed sector and providing solutions to its many challenges has always been hampered by a lack of baseline data. For this reason, a survey on the status of the Australian native seed sector was instigated by the Australian Network for Plant Conservation. This was conducted between October 2016 and April 2017 with parties from all states and territories contributing (including seed collectors, growers/sellers/suppliers, purchasers/distributors, researchers). The survey aimed to generate data on a range of seed-related subjects including seed collection and handling practices, seed end-use and seed business structure and models. The survey also tested common perceptions on a range of sector-related topics to gauge opinions and gather feedback from sector participants. The survey, and subsequent Australian Native Seed Survey Report (launched in March 2020), provide an important snapshot of the status of the Australian native seed sector and further knowledge on its structure and its capacity to meet current and future seed demand for ecological restoration.

This seminar will provide a brief background Australia’s seed and restoration sectors, discuss survey findings and implications and present report recommendations.

Speaker: Paul is a restoration ecologist specialized in re-establishing species-rich native grasslands and grassy woodlands. In 2004 he instigated the Victorian ‘Grassy Groundcover Research Project’ (Melbourne University and Greening Australia), a state-wide, field-scale applied grassy restoration research program which showed for the first time under Australian conditions that complex grassy communities could be restored to a high functional quality. In 2011 he expanded the project to NSW focusing on EPBC-listed Cumberland Plain Grassy Woodland. There he continued to develop and refine cultivated seed production techniques and approaches for wildflowers and grasses to provide seed for restoration across that region. He was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship in 2016 and toured the USA investigating its native seed and restoration sectors which profoundly influenced his views on native seed markets, seed cultivation and restoration. In 2017 he co-developed the Australasian Network for Plant Conservation-led Native Seed Sector Survey which aimed to gather critical information and feedback from restorationists nationally. In 2019 he joined Kalbar Resources to oversee rehabilitation strategies for the company’s Fingerboards project in east Gippsland (Victoria) which includes ambitious goals to restore nationally listed grassy woodland at hitherto untested landscape scales (in Australia) on parts of the post-mined landscape. He has been and remains an active advocate and believer in the importance of the role that ecological restoration can play in restoring Australia’s historic and current depletion of native plant communities

The National Estuarine Research Reserve System Story Map

The National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) is a network of 29 estuarine reserves. By implementing standardized approaches to the study of these estuaries, NERRS is able to learn more about the ecological and social trends of these ecosystems. The Story Map is an interactive tool that allows users to discover the reserves and the research being conducted in them.

The People’s Global Resource Bank

GRB shareholders are a social, ecological, economic network of people who value natural air, water, soil, light, plants, climate, shelter, organisms and food in the commodity-backed cryptocurrency, Eco. The GRB eco (e) gains everyone a sufficient, sustainable and secure eco income for life. GRB shareholders guide a bountiful human-computer GRB eco-economic algorithm without countries, private banks, public debt, interest, taxes, scarcity, fear, racism, war, poverty, pollution, pandemics, climate change and environmental degradation.