©Danilo Lima, Agripalm Ambiental
The RRC database contains a wide variety of resources and publications related to ecological restoration, and we are actively working to expand this collection. It is our aim to serve as the principal clearinghouse for information and tools to support the work of researchers, practitioners, land managers, educators, students, and anyone else interested in restoration. Use the filter tool below to search the database by title, author, resource type, keyword, or any combination of these factors.
Although SER does review all entries in the database for relevance and quality, these resources have not been rigorously reviewed or extensively vetted in every case, and SER therefore makes no claim as to their accuracy or accordance with generally accepted principles in the field. The database is provided as a resource for visitors to the SER website, and it is ultimately left to the individual user to make their own determinations about the quality and veracity of a given publication or resource.
If there is a resource we missed, please let us know! We are interested in current books, articles, technical documents, videos, and other resources that are directly relevant to ecological restoration science, practice or policy, as well as resources treating the social, cultural and economic dimensions of restoration.
UK – India Forest Landscape Restoration
Abstract:The aim of this collaboration is primarily to develop knowledge exchange between the UK and Indian forest sectors. This will lead to an increased understanding of the broad-ranging contribution forest restoration can make to biodiversity, ecosystem services, climate change mitigation and adaptation, people and economy. This summary report shows how Forest Landscape Restoration can safeguard biodiversity by taking a landscape approach using appropriate technologies and practical applications and produce real benefits for communities by working in partnership with them.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Understanding Eco-complexity: Social-Economic-Natural Complex Ecosystem Approach
Abstract:Human dominated landscape is a kind of Social-Economic-Natural Complex Ecosystem dominated by human behavior, sustained by natural life support system, and vitalized by ecological process, which is called ecoscape. Its natural subsystem consists of Chinese traditional five elements: metal (minerals), wood (living organism), water, fire (energy) and soil (nutrients and land). Its economic subsystem includes the components of production, consumption, reduction, transportation and regulation. While its social subsystem includes technology, institution and culture steered by man. In dealing with this eco-complexity, the key issue is how to image the complicated interactions, how to simplify and integrate the diversified relationships, and how to develop a practical instrument for cultivating the sustainability in helping local people to help themselves. Based on ancient Chinese human ecological philosophy, the SENCE approach for eco-sustainability planning and management was explored, which requires holistic rethinking, institutional reform and technological renovation. A combinatory model consists of mechanism model, planning model, and regulation model has been developed through identification of its key factors, feedback and function, simulation of its partial problems, process and alternative policies, and inducing its technological, institutional and cultural innovation towards sustainability.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Using Hydrogel and Clay to Improve the Water Status of Seedlings for Dryland Restoration
Abstract:In dryland ecosystems, post-transplant water stress produces high seedling mortality after the first summer following outplanting. Our aim was to assess the effects of clay and hydrogel, both on the water holding capacity of the growing media and on various morphological and physiological characteristics of Quercussuber seedlings in the nursery and, subsequently, during the first 2 years in the field. Mixing hydrogel with a peat-based growing medium to form root plugs is a suitable technique for cultivating species to be planted in areas with a strong water deficit. This technique reduces post-transplant water stress in seedlings during their first months in the field and contributes to improve forest restoration methods in dryland ecosystems.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Using Plant Functional Traits to Guide Restoration: A Case Study in California Coastal Grassland
Abstract:Restoration ecology can benefit greatly from developments in trait-based ecology that enable improved predictions of how the composition of plant communities will respond to changes in environmental conditions. Plant functional traits can be used to guide the restoration of degraded habitats by closely tailoring treatments to the local species pool. We tested this approach in two heavily invaded coastal California grasslands. Our study indicates that trait- based ecology is sufficiently mature to provide useful predictions in the realm of restoration ecology. Trait screening at a site can help predict the success of a particular restoration measure in that community.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Using Plant Functional Traits to Understand the Landscape Distribution of Multiple Ecosystem Services
Abstract:Spatially explicit understanding of the delivery of multiple ecosystem services (ES) from global to local scales is currently limited. New studies analysing the simultaneous provision of multiple services at landscape scale should aid the understanding of multiple ES delivery and trade-offs to support policy, management and land planning. Analyses of ES using plant functional variation across landscapes are a powerful approach to understanding the fundamental ecological mechanisms underlying ES provision, and trade-offs or synergies among services. Sustainable management of species and functionally diverse grassland could simultaneously aim at conserving biodiversity and locally important ES by taking advantage of correlations and trade-offs among different plant functional traits.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
What Has Changed with Seagrass Restoration in 64 Years?
Abstract:A brief appraisal of the present state of seagrass restoration in the context of the 64-year-old seminal publication by C.E. Addy reveals that early observations were prescient and have remained the basis for our collective attempts to conduct open system seagrass restoration. Our ability to ensure restoration success remains limited. A flawed philosophical framework for choosing restoration, frequently exacerbated by management inexperience and failure to apply known standards for site selection, continues to plague the process. Moreover, seagrass restoration has become an on-demand attempt to overcome hysteresis and shift a habitat from one stable state (unvegetated) to what is arguably a more complex stable state (vegetated) by artificial colonization methods. These methods are frequently overwhelmed by natural processes that ordinarily rely on orders of magnitude more propagules and years of recruitment classes. As a result, the expectations for successful seagrass restoration, like most wild community restoration projects, are often unrealistic and improperly held to an even higher standard than agricultural crops.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
What Role Should Government Regulation Play in Ecological Restoration? Ongoing Debate in Sao Paulo State, Brazil
Abstract:Around the world, there is growing desire and momentum for ecological restoration to happen faster, with better quality, and in more extensive areas. The question we ask is how can laws and governmental regulations best contribute to effective, successful, and broad-scale restoration? In the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, there is a legal instrument (SMA 08-2008) whose aim is to increase the effectiveness of tropical forest restoration projects in particular. It establishes, among other things, requirements regarding the minimum number of native tree species to be reached within a given period of time in restoration projects and the precise proportion of functional groups or threatened species to be included when reforestation with native species is used as a restoration technique.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
When and Where to Actively Restore Ecosystems?
Abstract:We recommend that all land managers consider a suite of ecological and human factors before selecting a restoration approach. Land managers should first consider what the likely outcome of a passive restoration (natural regeneration) approach would be based on the natural ecosystem resilience, past land-use history, and the surrounding landscape matrix. They should also identify the specific goals of the project and assess the resources available. Conducting these analyses prior to selecting restoration approaches should result in a more efficient use of restoration resources both within and among projects and should maximize the success of restoration efforts.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Assessing Forest Degradation: Towards the Development of Globally Applicable Guidelines
Abstract:This document pulls together a range of views and approaches to the assessment of forest degradation. It should be regarded as precursor to the development of comprehensive, globally applicable guidelines for assessing forest degradation. There is much work yet to be done on this important topic – we trust the present paper contributes to the goal of reducing and mitigating the inevitable processes of forest degradation.
Resource Type:Technical DocumentPublication Date: 2011
Assessment & Planning for Ecological Connectivity: A Practical Guide
Abstract:The guidance in this document was derived from extensive literature review and the collective wisdom of participants in the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) “Best Science” for ecological connectivity held in Boulder Colorado. It is our intention to provide a quick summary of the current state of connectivity science and offer practical guidance on the best practices, tools and important considerations for conducting a science based connectivity assessment and integrating that into conservation planning. The focus of our guidance is toward terrestrial ecosystem management but many of the principles apply to conserving aquatic connectivity which is extremely important from a global and regional perspective.
Resource Type:Technical DocumentPublication Date: 2011
Assessment of the Potential of Ecosystem-based Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Europe
Abstract:At a national and regional level, given the importance of technical capacity highlighted in the explored case studies, an increased knowledge and understanding of specific design characteristics for projects using ecosystem-based approaches and their implications shouldfurther be supported. Both positive experiences as well as barriers were encountered during implementation. These can serve as a useful knowledge basis for increasing the success and efficiency of emerging projects. Further, such information could help to create successful management frameworks and a more appropriate selection of measures. Systems of institutional learning can enhance these efforts, ensuring that knowledge can be transferred to a wider audience and that the utilization of lessons learned is maximized. Finally, increased stakeholder involvement and a higher level of awareness amongst policy makers and the general public are necessary. Governments can be seen as serving a central, guiding role here in acting as a motivating actor and providing impetus to action at the local level.
Resource Type:Technical DocumentPublication Date: 2011
Botanic Gardens, Endangered Trees and Reforestation in Africa
Abstract:This report considers the current and potential roles that African botanic gardens can play in the restoration of forests and other forms of tree planting using the material maintained in their living collections and the skills and expertise of their staff. A particular emphasis has been placed on the potential to use tree species that are under threat of extinction in the wild. Africa has over 150 botanic gardens (see figure 1). This report focuses specifically on the work of botanic gardens in three countries DRC, Kenya and Uganda. Initial contacts have also been made with gardens in Cameroon and Ghana and further consultation is anticipated.
Resource Type:Technical DocumentPublication Date: 2011
Forest Biodiversity and the Delivery of Ecosystem Goods and Services: Translating Science into Policy
Abstract:Focusing on forest and agroforest systems, we synthesize recent research on the role of biodiversity in the provision of ecosystem services and provide examples of biodiversity science that informs ecosystem management and policy. Finally, we highlight barriers to the transfer of knowledge from scientists to decision-makers and suggest that scientists can be much more effective at informing policy and improving resource management by asking policy-relevant questions and providing timely and consistent information to decision-makers and the public on the linkages among biodiversity, ecosystem services, and their value to people.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Forest Conservation and Restoration using Eco-loan Financing (ELF) in Costa Rica: Report on a Working Model
Abstract:Nectandra Institute initiated a zero (monetary) interest loan program to qualifying rural community water management associations to buy watershed land in northern Costa Rica. Each borrowing community repays the capital and eco-interest (e.g., reforestation, regeneration of native forest on the properties, watershed restoration and management, continuing environmental education, etc). The project’s effectiveness since 2007 in achieving its conservation and education objectives was due to: (1) the facility and flexibility of the negotiations between borrowers (entire communities) and lender (conservation promoter), (2) the communities’ involvement and enthusiastic acceptance of the project’s ecosystem conservation insured its post-loan continuance at the grassroots level, (3) the rapid reloaning of repaid capital fund, thereby amplifying the donors’ investment several times, and (4) the potential for its replication and scalability elsewhere in Central America.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Forest Restoration, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning
Abstract:The BEF-approach provides a useful framework to evaluate forest restoration in an ecosystem functioning context, but it also highlights that much remains to be understood, especially regarding the relation between forest functioning on the one side and genetic diversity and above-ground-below-ground species associations on the other. The strong emphasis of the BEF- approach on functional rather than taxonomic diversity may also be the beginning of a paradigm shift in restoration ecology, increasing the tolerance towards allochthonous species.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
From Natural to Degraded Rivers and Back Again: A Test of Restoration Ecology Theory and Practice
Abstract:Three Danish restoration schemes are provided as focal case studies to supplement the literature review and largely supported our findings. While the large-scale re-meandering and re-establishment of water levels at River Skjern resulted in significant recovery of riverine biota, habitat enhancement schemes at smaller-scales in other rivers were largely ineffective and failed to show long-term recovery. The general lack of knowledge derived from integrated, well-designed and long-term restoration schemes is striking, and we present a conceptual framework to help address this problem. The framework was applied to the three restoration types included in our study and highlights recurrent cause-effect chains, that is, commonly observed relationships of restoration measures (cause) and their effects on abiotic and biotic conditions (effect). Such conceptual models can provide useful new tools for devising more effective river restoration, and for identifying avenues for future research in restoration ecology in general.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Global Resilience of Tropical Forest and Savanna to Critical Transitions
Abstract:It has been suggested that tropical forest and savanna could represent alternative stable states, implying critical transitions at tipping points in response to altered climate or other drivers. So far, evidence for this idea has remained elusive, and integrated climate models assume smooth vegetation responses. We analyzed data on the distribution of tree cover in Africa, Australia, and South America to reveal strong evidence for the existence of three distinct attractors: forest, savanna, and a treeless state. Empirical reconstruction of the basins of attraction indicates that the resilience of the states varies in a universal way with precipitation. These results allow the identification of regions where forest or savanna may most easily tip into an alternative state, and they pave the way to a new generation of coupled climate models.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Grassland Restoration after Afforestation: No Direction Home?
Abstract:The coastal grasslands in north-eastern South Africa are a severely threatened vegetation type rich in plant species, particularly forbs. Many of the forbs have underground storage organs which allow them to resprout rapidly after fires. A significant portion of this land was placed under commercial pine afforestation in the 1950s. The pine plantations have since been removed starting 17 years ago and restored to grasslands within a conservation area. Our results indicate that current methods for restoring these grasslands are inadequate and that restoring grasslands may be a lot harder than previously thought. Considerable effort should be made in conserving what is left of natural grasslands.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Grassland Restoration on Former Croplands in Europe: An Assessment of Applicability of Techniques and Costs
Abstract:Grasslands used to be vital landscape elements throughout Europe. Nowadays, the area of grasslands is dramatically reduced, especially in industrial countries. Grassland restoration is widely applied to increase the naturalness of the landscape and preserve biodiversity. We reviewed the most frequently used restoration techniques (spontaneous succession, sowing seed mixtures, transfer of plant material, topsoil removal and transfer)and techniques used to improve species richness (planting, grazing and mowing) to recover natural-like grasslands from ex-arable lands. We focus on the usefulness of methods in restoring biodiversity, their practical feasibility and costs.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Gravel Seeding: A Suitable Technique for Restoring the Seabed Following Marine Aggregate Dredging?
Abstract:Restoration of offshore marine habitats is a relatively new concept, with attempts in the European Union being largely instigated by requirements of various strategic directives. In this experiment, we investigate the practicality and effectiveness of gravel seeding, using a commercial aggregate dredging vessel, in order to recreate a gravel habitat. Although financial and practical constraints limited replication of the Treatment to one area, and so precluded strong statistical conclusions, our results suggested that the technique was both practically feasible, and successful in terms of returning the physical and biological attributes at the Treatment site to a state more representative of gravelly substrata in the wider, un-impacted environment.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Heathland Restoration Techniques: Ecological Consequences for Plant-Soil and Plant-Animal Interactions
Abstract:We compare the soil and plant community development during heathland restoration on improved farmland when achieved through soil stripping with that achieved through soil acidification. We also test the potential for toxic metals to be made more available to plant and animal species as a result of these treatments. Acidification with elemental sulphur was found to be more effective than soil stripping for establishing an ericaceous sward despite the high levels of phosphate still present within the soil. However, both soil acidification and soil stripping were found to have the potential to increase the availability of potentially toxic metals. Acidification increased uptake of both aluminium and zinc in two common plant species Agrostis capillaris and Rumex acetosella and decreased the abundance of surface active spiders. The potential consequences for composition of restored heathland communities and for functioning of food chains are discussed.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
How Ecological Engineering can Serve in Coastal Protection
Abstract:In this paper, the utilization of ecosystem engineering species for achieving civil-engineering objectives or the facilitation of multiple use of limited space in coastal protection is focused upon, either by using ecosystem engineering species that trap sediment and damp waves (oyster beds, mussel beds, willow floodplains and marram grass), or by adjusting hard substrates to enhance ecological functioning. Translating desired coastal protection functionality into designs that make use of the capability of appropriate ecosystem engineering species is, however, hampered by lack of a generic framework to decide which ecosystem engineering species or what type of hard-substrate adaptations may be used where and when. In this paper we review successful implementation of ecosystem engineering species in coastal protection for a sandy shore and propose a framework to select the appropriate measures based on the spatial and temporal scale of coastal protection, resulting in a dynamic interaction between engineering and ecology. Modeling and monitoring the bio-physical interactions is needed, as it allows to upscale successful implementations and predict otherwise unforeseen impacts.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
How Successful Mangrove Forest Restoration Informs the Process of Successful General Wetland Restoration
Abstract:This article is derived from a more specific paper just on mangrove forest restoration published by the Society of Wetland Scientists in 2009. The intent of this article is to utilize some basic principles of successful mangrove forest restoration as a starting point to describe the routine problem with a lack of successful wetland restoration for all wetland types. This subject has been described in a number of recent articles in the National Wetlands Newsletter.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Identifying Priority Areas for Ecosystem Service Management in South African Grasslands
Abstract:Grasslands provide many ecosystem services required to support human well-being and are home to a diverse fauna and flora. Degradation of grasslands due to agriculture and other forms of land use threaten biodiversity and ecosystem services. Various efforts are underway around the world to stem these declines. The Grassland Programme in South Africa is one such initiative and is aimed at safeguarding both biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Integrated Stream and Wetland Restoration: A Watershed Approach to Improved Water Quality on the Landscape
Abstract:Water quality in Upper Sandy Creek, a headwater stream for the Cape Fear River in the North Carolina Piedmont, is impaired due to high N and P concentrations, sediment load, and coliform bacteria. The creek and floodplain ecosystem had become dysfunctional due to the effects of altered storm water delivery following urban watershed development where the impervious surface reached nearly 30% in some sub-watersheds. At Duke University, an 8-ha Stream and Wetland Assessment Management Park (SWAMP) was created in the lower portion of the watershed to assess the cumulative effect of restoring multiple portions of stream and former adjacent wetlands, with specific goals of quantifying water quality improvements.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Integrating Ecological Knowledge, Public Perception and Urgency of Action into Invasive Species Management
Abstract:The Australian context provides us with many cases of the labeling of exotic species as harmful or not, using inputs from scientists, industry, and the public. Integration of social and scientific points of view can only improve conservation on the ground if it allows managers to use the ecological, economic and social impacts of exotic species to prioritize conservation actions in an operative way.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Integrating Objectives and Scales for Planning and Implementing Wetland Restoration and Creation in Agricultural Landscapes
Abstract:Traditionally, wetland management strategies have focused on single familiar objectives, such as improving water quality, strengthening biodiversity, and providing flood control. Despite the relevant amount of studies focused on wetland creation or restoration with these and other objectives, still little is known on how to integrate objectives of wetland creation or restoration at different landscape scales. We have reviewed the literature to this aim, and based on the existing current knowledge, we propose a four step approach to take decisions in wetland creation or restoration planning.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Intensive Tree Planting Facilitates Tropical Forest Biodiversity and Biomass Accumulation in Kibale National Park, Uganda
Abstract:The purpose of this study was to determine how intensive replanting affected tropical forest regeneration and biomass accumulation over ten years. We studied reforested sites in Kibale National Park, Uganda, that were degraded in the 1970s and replanted with five native tree species in 1995. We identified and measured the size of planted versus naturally regenerating trees, and felled and weighed matched trees outside the park to calculate region-specific allometric equations for above-ground tree biomass. The role of shrubs and grasses in facilitating or hindering the establishment of trees was evaluated by correlating observed estimates of percent cover to tree biomass.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Intervention Ecology: Applying Ecological Science in the Twenty-first Century
Abstract:Escalating global change is resulting in widespread no-analogue environments and novel ecosystems that render traditional goals unachievable. Policymakers and the general public, however, have embraced restoration without an understanding of its limitations, which has led to perverse policy outcomes. Therefore, a new ecology, free of pre- and misconceptions and directed toward meaningful interventions, is needed. Interventions include altering the biotic and abiotic structures and processes within ecosystems and changing social and policy settings. Interventions can be aimed at leverage points, both within ecosystems and in the broader social system—particularly, feedback loops that either maintain a particular state or precipitate a rapid change from one state to another.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Invasives: A Major Conservation Threat
Abstract:As leaders of conservation organizations with missions to protect biodiversity, we believe that the endorsement of invading species—although potentially stimulating from an academic perspective—risks trivializing the global action that is needed to address one of the most severe and fastest growing threats to biological diversity. Our organizations have promoted biosecurity programs, implemented dozens of campaigns for invasive species removal, and supported hundreds of the more than 1000 eradications so far completed, recovering ecosystems and preventing many extinctions worldwide, especially on islands. These successes demonstrate clearly that threats from invasive species can be mitigated and that biodiversity can be protected through these actions.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011