©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.
Seeing the Fruit for the Trees in Borneo
Abstract:The recent mass fruiting of forest trees in Borneo is an urgent wakeup call: existing policy instruments, financial mechanisms, and forestry infrastructure are inadequate to take full advantage of these infrequent opportunities for forest restoration and conservation. Tropical forest restoration can provide substantial benefits for biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, and poverty alleviation. Yet the unpredictability of the synchronized flowering and consequent mass fruiting of many forest trees in Borneo presents a distinctive set of challenges for forest restoration. Significant financing and a considerable coordinated effort are required to prepare for future mass fruiting events if we are to capitalize on opportunities for ecological restoration.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Societal Challenges in Understanding and Responding to Regime Shifts in Forest Landscapes
Abstract:This paper describe the concept of regime shifts in forest landscapes that represent landscape traps in that “entire landscapes are shifted into a state in which major functional and ecological attributes are compromised [and] lead to feedback processes that either maintain an ecosystem in a compromised state or push it into a further regime shift in which an entirely new type of vegetation cover develops.” Such state changes can result in dramatic reductions in functionality (e.g., carbon sequestration, water yields) and biodiversity, as with their primary example of mountain ash forests (Eucalyptus regnans) in southeastern Australia.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
A Paleoecological Perspective on Wetland Restoration
Abstract:Paleoecological investigations of wetland sedimentary deposits offer the possibility of obtaining accurate reconstructions of base line conditions in the past. Plant remains, such as leaves, seeds, fruits, wood, and pollen, provide a window of variable temporal and spatial resolution into past environmental conditions at a particular site. These archives of physical and biological wetland ecosystem characteristics, if preserved, may be exploited to reconstruct the plant community at a single point in time. Moreover, changes in past plant community composition, hydrology, and the dynamics of wetland ecosystems through time may be better understood. This paper reviews the range of paleoecological information archived in wetland sedimentary deposits that may be understood in the restoration science context. This type of information gleaned by applying paleoecological techniques should provide reasonable targets for restoration ecologists working to improve the quality and quantity of ecosystem functions and services in wetlands.
Resource Type:BookPublication Date: 2011
Agroforestry as a Tool for Landscape Restoration
Abstract:This book compiles a set of articles from a technical session, “Agroforestry as a Tool for Landscape Restoration”, held in August 2009 as part of the “2nd World Agroforestry Congress: The future of global land use”. The articles selected provide an overview of recent efforts to apply agroforestry technologies to landscape restoration in degraded lands located in tropical and temperate regions worldwide. The book is directed at a broad audience including academics, practitioners, and policy makers.
Resource Type:BookPublication Date: 2011
Ecohydrology and Restoration
Abstract:Estuaries and coastal ecosystems are transitional between terrestrial and ocean environments, and this is the reason why they are highly dynamic ecosystems. Being situated at the lower point of the river basins, estuaries and coastal ecosystems are highly dependent on all the
Resource Type:BookPublication Date: 2011
Governance of Shared Waters: Legal and Institutional Issues
Abstract:This book seeks to reposition the law as a tool for implementing higher good, or, in other words, for providing justice by seeking to ensure individuals have access to the services that ecosystems naturally provide, and guaranteeing the right to water for human well-being. States should be aware, in addition to those parties involved in the governance and management of water, of the imperative need to guarantee the access to water, and should make sure the necessary steps are taken to ensure inhabitants can enjoy such resources, without forgetting the needs of future generations. It is therefore essential that States optimize their cooperation on shared waters, and seek joint benefits through the appropriate coordination of their policies, legislation and institutional frameworks. The ultimate aim of this book is to try and strengthen the capacity of various stakeholders, and to help reach the ideal that water should be considered as a vehicle of integration rather than as a source of conflict.
Resource Type:BookPublication Date: 2011
Human Dimensions of Ecological Restoration: Integrating Science, Nature, and Culture
Abstract:This book delves into the often-neglected aspects of ecological restoration that ultimately make the difference between projects that are successfully executed and maintained with the support of informed, engaged citizens, and those that are unable to advance past the conceptual stage due to misunderstandings or apathy. The lessons contained will be valuable to restoration veterans and greenhorns alike, scholars and students in a range of fields, and individuals who care about restoring their local lands and waters. For each category, the book offers an introductory theoretical chapter followed by multiple case studies, each of which focuses on a particular aspect of the category and provides a perspective from within a unique social/political/cultural setting.
Resource Type:BookPublication Date: 2011
Introduction to Restoration Ecology
Abstract:Developed by ecologists and landscape architects, each of whom has been involved in restoration research and practice for many years, the focus of the book is on providing a framework that can be used to guide restoration decisions anywhere on the globe, both now and in the future.
Resource Type:BookPublication Date: 2011
La Restauracio_n Ecolo_gica en Venezuela: Fundamentos y Experiencias
Abstract:Dada la importancia que reviste el conocimiento de la teori_a ecolo_gica para mitigar problemas de conservacio_n de recursos a los que actualmente nos enfrentamos, hemos incluido en una primera seccio_n como el conocimiento de la sucesio_n ecolo_gica, de las especies y los mecanismos involucrados, son la piedra angular en la recuperacio_n de diferentes tipos de ecosistemas venezolanos, desde paramos meriden_os, pasando por bosques de los Llanos Occidentales, sabanas y bosques del estado Boli_var, hasta los del noroeste del estado Amazonas. Estos estudios son la primera fase para establecer, con base cienti_fica, estrategias de gestio_n para la recuperacio_n de nuestros ecosistemas degradados.
Resource Type:BookPublication Date: 2011
Principles and Practice of Forest Landscape Restoration: Case Studies from the Drylands of Latin America
Abstract:The book Principles and Practice of Forest Landscape Restoration: Case studies from the drylands of Latin America is a compendium of case studies and analysis, which will be of interest and use to people who wish to move forest landscape restoration forward, no matter what country they operate in. Practitioners and policy-makers working on forest landscape restoration are learning all the time, through experience, and from each other. It is important to continue to connect partners and collaborators around the world, from Scotland to Sudan and Moldova to Mexico, in a growing community of practice, enabling them to spread best practice, build cooperation and exchange new ideas and solutions.
Resource Type:BookPublication Date: 2011
Regreening the Bare Hills: Tropical Forest Restoration in the Asia-Pacific Region
Abstract:Describing new approaches to the reforestation of degraded lands in the Asia-Pacific tropics, the book reviews current approaches to reforestation throughout the region, paying particular attention to those which incorporate native species – including in multi-species plantations. It presents case studies from across the Asia-Pacific region and discusses how the silvicultural methods needed to manage these ‘new’ plantations will differ from conventional methods. It also explores how reforestation might be made more attractive to smallholders and how trade- offs between production and conservation are most easily made at a landscape scale. The book concludes with a discussion of how future forest restoration may be affected by some current ecological and socio-economic trends now underway.
Resource Type:BookPublication Date: 2011
Restoration of Degraded and Desertified Lands: Experience from Iceland
Abstract:Climate mitigation through carbon sequestration in soil and vegetation with land restoration and revegetation must give full consideration to multiple goals, including those of the conventions of combating desertification and conserving biological diversity. In Iceland carbon sequestration is regarded as an added benefit of land restoration efforts, but not a goal in itself. Ecosystem restoration and carbon sequestration through revegetation demonstrates the synergic effects of land degradation and desertification on other environmental goals.
Resource Type:BookPublication Date: 2011
Sustainable Land Management in Practice: Guidelines and Best Practices for Sub-Saharan Africa
Abstract:The document highlights the main principles of Sustainable Land Management (SLM), identifies and analyses best practices for improved productivity, livelihoods and ecosystem services and offers a framework for investment in SLM on the ground. It is illustrated with 47 case studies from 18 countries.
Resource Type:BookPublication Date: 2011
Contribution of ecosystem restoration to the objectives of the CBD and a healthy planet for all people
Abstract:Abstracts of Posters Presented at the 15th Meeting of
the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice
of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 7-11 November 2011,
Montreal, Canada
Publication Date: 2011
A Framework for Managing and Monitoring Bush Regeneration Programs: A Case Study from Lake Macquarie, NSW
Abstract:While general guidelines for monitoring are available, few examples of effective site monitoring and reporting exist in practice. The note describes a framework developed for managing and monitoring a bush regeneration programme for coastal NSW and evaluates it against a set of principles for monitoring ecological restoration programmes. The example illustrates how tools could be developed to improve management and monitoring practice.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
A Multiscale Approach to Seagrass Recovery in Tampa Bay, Florida
Abstract:Recovery of seagrass coverage in Tampa Bay, Florida, to levels observed in 1950 (15,380 ha) is a long-term goal adopted by local, state, federal, and private partners participating in the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. However, seagrass coverage in all areas of the bay is not increasing at the same rate. Wave energy and tidal scour affect longshore sandbars, and in turn seagrass recovery in some areas. Localized water quality factors, including colored dissolved organic matter and turbidity may have impacts on seagrass growth in other areas. Have we had an effect on seagrass recovery in Tampa Bay? Yes, but it will take more than maintaining a successful nutrient management strategy to reach the recovery goal. A multiscale adaptive research and application approach is currently underway to ensure continuation of the upward trend in Tampa Bay seagrass coverage.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
A New Technique for Tidal Habitat Restoration: Evaluation of its Hydrological Potentials
Abstract:The inability to create an adequate tidal regime in embanked areas is a major problem for restoring estuarine habitats. The controlled reduced tide system (CRT) was previously hypothesized to overcome this constraint. As part of an estuarine management plan which combines flood protection and tidal habitat restoration, the first CRT system was implemented in the freshwater zone of the Schelde estuary (Belgium). Based on four years of high-frequency monitoring on the first CRT and the adjacent estuary, this study demonstrates the hydrological functionality of CRT.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
A Review of Biochar’s Potential Role in the Remediation, Revegetation and Restoration of Contaminated Soils
Abstract:Biochars are biological residues combusted under low oxygen conditions, resulting in a porous, low density carbon rich material. Their large surface areas and cation exchange capacities, determined to a large extent by source materials and pyrolysis temperatures, enables enhanced sorption of both organic and inorganic contaminants to their surfaces, reducing pollutant mobility when amending contaminated soils. Liming effects or release of carbon into soil solution may increase arsenic mobility, whilst low capital but enhanced retention of plant nutrients can restrict revegetation on degraded soils amended only with biochars; the combination of composts, manures and other amendments with biochars could be their most effective deployment to soils requiring stabilisation by revegetation. Specific mechanisms of contaminant-biochar retention and release over time and the environmental impact of biochar amendments on soil organisms remain somewhat unclear but must be investigated to ensure that the management of environmental pollution coincides with ecological sustainability.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
A Study of Land Reclamation and Ecological Restoration in a Resource-exhausted City: A Case Study of Huaibei in China
Abstract:Eco-city construction is a powerful method which can advance a city from traditional industrial civilisation to ecological civilisation. The city of Huaibei, with 50 years of coal mining history, has been listed as a national resource-exhausted city. The city’s sustainable development and ecological restoration work face severe challenges. This study presents a time-space evolution analysis of mining subsidence to show the evolution and the distribution of the subsidence area in Huaibei. Intensive use was made of land evaluation to formulate land use measures. According to this analysis, and based on the popular eco-reconstruction movement, suggestions for land reclamation and eco-reconstruction are proposed for the city of Huaibei. The paper aims to make strategic recommendations to help Huaibei city transform from a resource- exhausted city to an eco-city.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Adaptive Management for a Turbulent Future
Abstract:The challenges that face humanity today differ from the past because as the scale of human influence has increased, our biggest challenges have become global in nature, and formerly local problems that could be addressed by shifting populations or switching resources, now aggregate (i.e., “scale up”) limiting potential management options. Adaptive management is an approach to natural resource management that emphasizes learning through management based on the philosophy that knowledge is incomplete and much of what we think we know is actually wrong.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
An Application of Plant Functional Types for Predicting Restoration Outcomes
Abstract:We evaluated the restoration of native plant assemblages by topsoil translocation in the Hunter Valley, south-east Australia. Species’ responses were characterized by defining nine plant functional types (PFTs) based on combinations of four response mechanisms (seed bank persistence, germination cues, resprouting mechanisms, and longevity) through which species were predicted to persist or decline following translocation. The effects of community type and delay in topsoil restoration on restoration outcomes were tested in an orthogonal experiment. We conclude that PFTs based on fire-response traits represent a practical means of predicting species’ responses to translocation and a basis for prioritizing species for supplementary planting.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
An Innovative Approach to Local Landscape Restoration Planning: Lessons from Practice
Abstract:Working on the principle that scarce restoration funding is best directed to areas of higher recovery capacity, a pilot project was carried out in the South-west Slopes, NSW, commissioning expert panels to identify priority ‘local landscapes’ with high levels of biodiversity assets. A rapid assessment method was then trialled in two out of 26 such landscapes to detect areas of higher recovery potential. The dramatically higher levels of connectivity and restorability found (compared to tree cover mapping) have implications for future catchment management planning and highlight the benefits of conducting targeted, rapid assessments at this scale.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
An Introduction to Adaptive Management for Threatened and Endangered Species
Abstract:Management of threatened and endangered species would seem to be a perfect context for adaptive management. Many of the decisions are recurrent and plagued by uncertainty, exactly the conditions that warrant an adaptive approach. But although the potential of adaptive management in these settings has been extolled, there are limited applications in practice. The impediments to practical implementation are manifold and include semantic confusion, institutional inertia, misperceptions about the suitability and utility, and a lack of guiding examples. In this special section of the Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management, we hope to reinvigorate the appropriate application of adaptive management for threatened and endangered species by framing such management in a decision-analytical context, clarifying misperceptions, classifying the types of decisions that might be amenable to an adaptive approach, and providing three fully developed case studies. In this overview paper, I define terms, review the past application of adaptive management, challenge perceived hurdles, and set the stage for the case studies which follow.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Appropriate Use of Genetic Manipulation for the Development of Restoration Plant Materials
Abstract:The diversity of approaches for developing restoration plant material reflects a variety of philosophies that represent what can and should be accomplished by restoration. The “natural” approach emphasizes emulation of putative naturally occurring patterns of genetic variation. The “genetically manipulated” approach involves such techniques as artificial selection, hybridization, bulking, and chromosome doubling to create populations that are ostensibly as well or better equipped to restore ecosystem function than the extirpated natural populations that they are designed to replace. A number of caveats have been issued regarding manipulated plant materials, including concerns regarding improper genetic identity, outbreeding depression, maladaptation, and inappropriate amounts of genetic variation. Here we detail (1) when these concerns are likely to be valid or inconsequential, (2) how precautions may be taken to minimize these concerns, and (3) how to respect, as much as possible, the principles cherished by proponents of natural plant materials, yet still take advantage of the benefits of genetic manipulation.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Are Re-introductions an Effective Way of Mitigating Against Plant Extinctions?
Abstract:This review evaluates the effectiveness of re-introductions as a conservation tool by using the available evidence to determine in what context plant translocations have improved the status of threatened species.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Assessing Genetic Risk in Revegetation
Abstract:Implementation of revegetation programmes within a risk management framework will help to ensure that significant environmental benefits are captured with minimal concomitant negative impacts on the surrounding biodiversity. A genetic risk protocol provides a tool for evaluation of potential adverse genetic impacts on native populations from revegetation and can be implemented in conjunction with weed risk assessment. Risk assessment as an integral part of evaluation of environmental impact for large-scale revegetation programmes will contribute to the development of informed decision-making processes in the implementation of revegetation systems, and ultimately, it will aid in the development of land uses that protect and enhance biodiversity in degraded landscapes.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Assessing Rainforest Restoration: The Value of Buffer Strips for the Recovery of Rainforest Remnants in Australia’s Wet Tropics
Abstract:Throughout the tropics, forest remnants are under increasing pressure from habitat fragmentation and edge effects. To improve the conservation value of forest remnants, restoration plantings are used to accelerate and redirect ecological succession. Unfortunately, many restoration projects undergo little to no evaluation in achieving project goals. Here we evaluate the success of one common restoration technique, “buffer strip planting,” at the Malanda Scrub in North Queensland, Australia. Results suggest that the buffer strip was successful in reducing edge effects but not in restoring the forest to original conditions within 14 years.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2011
Connectivity Conservation and the Great Eastern Ranges Corridor
Abstract:A revised conservation science consensus is beginning to emerge in response to the limitations of conservation efforts to date and the enormity of the challenge. The term ‘connectivity conservation’ is now being widely used to capture this emerging scientific consensus among researchers and practitioners. A connectivity conservation approach recognises that: 1) conservation management is needed on the lands around formal protected areas to, among other things, buffer them from threatening processes originating off-reserve and to care for biodiversity assets found on other land tenures; 2) on land that has been heavily cleared and fragmented, there is a need for large-scale ecological restoration and rehabilitation so that protected areas do not remain isolated islands and ‘extinction vortices’; and 3) in largely intact areas, the option remains to maintain ecological integrity in toto through a combination of formal protected areas and complementary off-reserve conservation management areas.
Resource Type:Technical DocumentPublication Date: 2011
Contribution of Ecosystem Restoration to the Objectives of the CBD and a Healthy Planet for All People
Abstract:The tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets as the overarching biodiversity framework for the world community. In adopting the Strategic Plan, countries noted the importance of health and restoration by explicitly referring to them in both the vision and mission of the Strategy. Furthermore, target 14 of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets directly relates to ecosystem restoration and its contribution to health and well-being, while target 15 identifies restoration as a means to contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation and to combating desertification. Restoration can also make important contributions to the attainment of many other Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
Resource Type:Technical DocumentPublication Date: 2011
Designing Environmental Restoration Programs in Politically Fragile States: Lessons from Haiti
Abstract:Multiple community groups and organizations with expert knowledge are already in place across Haiti and within watersheds, ready to implement integrated programs if sustained funding commitments are offered by donors and communities and their participation is institutionalized within the project management structure. These efforts could bring the change required to stabilize development in positive growth directions and improve the resilience to the multiple vulnerabilities facing Haiti’s degraded landscape. These efforts could also provide the underlying foundation required for reducing political instability and invigorating progress towards integrated development.
Resource Type:Technical DocumentPublication Date: 2011