©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.
Isla Guadalupe: Conservacio_n y Restauracio_n
Abstract:Este libro es un esfuerzo por recopilar los resultados del trabajo de muchos investigadores, cuyos datos y ana_lisis conforman la base del proyecto de recuperacio_n y conservacio_n de la isla. Y es tambie_n un homenaje a todos aquellos que se han atrevido a son_ar con revertir ma_s de un siglo de deterioro ambiental, recuperando para Me_xico y para la humanidad esta maravillosa isla del oce_ano Paci_fico.
Resource Type:BookPublication Date: 2005
Restoration and Management of Lakes and Reservoirs
Abstract:It has been more than ten years since the last edition of the bestselling Restoration and Management of Lakes and Reservoirs. In that time, lake and reservoir management and restoration technologies have evolved and an enhanced version of this standard resource is long overdue. Completely revised and updated, the third edition continues the tradition of providing comprehensive coverage of the chemical, physical, and biological processes of eutrophication and its control. The authors describe the eutrophication process, outline methods for developing a pre-management and restoration diagnosis-feasibility study, and provide detailed descriptions of scientifically sound management and restoration methods.
Resource Type:BookPublication Date: 2005
Restoration and Management of Tropical Eutrophic Lakes
Abstract:This book is an essential knowledge base for both ecological restoration and management. Although tropical lakes are not identical, and therefore require individually developed and restoration and management practices; there are general principles in both restoration and management that can be derived from the case histories in this book and the limnological literature in general.
Resource Type:BookPublication Date: 2005
Restoration of Aquatic Systems
Abstract:Restoration of Aquatic Systems makes a clear delineation between genuine restoration and public perception of restoration efforts. Written by Robert Livingston, one of the foremost international authorities on ecosystem studies of freshwater, estuarine, and marine environments, this work is the final volume of a trilogy derived from 70 field-years of data garnered from 10 different coastal systems on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The text provides a synthetic look at the restoration of aquatic systems, emphasizing the functional basis that supports such activities, followed by a review of the evidence of recovery.
Resource Type:BookPublication Date: 2005
Temas sobre Restauracio_n Ecolo_gica
Abstract:Temas sobre restauracio_n ecolo_gica es el cuarto libro de una serie iniciada en 1999, que abarca diferentes temas vinculados con la conservacio_n y el manejo adecuado de la vida silvestre y de los ecosistemas, con e_nfasis en los contextos mexicano y latinoamericano. En este trabajo, un grupo de especialistas de diversas instituciones aporta conceptos, me_todos y te_cnicas acerca de uno de los procesos cruciales en la ecologi_a y el manejo de los recursos naturales: la restauracio_n ecolo_gica.
Resource Type:BookPublication Date: 2005
Ecological Restoration and the Biodiversity Vision of New Caledonian Dry Forests
Abstract:The present seminar on restoration is an opportunity to: 1) Assess actions taken to restore dry forest areas, 2) Benefit from international experience to promote different levels of analysis and action, 3) Draw up technical recommendations for further action, and 4) Integrate these findings into a long term strategic conservation plan for the New Caledonian Dry Forest Ecoregion.
Resource Type:Conference ProceedingsPublication Date: 2005
Journal of Applied Ecology Special Profile: River restoration: Seeking ecological standards
Abstract:While restoration has been attracting huge financial investment in recent times, to date there has been little or no consensus as to what constitutes successful ecological restoration. The studies highlighted in this Special Profile attempt to meet this challenge. The Forum paper establishes a set of criteria or standards against which restoration projects can be evaluated, and these criteria are discussed by both practitioners and researchers in two Comment papers.
Resource Type:Journal Special IssuePublication Date: 2005
‘‘How Local Is Local?’’—A Review of Practical and Conceptual Issues in the Genetics of Restoration
Abstract:Here we focus on genetic concerns arising from ongoing restoration efforts, where often little is known about ‘‘How local is local?’’ (i.e., the geographic or environmental scale over which plant species are adapted). We review the major issues regarding gene flow and local adaptation in the restoration of natural plant populations. Finally, we offer some practical, commonsense guidelines for the consideration of genetic structure when restoring natural plant populations.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
A Climate-Based Approach to the Restoration of Fire-Dependent Ecosystems
Abstract:Recurrent fires are integral to the function of many ecosystems worldwide. The management of fire-frequented ecosystems requires the application of fire at the appropriate frequency and seasonality, but establishing the natural fire regime for an ecosystem can be problematic. Historical records of fires are often not available, and surrogates for past fires may not exist. We suggest that the relationship between climate and fire can provide an alternative means for inferring past fire regimes in some ecosystems.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
A Place for Alien Species in Ecosystem Restoration
Abstract:Blanket condemnation of alien species in restoration efforts is counterproductive. Where their presence does not unduly threaten surrounding ecosystems, alien species can be tolerated or even used to good advantage, if they provide essential ecological or socioeconomic services. By speeding restoration or making it more effective, non-native species can provide economic and ecological payoffs. Risk is always an issue when alien species are involved, but greater risk taking is warranted where environmental conditions have been severely modified through human activity than where reassembly of a biological community is the sole goal of restoration.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
Aboriginal Fire Management in Southeastern Australia: Aims and Frequency
Abstract:Although I have interpreted the Aboriginal treatment of the landscape in material terms, this is not to gainsay the attachment which existed between the people and the land. Land management cannot be carried out without the deep sense of responsibility which was conveyed by the totality of Aboriginal culture. It was this close identification with the land that enabled Australia’s indigenous people to manage their environment in a way that enabled them to survive and prosper on this most difficult continent. We need to take account of Aboriginal management of the ecosystems and its long evolutionary history if we are to succeed in our own management.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
Adaptive Restoration of Sand-mined Areas for Biological Conservation
Abstract:Adaptive management approaches to ecological restoration are current best practice. The usefulness of such an approach was tested in this study by implementing repeated experiments that examined restoration options for derelict sand mine sites dominated by Imperata cylindrica. Reclamation of degraded land that is dominated by I. cylindrica is a common problem throughout the tropics. Taken together, these experiments support the hypothesis that there is a barrier restricting regeneration of native woody cover, and the barrier probably comprises both abiotic and biotic components. By adopting an adaptive management approach to the ecological restoration of sites, significant insights into their management requirements have been gained, supporting the current best practice restoration framework. Insights gained through monitoring and adaptation will be used to update the reserve plan of management, enhancing restoration of this severely degraded area and promoting connectivity of native woody cover within the conservation estate.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
An Assessment of Grassland Restoration Success Using Species Diversity Components
Abstract:We quantified three success criteria for 8–10-year-old grassland plantings in large-scale tallgrass prairie restoration (reconstruction) sites relative to three nearby prairie remnant sites. The restoration sites included management of native ungulates and fire, important regulators of diversity and patchiness in intact grasslands. These have not been incorporated simultaneously into previous studies of restoration success. We have shown that current restoration methods are unable to restore plant diversity in tallgrass prairie. Grassland restoration will be improved if the number of species that co-exist can be increased. New, local- scale restoration techniques are needed to replicate the high levels of diversity observed in tallgrass prairie remnant sites.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
Standards for Ecologically Successful River Restoration
Abstract:Billions of dollars are currently spent restoring streams and rivers, yet to date there are no agreed upon standards for what constitutes ecologically beneficial stream and river restoration. We propose five criteria that must be met for a river restoration project to be considered ecologically successful. It is critical that the broad restoration community, including funding agencies, practitioners and citizen restoration groups, adopt criteria for defining and assessing ecological success in restoration. Standards are needed because progress in the science and practice of river restoration has been hampered by the lack of agreed upon criteria for judging ecological success. Without well-accepted criteria that are ultimately supported by funding and implementing agencies, there is little incentive for practitioners to assess and report restoration outcomes. Improving methods and weighing the ecological benefits of various restoration approaches require organized national-level reporting systems.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
Synthesizing U.S. River Restoration Efforts
Abstract:The authors of this Policy Forum developed a comprehensive database of >37,000 river restoration projects across the United States. Such projects have increased exponentially over the past decade with more than a billion dollars spent annually since 1990. Most are intended to enhance water quality, manage riparian zones, improve in-stream habitat, allow fish passage, and stabilize stream banks. Only 10% of project records document any form of project monitoring, and little if any of this information is either appropriate or available for assessing the ecological effectiveness of restoration activities.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
The ecological crisis, the human condition, and community-based restoration as an instrument for its cure
Abstract: Humans, with our unique capacity for self-reflection, are beginning to understand that the underpinnings to our current ecological problems lie within our attitudes, values, ethics, perceptions, and behaviors. New
ways to reconceptualize our unity with the biosphere, understand downstream impacts, and link social behavior with environmental transformations are increasing with corresponding intensity. Community-based restoration is a powerful means for facilitating this trend, by reconnecting communities
with their landscape, empowering citizenry, and fostering an environmental ethos based on
ecopsychological health.
Publication Date: 2005
The Ecology of Restoration: Historical Links, Emerging Issues and Unexplored Realms
Abstract:Evolving models of succession, assembly and state-transition are at the heart of both community ecology and ecological restoration. Recent research on seed and recruitment limitation, soil processes, and diversity–function relationships also share strong links to restoration. Further opportunities may lie ahead in the ecology of plant ontogeny, and on the effects of contingency, such as year effects and priority effects. Ecology may inform current restoration practice, but there is considerable room for greater integration between academic scientists and restoration practitioners.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
The Role of Local Ecological Knowledge in Sustainable Urban Planning: Perspectives from Finland
Abstract:The results indicate that LEK exists among nature enthusiast, as well as local residents, and planners can obtain the knowledge in several ways, most notably through networks of knowledgeable key informants and local nature associations. Considering LEK in urban planning is important because it complements scientific ecological data and indicates places important to locals. Some of the challenges of using LEK include collecting it through participatory planning processes, distinguishing it from other information, valuing subjective knowledge, and empowering planning officials to use LEK. To enhance communication between stakeholders, social scientists should be integrated in the planning process. Furthermore, technical improvements, such as registers of key informants and more efficient use of nature associations’ knowledge, would be useful in applying LEK.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
The STRATEGY Project: Decision Tools to Aid Sustainable Restoration and Long-term Management of Contaminated Agricultural Ecosystems
Abstract:The STRATEGY project (Sustainable Restoration and Long-Term Management of Contaminated Rural, Urban and Industrial Ecosystems) aimed to provide a holistic decision framework for the selection of optimal restoration strategies for the long-term sustainable management of contaminated areas in Western Europe. A value matrix approach was suggested as a method of addressing social and ethical issues within the decision-making process, and was designed to be compatible with both the countermeasure compendia and the decision support system. The applicability and usefulness of STRATEGY outputs for food production systems in the medium to long term is assessed.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
The two-culture problem: Ecological restoration and the integration of knowledge
Abstract:This paper is motivated by the concern that the broader practice of restoration may become narrowed over the next decade as a result of zealous attention to scientific and technological considerations, and that restoration ecology will trump ecological restoration. Scientific and technological acumen is necessary for successful restoration, but insufficient. Maintaining a broader approach to restoration requires respect for other kinds of knowledge than science, and especially the recognition of a moral center that is beyond the scope of science to address fully.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
The Use of Conceptual Models to Guide Ecosystem Restoration in South Florida
Abstract:A set of conceptual ecological models has been developed for South Florida restoration as a framework for supporting integration of science and policy and are key components of an Adaptive Management Program being developed for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. Other large-scale restoration programs also use conceptual ecological models. This special edition of Wetlands presents 11 South Florida regional models, one total system model for South Florida, and one international regional model. This paper provides an overview of these models and defines conceptual ecological model components. It also provides a brief history of South Florida’s natural systems and summarizes components common to many of the regional models.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
Threshold concepts and their use in rangeland management and restoration: The ood, the bad, and the insidious
Abstract:I conclude with a recommendation to clarify the nature of thresholds by defining the relationships among pattern, process, and degradation and distinguishing preventive thresholds from restoration thresholds. We must also broaden the attributes used to define states and thresholds.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
Tropical Forest Restoration within Galapagos National Park: Application of a State-transition Model
Abstract:We applied a state-transition model as a decision-making tool to identify and achieve short- and long-term restoration goals for a tropical, moist, evergreen forest on the island of Santa Cruz, Galapagos. The model guided the process of identifying current and desirable forest states, as well as the natural and human disturbances and management actions that caused transitions between them. This process facilitated assessment of opportunities for ecosystem restoration, expansion of the definition of restoration success for the system, and realization that, although site- or species-specific prescriptions may be available, they cannot succeed until broader landscape restoration issues are identified and addressed. The model provides a decision-making framework to allocate resources effectively to maximize these opportunities across the landscape, and to achieve long-term restoration success.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
Vegetation and Seed Bank in a Calcareous Grassland Restored from a Pinus Forest
Abstract:What is the importance of the seed bank in the maintenance of the restoration potential of a 60-year-old abandoned calcareous grassland overgrown by Pinus trees? Very few calcareous grassland species have persisted in the Pinus stand. Four years after clear-cutting, the stand was nearing restoration towards a calcareous grassland. Seed longevity in the soil was not the most explicative factor. Dispersal of propugules from adjacent sources was also important.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
Vegetation Structure, Species Diversity, and Ecosystem Processes as Measures of Restoration Success
Abstract:To provide an example on how to assess restoration success, we compared four measures of vegetation structure, four measures of species diversity, and six measures of ecosystem processes among pre-reforested, reforested, and reference sites. In addition, we described how Bray Curtis Ordination could be used to evaluate restoration success. By including vegetation structure, species diversity, and ecosystem processes measures we have better information to determine the success of a restoration project. Moreover, the Subjective Bray Curtis Ordination is a useful approach for evaluating different restoration techniques or identifying measures that are recovering slowly and would benefit from additional management.
Resource Type:Peer-reviewed ArticlePublication Date: 2005
A Study on the Social, Economic and Environmental Impacts of Forest Landscape Restoration in Shinyanga Region, Tanzania
Abstract:In the semi-arid Shinyanga region over 800 villages and their inhabitants improved their livelihoods by working in partnership with the government to revitalise a traditional practice of natural resource management. To date over 350,000 ha have been restored to provide much needed forest products for local use, including fuel and building material, food and medicine, as well as important products to meet contingency needs.
Resource Type:Technical DocumentPublication Date: 2005
Adaptive Management is One of the Key Elements of Forest Landscape Restoration
Abstract:This article proposes the adoption of an adaptive management approach to enable forest landscape restoration practitioners to respond to the dynamics found in natural and socioeconomic systems.
Resource Type:Technical DocumentPublication Date: 2005
Are Coastal Dune Management Actions for Biodiversity Restoration and Conservation Underpinned by Internationally Published Scientific Research?
Abstract:In this contribution, we review past and present, internationally published scientific research and its most important consequences for nature management and the conservation/restoration of biodiversity. Results are contrasted with contemporary management practices in order to detect management shortcomings and fields where scientific research needs to be extended and published in order to fine-tune often expensive and quite radical irreversible management practices. In general, our mini-review stresses the need for process-based research on a broad spatial scale and detailed research at a local scale for the assessment of optimal nature management actions, especially in view of potential negative feedback mechanisms.
Resource Type:Technical DocumentPublication Date: 2005
Best Practice Guidelines for Minimising Impacts on the Flora of the Southern Namib
Abstract:This booklet provides simple guidelines in a user-friendly format. It is the first practical guide for environmental management of the Succulent Karoo Biome, and the first of its kind in Namibia. It is my hope that many will read and implement these guidelines and so help make a positive contribution to the wise management and development of Namibia’s prime arid-zone biodiversity asset.
Resource Type:Technical DocumentPublication Date: 2005
Canada’s Federal Marine Protected Areas Strategy
Abstract:This Strategy defines the following goal: The establishment of a network of marine protected areas, established and managed within an integrated oceans management framework, that contributes to the health of Canada’s oceans and marine environments. In support of this goal, this Strategy will aim to fulfill its objectives to: 1) establish a more systematic approach to marine protected area planning and establishment; 2) enhance collaboration for management and monitoring of marine protected areas; 3) increase awareness, understanding and participation of Canadians in the marine protected area network; and 4) link Canada’s network of marine protected areas to continental and global networks.
Resource Type:Technical DocumentPublication Date: 2005