Resource Database

Global Arid Zone Project – Progress in global dryland restoration

Drylands are some of the most difficult areas to restore, but paradoxically have only seen a small fraction of terrestrial ecology (6%) and restoration (<5%) studies. The Global Arid Zone Project, first conceived in 2018 and launched later that year, is aimed at building a continuously growing restoration tool that collates existing data into a usable data center. By compiling a unique global database on dryland ecosystem restoration, we hope to provide the ability to explore drivers of restoration success at an unprecedented scale. Here, we present the first analysis of the database. Our results were assembled from datasets across 174 sites on six continents, encompassing 594,065 observations of 671 plant species. Findings provide reason for optimism. Seeding in drylands had a clear positive impact on the presence of plant species. However, dryland restoration is also a risky proposition: 17% of the projects completely failed, with no establishment of any seeded species, and consistent declines were found in seeded species as projects matured. We also focus in on North American drylands, assessing changes in success through time, evolutions in seed mix design, and overarching patterns of native versus exotic seed success.

Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources

The Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetics Resources (RNGR) website is a popular resource for those who grow or outplant native plants for reforestation, restoration, or conservation. The site hosts a national directory of forestry and conservation nurseries, a calendar of relevant events, and access to a repository of approximately 15,000 articles  (searchable and free to download). The site also includes pages specific to tropical plants, tribal nurseries, and seed.

Roadside revegetation: An integrated approach to establishing native plants and pollinator habitat

The roadsides of the United States play an important role in the conservation of declining wild pollinators and in supporting the health of managed pollinators. The An Integrated Approach to Establishing Native Plants and Pollinator Habitat program provides current best practices for planning, designing, and implementing a revegetation project that will also create habitat for pollinators. The web resource offers a comprehensive Roadside Revegetation Report detailing the complete roadside revegetation process, from project initiation, through monitoring and management. It is also home to the Ecoregional Revegetation Application online tool and a Roadside Revegetation online library.

SER Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP) Program

SER’s Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP) Program encourages a high professional standard for those who are designing, implementing, overseeing, and monitoring restoration projects throughout the world.

Relevance for the Short Term Action Plan for Ecosystem Restoration:
By developing criteria for restoration practitioners to be approved for CERP, and continuing education requirements for maintenance or certification, the CERP program contributes to activity B10. Certified practitioners, in turn, can contribute to activities C1, C3, C4, and C5 regarding restoration planning and implementation, and activities D1, D2, and D3 regarding project monitoring.

Restoration Resource Center (RRC)

SER’s Restoration Resource Center (RRC) provides hundreds of examples of restoration projects, as well links to science, technology and traditional knowledge about restoration from around the world. A wide variety of other resources to assist with restoration planning can also be found on the SER website.

Relevance for the Short Term Action Plan for Ecosystem Restoration:
The RRC contains many resources relevant to Group of activities C and D. Of particular importance for is a restoration directory of expertise, and a resource database that can be filtered by publication year, resources type, title, author, and keyword. A project database provides many examples of restoration implementation (C5), and contribute to sharing lessons learned, in line with activity D3.

Forest and Landscape Restoration Mechanism (FLRM) Knowledge Base

This knowledge base provides access to a comprehensive database of resources related to forest and landscape restoration in a wide range of aspects. More specifically, it provides access to an online user-friendly platform where users can find guidance from planning and implementation to the ongoing management and monitoring of a restoration project.

Relevance for the Short Term Action Plan for Ecosystem Restoration:
This resource includes information on many aspects of FLR including assessment of degradation / restoration opportunities (activities A1 and A2), governance (activities B1 and B6), and implementation (activity C5), and monitoring (Group D). Documents such as Global guidelines for the restoration of degraded forests and landscapes in drylands, outline monitoring and evaluation programs including assessment (D1), adaptive management (D2), and sharing lessons learned (D3).

Bonn Challenge Barometer

Relevance for the Short Term Action Plan for Ecosystem Restoration:
By providing a common platform for countries to report on the outcomes of their FLR strategies along standard criteria, the Bonn Challenge Barometer allows for the sharing of lessons learned and exchange of information, in line with Activity D3.

Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP)

The Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP) is a global initiative to promote and coordinate the development and delivery of biodiversity indicators for use by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and other biodiversity-related conventions, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and national and regional agencies. The website allows users to browse a range of indicators related to Aichi Biodiversity Targets, as well as a library of resources for the development of national-scale indicators.

Relevance for the Short Term Action Plan for Ecosystem Restoration:
The BIP resource provides tools to identify relevant indicators for assessing multiple restoration objectives directly relevant to CBD goals and targets (D1), to test and refine indicators (D2), and to develop monitoring and reporting systems (D3).

US Army Corps of Engineers Ecosystem Restoration Gateway

Ecosystem Restoration is one of the primary missions of the Civil Works program. The purpose of Civil Works ecosystem restoration activities is to restore significant ecosystem function, structure, and dynamic processes that have been degraded. Ecosystem restoration efforts involve a comprehensive examination of the problems contributing to the system degradation, and the development of alternative means for their solution. The intent of restoration is to partially or fully reestablish the attributes of a naturalistic, functioning, and self-regulating system.

US Army Corps of Engineers Management Measures Digital Library

The purpose of this site is to identify and describe examples of selected ecosystem engineering features or management measures and their components. This site is not intended to be a design manual, but rather to provide sufficient information to stimulate plan formulation and assist planners in identifying what’s out there and to “visualize” how a management measure or engineering feature may be applicable to their project.

Ecological Management & Restoration (EMR) Project Summaries

The Australasian journal Ecological Management & Restoration (EMR) is open to submission of short summaries (or groups of linked summaries) of 300-700 words on any interesting ecosystem rehabilitation or restoration project in Australia that is already showing good or promising results. These project summaries are published on an open-access website managed by the journal’s editorial team. They are not a peer-reviewed manuscript type in EMR, but are checked for clarity and content by the project summaries editor.

Rewilding complex ecosystems

Humans have encroached upon a majority of Earth’s lands. The current extinction crisis is a testament to human impacts on wilderness. If there is any hope of retaining a biodiverse planetary system, we must begin to learn how to coexist with, and leave space for, other species. The practice of “rewilding” has emerged as a method for returning wild lands, and wildness, to landscapes we have altered. Perino et al. review this concept and present a framework for implementing it broadly and in a way that considers ongoing human interaction.

The gap between mycorrhizal science & application: relevance, research from an arid region, and tips for managers and practitioners during the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration

Planting material shortages are constraining restoration, while climate change exacerbates the need for restoration and reduces plant recruitment. Concurrently, research shows that protecting and restoring native mycorrhizal fungi (symbiotic with plant roots) appropriate to plant provenance and site conditions meaningfully accelerates restoration, supports crucial ecosystem services, and provides natural climate solutions (sequestering carbon), and nature-based solutions for climate change (climate adaptation). In this webinar, we’ll discuss research results from the arid southwestern United States, as well as the gap between science and implementation with regard to mycorrhizal fungi, and the tools for practitioners, presented in our recent Restoration Ecology review paper. We’ll review examples of the ecosystem services and benefits mycorrhizae and mycorrhizal restoration are known to provide, highlighting when and why mycorrhizae should be considered in management, regeneration, and restoration. We’ll also discuss action items and implementation tips for land managers and restoration practitioners to help lead the way in closing this gap and improving land management and restoration outcomes during the United Nation’s Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. *Indicates speaker.

SER-MWGL Webinar: Managing Midwestern Ecosystems in the Face of Changing Climate

A panel of experts and practitioners in Midwest ecosystems and ecological restoration will discuss the study, planning and management of Midwestern ecosystems (woodlands, savannas, prairies and wetlands) in light of the reality of climate change. The panelists will give a short presentation discussing land management and insights into changing ecosystems, and then we will take both questions and comments from the audience to enhance the discussion.

Coral Restoration: Sharing Knowledge for the Enhancement of Restoration Practices

Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF) has been working to reverse the functional extinction of endangered reef-building corals and restore coral reefs in Florida (USA) since 2007. In that time, CRF has returned over 215,000 corals to Florida’s Coral Reef, restoring more than 34,000 square meters of degraded marine habitat. The success of our large-scale coral husbandry and reef restoration efforts has paved the way for other important restoration activities in the Florida Keys and beyond. In this webinar, hosted by SER, Jessica Levy (Director of Restoration Strategy, CRF) will present on CRF’s in-situ coral propagation and restoration efforts. Jessica will also discuss advancements in coral restoration methods made over the years, with a focus on how shared learning experience can help to scale the success of restoration efforts around the world.

Launching the New Seed Information Database with the INSR

The new SID provides user-friendly access to essential information on seed weight, storage behavior, germination requirements, and other traits. The database currently hosts 182,232 records from 54,803 plant taxa. All records contained within the database are publicly available under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY 2.0.

SID, originally developed and maintained by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (RBGK), was slated to be discontinued due to an agency compliance issue. Upon hearing about the impending closure, SER’s INSR and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew worked together to ensure the preservation of this critical database, which serves as an invaluable and reliable source of information on native seeds for restoration practitioners across the globe.

The Nature Restoration Law: challenges for the scientific community

SER Europe, liaised with INBO-Flanders in the fifth installment in the Alternet Science-Policy Interface seminar series on 27 February 2023. This free, open webinar was organized jointly by Alternet – SERE – INBO, on the subject of the Nature Restoration Law.

On 22 June 2022, the European Commission launched its proposal for an ambitious Nature Restoration Law that promotes a planned, science-based approach to better tackle both the biodiversity and climate crisis, in coordination with other existing European legislation. It is a potential game-changer for the implementation of nature-based solutions in our urban, agricultural, forestry and river/floodplain ecosystems and for boosting the resilience and integrity of the ecosystems in our protected areas.

Currently, discussions are ongoing within the European Council and the European Parliament, and it is likely that the law will be passed by the end of 2023, followed by immediate implementation in all member states in 2024. The urgency is high, and the timing is extremely tight. During the webinar, the law will be introduced, and we explore and discuss the challenges for the scientific community to support the implementation of the law.

This webinar was an activity of the 2023 SER Partnership Fund Project “SERE4NRL: Advocacy for the European Union Nature Restoration Law – A model for Global Restoration Policy”.

Programme:

• Maurice Hoffmann, chair Alternet: Welcome and introduction.
• Jordi Cortina-Segarra, chair Society for Ecological Restoration Europe: Welcome and introduction SERE.
• Karolina D’Cunha, Deputy Head of Natural Capital and Ecosystems Health Unit at the European Commission: Introduction to the EC proposal of a Nature Restoration Law.
• Kris Decleer, senior researcher INBO and board member SERE: Challenges for the scientific community.
• Discussion, moderated by Juliette Young (INRAE)

Restoration of Ecosystems – Bridging Nature and Humans. A Transdisciplinary Approach

In this interdisciplinary textbook, which bridges the gap between the natural and social sciences both, the scientific principles of restoration ecology and practical aspects of ecosystem restoration are comprehensively presented. The diversity of land-use types with a focus on Central Europe is highlighted and case studies of practical restoration projects are presented. The textbook offers students who deal with the environment as well as scientists and practitioners a profound and up-to-date, but also critical overview of the state of knowledge. This book opens up the broad spectrum of degraded ecosystems of Central European natural and cultural landscapes. In further chapters, marine ecosystems and their restoration as well as development potentials and the limits of restoration are discussed in more detail. The ecological fundamentals are expanded through an interdisciplinary perspective taking into account environmental ethics, sociology, anthropology, and economics.

UN Water Conference – Mainstreaming Ecological Restoration in freshwater ecosystems

UN Water Conference off-site UN Head-Quarters side event: Mainstreaming Ecological Restoration in freshwater ecosystems: insights from law, practice and research around the world

This webinar includes is a global suite of presentations regarding the current and ideal future state of ecological and ecosystem restoration of inland and coastal waters. The presentations include information on practical means to incorporate restoration standards and the restorative continuum into regional and global policy priorities to achieve water-related SDGs. The side-event focuses on building synergies with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and includes an interactive dialog with the audience.

This presentation is available in the following languages:  English , French,  Portuguese, Chinese, Spanish

SER’s CERP Program: Is Practitioner Certification Right for You?

Discover the benefits of SER’s Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP) program by hearing from a panel of restoration practitioner experts certified through the program. The panel discussion is followed by a Q&A with our certified experts. If you’re interested in applying for CERP or would like to learn more about the program watch the webinar above.

SER’s Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP) program encourages a high professional standard for those who are designing, implementing, overseeing, and monitoring ecological restoration projects throughout the world. The program guarantees that practitioners meet a set of minimum requirements for restoration and ecological knowledge, on-the-ground practical experience, and an understanding of restoration principles and standards. The CERP program also offers a CERP-In-Training certification for those who don’t quite meet all of the requirements of a full CERP certification, and is ideal for new graduates of restoration programs and professionals who are newer to the field of ecological restoration.

Note: this webinar is not eligible for CERP CECs.

Getting Published in Restoration Ecology

Studies with a local or regional framework that produce high-quality results are crucial to advancing global ecological concepts, theories, and paradigms. It is therefore vital that these high-quality results be published in international journals, but researchers and graduate students alike can encounter challenges when publishing their scientific research.

To help researchers, graduate students and others get their scientific research published the Editor In Chief, Prof. Stephen Murphy, and Managing Editor, Dr. Valter Amaral, of Restoration Ecology (journal) outline methods to effectively publish in Restoration Ecology. They discussed how to effectively overcome main challenges, such as how to make global generalizations with local and regional results and techniques to overcome language barriers. The discussion ends with a Q&A with the two journal editors, and information on the new publishing pricing structure for Restoration Ecology.

Rehabilitation of Opencast Bauxite Mines in the Northern Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India

We are thrilled to share the inaugural SER-Asia Network (SER-AN) webinar featuring Mr. Kaustubh A. Moghe. He shares his invaluable insights and experiences on the Rehabilitation of opencast bauxite mines in the Northern Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India.

Over the course of 7 years and 4 months, Mr. Moghe and his team persevered through numerous obstacles presented by the unique landscape characteristic of the high-altitude lateritic plateaus in the Northern Western Ghats. The lack of soil cover, inert substrate, no drainage, heavy rainfall, and high wind velocity made the rehabilitation of  mines particularly challenging.

However, the team employed a thoughtful approach that involved using 51 odd species of native trees, shrubs, and climbers selected based on reference and seral stages encountered in the adjacent forests. Sourcing these species proved to be a major hurdle, but the team overcame it by establishing an in-house nursery.

Through their diligent efforts, the team was able to achieve noticeable changes within 5 years. Learn firsthand about the challenges and successes of this remarkable project.

Standards of Practice to Guide the UN Decade on Ecosystem

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2021–2030 as the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. The Decade offers an opportunity to substantially advance restoration practice, science, and policy, but to do so requires a shared vision of ecosystem restoration and the principles that underpin it, as well as clear standards for what constitutes best practice. Towards this end, UN Decade partners engaged in a multi-stage process to collaboratively develop principles and standards of practice for ecosystem restoration, based on existing published guidance from a broad range of restorative activities and input from over 400 experts in the field. The principles and standards provide the essential tenets of ecosystem restoration that should be followed to maximize net gain for native biodiversity, ecosystem health and integrity, and human well-being, across all biomes, sectors and regions. This webinar will consider the 10 principles underpinning the UN Decade, and the development of guidance or best practices for planning, implementing, and monitoring and evaluation of restoration projects.

Restoring Communities Through Ecological Thinking and Action

Discover the power of ecological frameworks in restoring land relationships. While many restoration approaches overlook human communities, this webinar highlights the pivotal role of human food webs in shaping ecosystems. Delve into the intricate connections between food, culture, and ecological restoration.

Meet Dr. Suzanne Pierre, a soil microbial ecologist, biogeochemist, and visionary. As the founder and lead investigator of the Critical Ecology Lab, a nonprofit fostering communities with scientific and generational wisdom, she empowers collective action against oppressive systems. With expertise in molecular and stable isotope methods, she studies nutrient and carbon cycling in changing climates. Dr. Pierre pioneers critical ecology, exploring ecological processes through a decolonial and social liberation lens. Her mission is unveiling global ecological change as responses to colonialism and capitalism. Collaborating with artists and curators worldwide, she amplifies these ideas through art. A recipient of the National Geographic Wayfinder Award, she’s a National Geographic Explorer making impactful strides.

La ley europea de restauración: una oportunidad única para recuperar la naturaleza en España

Descripción:

Únete a un grupo de científicos y profesionales para discutir la propuesta de ley europea de restauración. Esta propuesta de ley fue presentada en junio de 2022 por la Comisión Europa y se está discutiendo actualmente en el Parlamento y el Consejo. Su aprobación, adaptada al contexto socio-ecológico español, representa una oportunidad única para coordinar esfuerzos para recuperar espacios marinos y terrestres degradados, optimizar las inversiones y hacer frente a algunos de los mayores retos ambientales y sociales de nuestro país.

En este seminario online, se sintetizarán las perspectivas de expertos de múltiples disciplinas, repasando la situación actual de la restauración, y estimando el esfuerzo que representaría responder a la propuesta de reglamentación europea, y los beneficios que puede aportar. Este seminario es fruto de la colaboración entre la Asociación Española de Ecología Terrestre y el Capítulo Europeo de la Sociedad para la Restauración Ecológica.

Misconceptions about the Nature Restoration Law debunked by the SER Europe Legal Working Group

SER Europe Legal Working Group discusses the European Union (EU) Nature Restoration Law. Introduced by the European Commission in June 2022, this law is under scrutiny by the European Parliament, EU Council. As a global first, its significance transcends EU boundaries. The SERE Legal Working Group assessed the law, dispelling misconceptions. Watch now to enrich your understanding.

Speakers:

Alexandra Aragão: Professor at Portugal’s Coimbra University Faculty of Law. Specializing in environmental, risk, and food safety law, she contributes to various observatories and journals, including the European Natura 2000 observatory.

An Cliquet: Professor at Belgium’s Ghent University, is an expert in international and EU environmental law, biodiversity, and ecological restoration law. Her research spans climate change, gender, and urban biodiversity.

Hendrik Schoukens: Professor at Ghent University’s Faculty of Law. His extensive publications delve into nature protection, ecological restoration, air quality legislation, and more, showcasing a broad spectrum of legal expertise.

Communities harnessing natural regeneration in ecological restoration: case studies around the world

Unveil the transformative power of the SER Natural Regeneration Network (SER-NRN). This new SER section connects members interested in utilizing natural recovery processes for ecological restoration. Speakers will spotlight successful natural regeneration approaches across diverse ecosystems globally, including tropical forests in Costa Rica, farmlands in Africa and Asia, tiger habitats in India, and arid Australian rangelands. A common thread links the potency of natural regeneration with community engagement for impactful change.

Strategies for Establishing Submersed Aquatic Vegetation in Freshwater Environments Post-Dredging

We aim to enrich the toolkit of ecological restoration practitioners, addressing the often overlooked but pivotal role of sediment remediation in habitat revitalization.

Addressing contaminated sediments in freshwater systems can reshape their ecology by impacting vegetation through dredging. Swiftly restoring these systems to their natural state aligns with project goals, optimizing budgets and timelines. Despite limited conclusive research, successful projects have tackled this issue. Collaboratively, our team devised a large-scale process for harvesting, propagating, installing, and monitoring submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) transplants, yielding diverse outcomes.

The re-vegetation strategy commenced with analyzing river segments to pinpoint optimal re-establishment spots. Species selection relied on pre-dredging surveys and commercial availability. Rigorous small-scale trials informed transplant methods before full-scale implementation. In its third year, ongoing monitoring demonstrates remarkable SAV cover increase: from <10% in year one to >90% by year three. Our presentation dissects encountered field variables and challenges, illustrating their impact on SAV transplant success. Explored factors include water depth, turbidity, herbivory, harvesting techniques, timing, and plant life-cycle synchronization.

Why and How Implementing Rights of Wetlands Can Enhance Restoration and More

The emerging approach of recognizing the Rights of Nature in Wetlands (ROW) strengthens the bond between people and wetlands, enhancing ecological restoration. ROW underscores our intrinsic connection to nature – a reciprocal relationship. This viewpoint, embedded in history and diverse cultures, is championed by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities. Evidence highlights that Indigenous Lands shield the environment, curbing degradation and emissions.

Traditional wisdom safeguards habitats and their socio-ecological balance. This discussion illuminates how nurturing our link with wetlands and Nature bolsters restoration efforts. Insights into implementing ROW for better outcomes will be presented, along with supporting resources. These include “Rights of Wetlands: Transforming Our Relationship with Wetlands” pamphlet, the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Wetlands, peer-reviewed journal articles, and the Rights of Wetlands website.

McCoy’s Creek and Alligator Creek Stream Restoration Projects

Unveil captivating stream restoration endeavors by WSP through this enlightening webinar. Explore two distinct projects – McCoy’s Creek and Alligator Creek – showcasing their transformative journey towards ecological enhancement.

McCoy’s Creek, once a community treasure, lost its allure due to misguided alterations. Learn how the City of Jacksonville invested $105.4 million over three years to rejuvenate McCoy’s Creek, reviving its natural state, and mitigating flooding. Learn about the revival of 2.8 miles of stream, the creation of 50 acres of floodplain, environmental remediation, and recreational offerings.

The Alligator Creek Stream Restoration project focuses on a 2.3-mile canalized stretch in Sarasota County, Florida. Discover how stream restoration, bank stabilization, and habitat enhancement initiatives collaboratively combat downstream nutrient loads, erosion, and invasives. The project’s approach includes fish habitat improvement and a potential trail system. Notably, the project team secured NOAA’s Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience grant, a testament to their dedication.