Resource Database

Ecological Restoration: Where It Has Been and Where It Is Going

As we start the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, join us for a panel discussion featuring experts who have been involved in the field of ecological restoration for several decades and witnessed its evolution firsthand. Panelists will share their experiences in the field, visions for the future, and lessons learned through free-flowing discussion and story sharing. This webinar is co-hosted by SER and Biohabitats.

The Role of Invasive Species Control and Species Order of Arrival on Restoration

Manipulating plant order of arrival, a process that creates priority effects, may be an unexplored tool to hinder the establishment of invasive non-native plants in sites under restoration. Knowledge and experimental studies on priority effects in the neotropics are scarce. My talk will cover assembly rules and invasive species control in restoration. I will show the results of systematic reviews where we synthesized information from papers that compared simultaneous and non-simultaneous planting or sowing and considered how these mechanisms might be manipulated to achieve restoration goals, and how invasive species are controlled in restoration. I will explore both topics with examples of research my working group has been doing in Southern Brazil.

Prescribed Fire – A Tool for Grassland Restoration

Native grasslands require periodic disturbance to maintain ecological integrity. Typical disturbances are from fire and grazing, both of which have been removed or suppressed from many grasslands, particularly near cities. Grasslands are resilient to fire and normally do not sustain long-term damage, however there are a range of short-term fire effects that will affect both grassland productivity and species diversity. These short-term effects include 1) enhancement of diversity by thatch reduction, suppression of competitive species, and fire-induced germination. My research program examines the role of fire in grasslands, including the reintroduction of fire to conservation grasslands. In this webinar I will discuss fire impacts on grasslands and my experiences working with conservation agencies to safely reintroduce fire. Speaker: Dr. Eric Lamb – Associate Professor, Department of Plant Science at University of Saskatchewan.

SER-E Webinar: Creative Ecology Perspectives From the UK – Making Wildflowers Work

Join SER-Europe and Richard Scott (Director, National Wildflower Centre and Chair, UK Urban Ecology Forum) for a look at how creative environmental projects have been used to engage stakeholders and make a positive ecological impact in the UK.

INSR Native Seed Workshop: European Native Seed Producers Association

INSR Native Seed Workshop: Insights from the Australian Native Seed Report

INSR Native Seed Workshop: Development and Application of a Time-Release Giberellic Acid Seed Coating for Improving The Establishment of Species with Physiological Seed Dormancy

INSR Native Seed Workshop: Native Seed Partnerships: Connecting Plant Materials with Restoration Practitioners

INSR Native Seed Workshop: Seed Pelleting for Small Seeded Native Seeds

INSR Native Seed Workshop: International Network for Seed-Based Restoration

INSR Native Seed Workshop: Innovative Restoration Efforts in the Sagebrush Sea

INSR Native Seed Workshop: Native Seed Planning, Sourcing, and Procurement for Restoration

INSR Native Seed Workshop: Improving Forb Availability in Wyoming: Beginning with Forb Dormancy Break

INSR Native Seed Workshop: Initial Lab and Field Tests of Activated Carbon Coating Prototypes with a Standard Rangeland Drill

INSR Native Seed Workshop: A new perspective and approach to ecosystem restoration: a seed enhancement technology guide and case study

INSR Native Seed Workshop: IDIQ Procurement System and Forward Contracting for Native Seed Production

INSR Native Seed Workshop: Forecasting Seed Needs in Western Nevada

INSR Native Seed Workshop: National Seed Strategy Update

INSR Native Seed Workshop: The Brazilian Native Seed Network

SER Webinar: Introducing a New Restoration Project Information Sharing Framework

In 2021, the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) and Climate Focus, on behalf of the Global Restoration Observatory (GRO) network, co-led a collaborative effort to formalize a sector-wide Restoration Project Information Sharing Framework. The Framework represents the collective thinking of more than 80 individuals from 55 organizations representing 27 countries, including many SER members. It is designed to support more coordinated global tracking of progress and trends in ecosystem restoration and to create the potential for interoperability among the many platforms and databases that collect, aggregate, evaluate, and provide access to data on ecosystem restoration. This webinar will introduce the indicators, how they were developed, and encourage organizations and project managers to adopt relevant and appropriate content from the Framework for their individual monitoring protocols, reporting systems, databases, and platforms.

Farming Native Seed for the Future: Considering Evolutionary Potential and Ecological Function

Agricultural seed production is needed to meet ambitious restoration goals, which will require more seeds than can be harvested from wild populations. However, there may be direct conflicts between traits that are favorable in conventional agriculture and those that are adaptive in restoration settings, which could have long-lasting impacts on restored communities. Here, we review some of these evolutionary and ecological conflicts and suggest research directions needed to meld the needs of agriculturalists and restoration practitioners. Partnerships between ecologists, engineers, breeders, and growers are essential to develop best practices for providing seeds for successful native species restoration.

In the midst of increased ecosystem degradation and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, it is important that we continually evaluate our restoration practices. Restoration practices generally have a taxonomic bias towards plant species and communities. However, by focusing on a single organismal group, restoration outcomes are often inconsistent and rarely leads to the reestablishment of target ecosystems or their services. One important factor that is often overlooked are plant interactions with fungal symbionts. This is a considerable oversight, as a multitude of studies have documented the important role symbiotic fungi have on plant functioning and plant community assembly. This talk will examine two potential roles that plant-fungal symbionts can serve in ecological restoration: as indicators of the state of recovery and an ecosystem component that can be manipulated to improve restoration outcomes.

Coastal Resilience Success Stories (NFWF Case Studies)

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) commissioned ERG to conduct a yearlong project in 2021 to gather and share best practices from coastal resilience practitioners to enhance implementation of coastal resilience efforts across the United States. The project encompassed a review of more than 100 source documents, as well as interviews with resilience practitioners. NFWF and ERG used the findings from this research to develop eight case studies documenting successful projects throughout the country.

Predicting Restoration Outcomes: From Concept to Practice

Restoration outcomes are notorious for being unpredictable. Similar restoration actions, carried out on seemingly similar sites, can result in variable outcomes and this unpredictability challenges our capacity to meet specific goals. In turn, this points to the need to develop predictive capacities in restoration. But what will this look like and what challenges must be overcome to develop restoration into a predictive science? We outline an approach for predicting restoration outcomes and describe key challenges that must be overcome, to put this vision into practice. We then describe a research project, where we are putting these ideas into practice, to predict the outcomes of longleaf pine woodlands restoration.

SER-E Webinar: State of Ecological Restoration in Norway

Join SER-Europe, Berit Köhler, Dagmar Hagen, and Astrid Brekke Skrindo for a discussion of the state of ecological restoration in Norway.

A Green-Gray Path to Global Water Security and Sustainable Infrastructure

Sustainable development demands reliable water resources, yet traditional water management has broadly failed to avoid environmental degradation and contain infrastructure costs. We explore the global-scale feasibility of combining natural capital with engineering-based (green-gray) approaches to meet water security threats over the 21st century. Threats to water resource systems are projected to rise throughout this period, together with a significant expansion in engineering deployments and progressive loss of natural capital. In many parts of the world, strong path dependencies are projected to arise from the legacy of prior environmental degradation that constrains future water management to a heavy reliance on engineering-based approaches. Elsewhere, retaining existing stocks of natural capital creates opportunities to employ blended green-gray water infrastructure.

By 2050, annual engineering expenditures are projected to triple to $2.3 trillion, invested mainly in developing economies. In contrast, preserving natural capital for threat suppression represents a potential $3.0 trillion in avoided replacement costs by mid-century. Society pays a premium whenever these nature-based assets are lost, as the engineering costs necessary to achieve an equivalent level of threat management are, on average, twice as expensive. Countries projected to rapidly expand their engineering investments while losing natural capital will be most constrained in realizing green-gray water management. The situation is expected to be most restrictive across the developing world, where the economic, technical, and governance capacities to overcome such challenges remain limited. Our results demonstrate that policies that support blended green-gray approaches offer a pathway to future global water security but will require a strategic commitment to preserving natural capital. Absent such stewardship, the costs of water resource infrastructure and services will likely rise substantially and frustrate efforts to attain universal and sustainable water security.

Identifying regional and restoration species pools for the Ozark Highlands

Andrew Kaul is a Restoration Ecology Post-doc in the Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development working with Matthew Albrecht at the Missouri Botanical Garden, and Michael Barash is a junior Biology major at Washington University in St. Louis. Here they describe Michael’s undergraduate research on commercial native seed availability for woodland restoration.

Exploring the Use Biochar-Amended Filters in Stormwater Management

As rainfall events become more frequent and intense, watershed management becomes paramount. Elevated bacteria levels in the nation’s surface waters are a public health issue–leading to sick pets, beach closures, and posing immediate health risks to anyone who recreates in or consumes the water. Until now, there have been limited, cost-effective ways to reduce bacteria levels in stormwater. Biochar in stormwater filter media could provide safer, cleaner recreational waters for humans, pets, and wildlife. During this presentation, Stantec will discuss the biochar- and iron-enhanced sand filters (BIESF) Large-scale Demonstration Projects. These BIESFs are the largest known stormwater treatment systems designed to remove bacteria from urban runoff with far-reaching implications for the industry. Key takeaways to be presented include biochar- and iron-enhanced sand filter design considerations and specifications, site constraints and challenges, preliminary performance results, and lessons learned along the way.

Restoration of Multifunctional Cultural Landscapes. Merging Tradition and Innovation for a Sustainable Future

This book offers perspectives on how to develop a sustainable global balance of urbanization, land-use intensification, land abandonment, and multifunctional cultural landscapes. The focus is on the latter by describing the large variety of traditional cultural landscapes all over the world. The restoration of low-input land-use systems which often carry a high biodiversity is outlined. Land abandonment which occurs on all continents is qualitatively and quantitatively assessed and the consequences for natural and cultural heritage loss is highlighted. With the presentation of current rural development and landscape conservation strategies on the national as well as international level, the topic reflects the high significance of environmental policy on the global scale. This comprehensive compendium is thought for all students, scholars, and stakeholders from multifaceted disciplines, interested in multifunctional cultural landscapes and how traditions and innovation on the landscape level can be merged for a sustainable future on our planet.

An Indigenous Framework to Guide Research & Restoration in Fire-adapted Landscapes

Worldwide, Indigenous peoples are leading the revitalization of their/our cultures through the restoration of ecosystems in which they are embedded, including in response to increasing “megafires.” Yet, despite growing recognition that just and effective conservation is only possible through partnerships with, or led by, Indigenous peoples, decolonizing approaches to restoration have received insufficient attention. Further, reconciliation will be incomplete without Indigenous-led restoration of Indigenous lands, knowledges, and cultures. In this webinar, we will introduce the concept of “walking on two legs” to guide restoration scientists and practitioners in advancing the interconnected processes of Indigenous-led restoration and reconciliation in Indigenous territories. As an action-oriented framework articulated by Secwépemc Elder Ronald E. Ignace, “walking on two legs” seeks to bring Indigenous knowledges into balance with western scientific knowledge in service of upholding an Indigenous stewardship ethic that is embedded in Indigenous ways of relating to land and embodies principles of respect, reciprocity, and responsibility. Grounding our discussion in the context of fire-adapted ecosystems of western Canada and unceded and traditional Secwépemc territory, Secwepemcúl̓ecw, we will share two case studies of collaborative and Indigenous-led research and restoration to demonstrate how “walking on two legs” provides a pathway to uphold respectful relationships with Indigenous peoples, knowledges, and territories through Indigenous-led restoration.