Resource Database

A decade of direct seeding for forest restoration in the Brazilian Amazon, Cerrado, and Atlantic biomes

South Amazon forests have been highly deforested since the 1970’s. The Y Ikatu Xingu watershed campaign direct seeded 5 000 ha of forests from 2006 up to 2018. Direct seeding is considered a feasible, inexpensive, and effective method for ecological restoration with advantages that facilitate large-scale use, such as mechanized operations. Nevertheless, little is known about the successional trajectory of tropical forests restored through direct seeding. We sampled 72 direct seeded sites (1-10-y old), three seedling planted sites, and six natural regeneration sites, along a latitudinal gradient of 600 km in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Sites began dominated by herbs and shrubs (green manure, short cycle leguminous), followed by 1 to 5 light-demanding tree species, while slow-growing species were present in the understory. After four years, direct-seeded sites formed a multi-layered canopy and were starting to be colonized by non-planted species. We sampled 90 species from the 152 seeded plus 68 colonizer species. Seeded communities present more orthodox, wind-dispersed seeds than reference forests. However, animal-dispersed and recalcitrant seed traits are found in colonizers. Canopy frequently closed (80%), forming a tall secondary forest with high height-to-diameter ratio trees that do not bifurcate in the first 3 years. Broadcast seeding sites had higher seedling and sapling densities than sites that received other restoration methods. In conclusion, direct seeding was a successful method for tropical forest restoration, promoting a structure that was more like resilient natural regeneration sites than to non-resilient natural regeneration sites and seedling planting sites.

Rate of forest recovery after fire exclusion on anthropogenic savannas in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Deforestation in the tropics is often followed by the creation of anthropogenic savannas used for animal husbandry. By discontinuing burning regimes, forests may recolonize the savanna and carbon stocksmay recover. However, little is known about the success and speed of tropical forest recovery, while such information is vital for a better quantification of efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) as well as supporting Forest LandscapeRestoration (FLR) practices. Therefore, we designed a forest regeneration experiment within a savanna patch in the Mayombe hills(Democratic Republic of Congo), by discontinuing the annual burning regime in an 88 ha exclosure since 2005. 101 permanent inventory plots (40.4 ha) were installed in 2010 and remeasured in 2014. Tree species were classified as savanna or forest specialists. We estimate a forest specialist encroachment rate of 9 stems ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ and a savanna specialist disappearance rate of 16 stems ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Average diameter of forest specialists did not change due to an increasing influx of recruits, while average diameter of savanna trees increased due to decreasing recruitment. Carbon stored by forest specialists increased from 3.12 to 5.60 Mg C ha⁻¹, suggesting a forest carbon recovery rate of 0.62 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Using the average carbon stock of 19 nearby mature rainforestplots as a reference, we estimate a total forest carbon recovery time of at least 150 years. The Manzonzi exclosure may potentially become an important reference experiment to quantify REDD+ schemes in Central Africa. Furthermore, this natural regeneration experiment demonstrates how carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation can go hand-in-hand. However, more censuses are needed to better quantify the long-term carbon recovery trajectory within the protected area.

Seed networks for upscaling native seed supply in Brazil

Brazil has committed to restore 12 million hectares of degraded lands by 2030, however, there is a shortage of native seed supply. In this research, we assess the outcomes of six Brazilian seed networks in the Amazon, Cerrado, and Atlantic Forest Biomes, and estimate the plant material demanded to achieve the national restoration goal. Seed networks have operated through non-governmental and governmental organisations that link local communities who have produced seeds with restoration markets. Overall, these initiatives have produced 386 tonnes of seeds and engaged 1,046 collectors over the last 10 years. Each collector produced on average 45.5 kg of seed per year, receiving approximately US$270 yearly as cash income, regardless of the year, network or region. We also estimated – based on 2,152 germination tests of 122 species – a germination rate of 39.9 ± 7.9%. Running a Markov Chain Monte Carlo with 10,000 rounds we found a minimum germination rate of 17.75% for the mix of 122 species. Our finds show implementing Brazil’s targets will require from 18,876 to 88,861 tonnes of seeds, and between 9,796 and 14,994 million seedlings depending on the restoration methods adopted. Although there are caveats in these estimates because of lack of knowledge about seed ecology and the complex field interactions and responses, restoration clearly requires a broader investment compared with the current structure and technology available. Although the community-based model is a potential productive arrangement, for spreading initiatives it is essential to overcome the limitations in knowledge and uncertain policies and markets.

Overcoming limiting factors to seedling establishment: Physiological, morphological, spatial, and temporal tactics

Using nursery-produced seedlings for restoration helps achieve on-site objectives by increasing the trajectory of ecosystem services compared with natural regeneration. This function, however, is only possible with quality seedlings that are matched to the objectives with the appropriate morphology, physiology, and genetics. Within the nursery culture environment, it can be possible to express seedling traits that favor establishment on outplanting sites that have a myriad of limiting factors such as depleted soil moisture and competing vegetation. Simple morphological traits that include longer root systems or greater height are logical targets in such instances. One critical aspect to quality seedling attributes that is less understood, however, is how a seedling functions—its physiology. In a sense, morphological attributes are just proxies for physiological functioning. But how do you, or how can you, condition a seedling to “function” for a specific purpose? Nursery culture has the opportunity to lay the foundational building blocks—i.e. quality—on which seedlings rely on for establishment and growth. It stands to reason, that seedling physiological conditioning can offer gains in potentially limiting outplanting conditions. Unfortunately, the direct links from nursery culture to physiology on the outplanting site are not fully realized. Our research explores the intersection of building target seedlings by varying nursery culture to match outplanting conditions with a better understanding of morpho-physiological functioning.

The Priority Site Determination: A Rapid & Quantitative Floristic Biomonitoring Protocol

Often, ecological restoration is conducted without any subsequent biomonitoring. The absence of monitoring prohibits the evaluation of restoration benchmarks, thus precluding any objective assessment of restoration protocols. The reasons cited for not monitoring restoration projects are many, including insufficient planning, funds, time and/or trained staff to conduct these field assessments. Further complicating the issue are decisions to carry out qualitative v. quantitative biomonitoring protocols. While it might seem qualitative approaches obviate most, if not all biomonitoring impediments relating to time, training and budgets; qualitative data often fail to answer even the most simplistic of research questions. Thus, quantitative data should be gathered where and whenever possible, for they provide a vastly more powerful means to test any variety of hypotheses.

The elements of planning, funding, time, training and quantification were identified as key criteria in the development of a unique and rapid vegetative biomonitoring tool for the evaluation of riparian restoration benchmarks. While the initial season of biomonitoring was both labor intensive and costly, these efforts bore the desired fruit: i.e., the Priority Site Determination (PSD). Exhaustive analyses of these data revealed that it was appropriate to monitor just 13, one-acre sites for the quantification of biodiversity, bio-invasion, ecologically relevant communities, and species of interest, for a riparian ecosystem stretching for hundreds of miles and across two western United States. In the end, the procurement of a highly quantitative set of data from a select group of study sites far outweighed the alternative of gathering qualitative data from a much larger pool of study sites. The PSD not only fulfilled contractual obligations to generate a biomonitoring protocol as promised, but it is a fluid system enabling investigators to apply this monitoring system in diverse contexts, and in a timely and efficient manner.

Maximizing seedling outplanting success with organic soil amendments

Soil organic matter (SOM) is critical for ensuring both forest soil and tree health. Although soil organic matter represents only 5% of the soil, it is critical for cation exchange capacity, water and nutrient retention, and overall site productivity.  However, increased populations and a changing climate have contributed to the loss or degradation of SOM. It is critical to understand how soil texture and the type of organic amendment may interact to alter soil processes before planting for site restoration.  Restoring organic carbon can help reverse soil productivity declines and improve plant establishment and growth. Application of organic matter to soils can supply needed plant nutrients and can improve water holding capacity to make soils more resilient to drought or flooding. Biosolids or manure additions rapidly release nutrients and can enhance plant growth in the short-term. Biochar additions, while low in nutrients, offer a stable source of soil carbon and can increase water and nutrient holding capacity. Sawdust or wood chips is another option for amending forest sites, but it is often surface applied and can decompose quickly. Organic amendments are more effective at increasing understory plant production rather than tree seedling or older tree growth, but the alteration of water holding capacity may reduce the risk of insect or disease attack.

Why nurseries are successful and why nurseries fail

The need for ecosystem restoration continues to increase, and worldwide, many ambitious initiatives, ranging in scope from local to global, are in place to contribute in response to this need. Reaching these restoration goals will require implementing a broad palette of techniques, spanning from passive to active restoration. Actively outplanting seedlings can be an important aspect of restoration, especially on the more disturbed sites. Ensuring that nurseries produce the highest-quality plant materials and that those plants become established in the field is a paramount concern. Unfortunately, all too often nurseries fail in their ability to deliver quality plants in a timely manner. The reasons for failure are numerous, but successful nurseries often share common traits, including a passion for growing plants, an understanding of the nursery’s role in the local community, an eagerness to communicate with the public as well as clients, and a management philosophy that encourages and nurtures a learning environment toward increasing plant production expertise. In particular, successful nurseries engage with their clients using the tenets of the Target Plant Concept, especially the realized need for client‒nursery sharing of expectations and results that are continually reassessed and modified based on field results. Working together, clients and nurseries are most successful when biological and societal needs are assessed and satisfied.

Science framework for conservation and restoration of the sagebrush biome: Linking the Department of the Interior’s Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy to long-term strategic conservation actions. Part 2. Management applications

The Science Framework is intended to link the Department of the Interior’s Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy with long-term strategic conservation and restoration actions in the sagebrush biome. The focus is on sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems and sagebrush dependent species with an emphasis on Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). Part 1 of the Science Framework, published in 2017, provides the scientific information and decision-support tools for prioritizing areas for management and determining effective management strategies across the sagebrush biome. Part 2, this document, provides the management considerations for applying the information and tools in Part 1. Part 2 is intended to facilitate implementation of resource management priorities and use of management strategies that increase ecosystem resilience to disturbance and resistance to nonnative invasive annual grasses. The target audience of Part 2 is field managers, resource specialists, and regional and national-level managers. The topics addressed in this volume include adaptive management and monitoring, climate adaptation, wildfire and vegetation management, nonnative invasive plant management, application of National Seed Strategy concepts, livestock grazing management, wild horse and burro considerations, and integration and tradeoffs. Geospatial data, maps, and models for the Science Framework are provided through the U.S. Geological Survey’s ScienceBase database and Bureau of Land Management’s Landscape Approach Data Portal. The Science Framework is intended to be adaptive and will be updated as additional data become available on other values and species at risk. It is anticipated that the Science Framework will be widely used to: (1) inform emerging strategies to conserve sagebrush ecosystems, sagebrush dependent species, and human uses of the sagebrush system; and (2) assist managers in prioritizing and planning on-the-ground restoration and mitigation actions across the sagebrush biome.

The critical importance of nurseries for meeting ecosystem restoration goals

Global leaders, through the Bonn Challenge, the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and other programs, have pledged to restore millions of hectares in the near future. To achieve these unprecedented and ambitious goals, millions of established plants are required. Natural regeneration and direct seeding may partially achieve that need, but have limited efficacy in areas with environmental stresses, animal damage, and seed scarcity. Thus, high-quality, nursery-grown seedlings can be critical for providing plant material needed to create healthy, functional, and resilient ecosystems. Well-managed plant nurseries also serve as a hub of local plant expertise, help ensure genetically appropriate plants are used for specific outplanting sites and support sustainable livelihoods in rural communities. In spite of their integral role, however, nurseries often receive inadequate training, resources, or long-term support. Production of insufficient plant quantities or poor-quality plants have considerable economic and environmental consequences and will result in unsuccessful planting programs. To succeed, nurseries need integrated and sustained support from a range of actively engaged stakeholders including communities, policymakers, and land managers to insure they are a priority investment to restore thriving landscapes worldwide.

International Principles and Standards for Restoration. Second Edition. A Brief Introduction to Key Concepts and Tools

Plant Biology Special Issue: Natural Capital from Native Seeds

The papers in this Special Issue are broadly clustered around the following topics: technical advances, seed quality for restoration, methods to improve seed germination in dormant seed lots, demands imposed by changing environmental conditions, and the role of national policies in the use of native seed.

Priority Effects in Restoration: Benefits, Costs, Caveats, and Questions

Using naturally occurring climate resilient corals to construct bleaching-resistant nurseries

Direct seeding for ecological restoration in Brazil – roadmap process and the Strategic Action Plan

The direct seeding technique is an option for restoration projects that is significantly cheaper, more efficient, and reaches higher impact compared to planting seedlings, contributing to large scale restoration. Yet its adoption in Brazil is still small, due mainly to the lack of knowledge of the technique itself among researchers and practitioners. Other barriers that can discourage or prevent direct seeding adoption are the supply of seeds, diversity of implementation activities for different vegetation and physical conditions, and regulatory barriers, among others. In this context, the Seed Pathway Initiative was developed to leverage direct seeding adoption in Brazil, enabling conditions for its large-scale use through a multi-stakeholder roadmap that resulted in an Action Plan to increasing direct seeding in restoration projects. Government, researchers, NGOs, service providers, seed networks, and other relevant stakeholders contributed for a diagnostic, analysis and prioritized actions, also considering regional particularities. The Action Plan contains strategies and actions designed for each focal region of the initiative (São Paulo and Mato Grosso states), as well as those of national scope and for other specific regions, important in the country’s environmental context. The Action Plan covers a 5-year horizon, setting out the strategy for the entire country with lessons for other countries and considering the activities with the greatest impact on the technique adoption. Some of the actions are technical demonstration units for capacity purposes, outreach activities (publications of booklets and projects database), professionalization of seed networks, changes of specific regulations, and establishment of public-private partnerships.

What Do We Know & What Do We Still Need to Know to Use Priority Effects in Ecological Restoration?

Adapting land restoration to a changing climate: Embracing the knowns and unknowns

UNCCD Knowledge Hub

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is a key global authority on scientific and technical knowledge in the areas of desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD), and on the negative effects of DLDD on productive land and relevant ecosystems. Through its Knowledge Hub, the UNCCD provides a framework for organizing scientific and technical information around these topics as well as access to best practices relevant to Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) and Sustainable Land Management (SLM).

Relevance for the Short Term Action Plan for Ecosystem Restoration:
Reports, such as Achieving Land Degradation Neutrality at the Country Level, outline the steps needed to assess land degradation (A1) and identify the key drivers of degradation (A6). The SLM section also includes guidance and best practices relevant to assessing sustainable productive practices in activity A6. The Country Information section includes National commitments to LDN, in line with activities A5 and B6, and National Action Programmes, which may add additional information. The Global Land Outlook (GLO) Regional Reports discuss stakeholder engagement (A3), legal, policy and financial frameworks (B1), land tenure (B2), and safeguarding measures for indigenous peoples and local communities (B5), among other topics relevant to restoration.

Native woodland restoration to counteract carbon land emission in Iceland

Restoration has become one of the key measures to mitigate climate change. With increasing emphases not only on carbon sequestration but also carbon emission from degraded land, calls for better strategies and prioritisation are critical. Iceland with its volcanic soil (Andosol) is an example of large-scale ecosystems conversion following settlement in the 9th century that resulted in approximately 50% of the island now classified as having considerable to severe erosion. To date attempts have been made to revegetate and restore ecosystems on this badly degraded land. However, improved understanding of the degradation processes highlights the need to focus restoration activities on degraded lands that are potential carbon sources, but which have not yet crossed a threshold leading to severe soil erosion. Downy birch (Betula pubescens) is the only native woodland forming species in Iceland, and its distribution has declined from estimated 20-30% of the country at settlement to 1.5% at present. Recent examples show a rapid spread of birch where conditions are favourable, even into nutrient-poor barren landscapes. Thus, it is imperative to identify areas in which minimum interventions may initiate this process. The aim of this study is to utilise existing data with known geographic locations on birch distribution and land classes to analyse the potential for birch woodland restoration with minimum interventions. We will use Iceland as an example of how prioritisation and natural regeneration together with limited input can simultaneously combine the three UN conventions on climate change (UNFCCC), biological diversity (CBD) and desertification (UNCCD).

Prioritization Tools: A Case for the Management Unit Control Plan tool

Is the restoration of thicket in the Albany Thicket Biome with woody species really not feasible?

It has been reported that the restoration of semi-arid thicket with woody species is not ecologically feasible in South Africa. Transformed and degraded semi-arid thicket exhibits exceedingly poor resilience with normal succession precipitating low species diversity dominated by grasses and ephemerals. The transformed and degraded mesic-thicket types have only slightly improved resilience but also limited species richness with many guilds missing – despite many decades without the drivers of degradation being present. The restoration of thicket has largely been focused on the en masse planting of one species (Portulacaria afra) with the assumption that, once established, it will facilitate the natural return of the other species, specifically the missing woody plant guild.  A lack of understanding regarding the ecophysiology of key woody species, as well as the nuances of the microclimate needed for succession has limited restoration success in the thicket. This research seeks to take a systems approach to understanding the multi-scale dynamics for the restoration of mesic-thickets, then apply the wisdom gained from this process to tackling the major challenge of effective restoration of degraded thicket areas with woody species.  The results from fifteen common woody species found in mesic thickets indicates that drought-sensitivity, germination success, seedling growth rate, herbivory, nurse-planting, tree-shelters, ponding, and other treatments have significant species-specific effects. The intimate understanding of these relationships correlated spatially and temporally with the major thresholds that limit the germination, establishment, survival, growth rate, and canopy recruitment – will enable the successful restoration of thicket with woody species.

The Koup, the gold standard in community base natural resource management in Western Cape, South Africa

The implications of a “project” mindset on ecological restoration at the community level – Mpophomeni township as a case study

The Mpophomeni enviro-champs are lauded as a best practice model for a community-based approach to catchment management and restoration. Vital work to help “Save Midmar Dam” has been undertaken by a handful of community members for several years, and they were recently mentioned in the Presidential Jobs Summit Framework Agreement. However, when one scratches under the surface, the tale of the Enviro-champs and their essential work is one of two steps forward, and one step back. Funding has been from several sources, over various time frames, with disparate objectives, resulting in loss of momentum, and at times disillusionment. The Mpophomeni Enviro-champs are just one example of how short-term funding cycles impact negatively on effective, sustainable ecological restoration at a community level. The approach to community-based ecological restoration needs to shift to long-term programming that is built into the “operations” of responsible authorities. The business case for this approach is clear, with the annual operating cost of maintaining community teams much lower than the cost of refurbishment, rehabilitation and/or replacement due to the lack of daily maintenance of our ecosystems. The benefit to the natural environment is only one of the impacts; the social impact within the broader community being equally important. With a long-term funding mindset, ecological restoration moves from the simple tasks of clearing, cleaning, and monitoring, to broader education and social change of an entire community and its relationship to the natural environment. Surely this should be our goal.

Undervalued and Overlooked: Naturally Regenerated Vegetation in Agroecological Landscapes

Restoring habitat and hope: The Sagebrush in Prisons Project

The Sagebrush in Prisons Project, a collaborative effort between the US Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management, Institute for Applied Ecology, and state Departments of Correction engages multiple prisons across seven western states (CA, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, UT) in the United States. Working with prison systems to engage inmates in habitat conservation and ecological science is an innovative approach to increase our ability to reestablish habitat and at-risk species, while simultaneously providing people in custody with opportunities for reciprocal restoration, vocational education, therapeutic activities, safer conditions, and lower costs of imprisonment. Adults in custody contribute to the conservation of Greater Sage-Grouse and its habitat, the Sagebrush Sea, by growing sagebrush plants in prison-run native plant nurseries. This distributed network of nurseries produces locally sourced sagebrush seedlings for habitat restoration on public lands, primarily in response to wildfires in priority habitat for the grouse. The quality of these sagebrush seedlings is exceptional, and first year survival is very high (>80%). Since 2014, the program has engaged over 3,500 adult and youth inmates who grew and planted over 1.1 million sagebrush seedlings. Adults in custody also receive training in horticulture and nursery production, lectures in science and conservation, and certificates for their accomplishments. Including incarcerated people in conservation and science taps into the positive potential of over 2 million inmates at over 4,000 prisons and jails in the United States and creates new partnerships for educating an underserved community and supporting large scale ecological restoration and research. 

Rural Community Socio-ecological Benefits in the Upper Pongola Catchment

IUCN World Database on Key Biodiversity Areas

The World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas hosts data on Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs). This database can support strategic decisions on protected areas by governments or civil society towards achieving Aichi Biodiversity Targets. It also guides the identification of sites under international conventions and in the setting of private sector policies and standards. The database is managed by the KBA Partnership, which comprises 13 partners and is served by the KBA secretariat hosted jointly by BirdLife International and IUCN.

Relevance for the Short Term Action Plan for Ecosystem Restoration:
The planning of restoration interventions and their location can also draw on assessments of areas of global importance for biodiversity such as IUCN Key Biodiversity Areas. Map data can be used in combination with other data for GIS analysis to identify and prioritize areas for restoration (A2).

DroneSeed: Using UAVs to conduct surveys, herbicide applications, and aerial seed deployment in forests and rangelands

DroneSeed is a Seattle-based startup that is developing software, hardware, and infrastructure for operational capacity of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to conduct surveying, herbicide application, and aerial seed deployment in forests and rangelands. Their mission is to provide more efficient and rapidly scalable survey and revegetation services for myriad ecosystem management needs. They are currently paid per acre to survey, mitigate invasive species with herbicides, and plant (enabled seed) for the largest timber companies in the US. They are also partnered with The Nature Conservancy and have begun seed-based rangeland restoration work in Oregon and post-fire forest restoration work in other locations in the American West. The presentation will provide an overview of the company’s technology, review projects and milestones, and outline the research and development supporting their data-driven approach. Wildfire and other large-scale ecosystem disturbances are increasing in frequency and severity. Constraints to post-disturbance revegetation include accessibility to remote areas, difficulty distributing seed precisely at scale, invasive species mitigation, and associated costs. DroneSeed is developing a multi-pronged approach to revegetation using UAVs that is applicable to large-scale post-disturbance revegetation and native plant management at an effective cost. Their supervised classification platform is the basis for a machine learning software being developed for seed placement (i.e. micrositing) for optimizing germination and survival. DroneSeed is increasing operational capacity using swarm technology, enabling multiple heavy lift aircraft to move material payloads across restoration areas with increased precision. The company is precedent setting in the regulatory environment allowing for this work.

Stewardship: taking care of something, e.g. valuable objects

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List provides regularly updated assessments of conservation status of many species as well as geographic range maps for each of them. It provides the  world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species.

Relevance for the Short Term Action Plan for Ecosystem Restoration:
Planning of restoration interventions and their location can draw on spatially explicit information on areas of importance for threatened species, such as those provided here. Range maps can be downloaded for further GIS analysis, and used to prioritize essential areas for restoration based, in line with activity A2.

Secondary invasion after clearing invasive Acacia saligna in the South African fynbos

It is often assumed that clearing invasive alien species will lead to the dissipation of their negative impacts and recovery of native biodiversity. However, this is often not the case because clearing of primary invasive alien species can lead to secondary invasion by non-target species. We investigated the effects of vegetation type and application of fire during management of biomass after clearing invasive acacias on secondary invasion in the South African fynbos. Furthermore, we determined how these effects change with years after clearing. We sampled vegetation in lowland and mountain fynbos cleared of Acacia saligna using the “fell, stack and burn” method. During burning of the stacked slash, the area at the centre of the stack experiences a high severity fire while the area at the edge experiences a low severity fire. After fire, burn scars remain in place of the stacked slash. We sampled in and outside of 80 burn scars over three years after clearing. We identified 32 secondary invader species. Secondary invader cover was lower where there were no fires compared to where there were high severity fires (27%) and low severity fires (30%). Three years after clearing, secondary invader richness and cover remained similar to or higher than in the first year, while secondary invader richness was similar between lowland and mountain fynbos. We conclude that practicing restoration ecologists have to manage these species to ensure successful restoration of native biodiversity.