Conservation Ecology and Environmental Sciences Group

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Ecological restoration

What is ecological restoration?

The term “ecological restoration” encompasses the restoration, creation or rehabilitation of species populations, communities of species or whole ecosystems.

Why study ecological restoration?

Habitat loss and fragmentation is currently the most important cause of global biodiversity loss. The ability to mitigate some of this loss by restoring populations, communities and ecological systems is a vital component of conservation biology. Important research questions include what are the key ecological interactions required for successful ecosystem assembly and what is the effect of geographical scale and landscape processes in ecological restoration.

Research activities

Previous restoration initiatives in which staff have been involved include the Carrifran Wildwood Project, the BIOCORES project and the Swanworth Quarry ecological restoration project.

• ReForLan
• BIOCORES project
• Hartland heathland restoration project, Dorset
• Carrymoor grassland restoration project, Somerset
• Green winged orchid population translocation and restoration at Alderney Water Works, Dorset
• Testing forest habitat networks in the Isle of Wight
• Utilisation of off-river habitats by lowland-river fishes (NERC funded)
• Could the apron (Zingel Asper) become the Dodo of the 21st century?

Publications

Green, I., Stockdale, J., Tibbett, M. & Diaz, A. (2007). Heathland restoration on former agricultural land: effects of artificial acidification on the availability and uptake of toxic metal cations. Water Air and Soil Pollution. 178 (1-4), 287-295.

Newton, A.C. (Ed.) (2007). Biodiversity Loss and Conservation in Fragmented Forest Landscapes. Tropical montane and south temperate rain forests in Latin America. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, Oxford, UK.

Diaz, A., Green, I.D., Benvenuto, M. & Tibbett, M. ( 2006). Are ericoid mycorrhizas a factor in the success of Calluna vulgaris heathland restoration? Restoration Ecology, 14 (2), 187-195.

Diaz, A., Green, I., Smith, B. & Carrington, L. (2006). Ecological Drivers in Mine Site Rehabilitation. Proceedings from the First International Seminar on Mine Closure. University of Western Australia.

Smith, B., Daniels, R., Winder, L. & Diaz, A. (2005). The effect of provenance on the establishment and performance of Lotus corniculatus in a restoration environment. Biological Conservation, 125: 37-46.
Humphrey J., Newton A., Latham J., Gray H., Kirby K., Poulson E. and Quine C. (eds.) (2003). The restoration of wooded landscapes. Forestry Commission, Edinburgh. 158 pp.

Tibbett, M & Diaz, A., (2005). Are sulphurous soil amendments (SO, Fe(II)SO4, FE(III)SO4) an effective tool in the restoration of heathland and acid grassland after four decades of rock phosphate fertilization? Restoration Ecology 13 (1) 83-91.

Newton, A. C., Stirling M and Crowell M (2001) Current approaches to native woodland restoration in Scotland. Botanical Journal of Scotland 53(2), 169-196.

Contact email address

For further information, contact Dr Anita Diaz

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