Science-based restoration
Our science at a glance
Projects supported by the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme are designed not only to deliver change, but to demonstrate these changes and improve future practice. Science is part of every step of their journey, from drawing on existing knowledge to generating new evidence through monitoring and experimental trials.
Advancing Restoration Knowledge grants awarded
restoration trials conducted across our projects
indicators measured across the Programme
peer-reviewed papers published across our projects
Monitoring: Tracking the impact of restoration
Without data, it’s hard to prove what restoration achieves. That’s why our projects collect data from day one.
Every funded project designs a bespoke set of indicators to track ecological, social, and economic change. These help assess progress over time, guide adaptive management, and demonstrate impact.
Restoration Trials: Learning while doing
Restoration is still a relatively new field, and many approaches have not yet been tested. That’s why our restoration projects include trials of specific actions to understand how they work on the ground. Each trial tests the effectiveness of a restoration approach in real conditions, generating insights that support local decision-making and contribute to broader learning.
Which deadwood creation method creates the best habitat for rare beetle communities: ring-barking, winching, or felling?
What is the effect of natural grazing on plant diversity, vegetation structure and fire risk in fire-prone montado scrub habitat?
Read the paper here.
What is the effect of educational campaigns on attitudes to reintroduced species (bison and beavers)?
Closing the gaps that hold restoration back
We don’t just fund action, we fund answers. We back work that tests ideas, builds knowledge, and moves practice forward.
Short projects funded through our Advancing Restoration Knowledge grants are working to fill key gaps in restoration science and practice. These include exploring how acoustic data can be used to monitor restoration progress at a landscape scale, integrating wild plant trade into the restoration of ecosystems, and examining the role of private finance in supporting large-scale restoration.
Acoustic Monitoring: Automated Identification
Building Partnerships
Drivers of Wildfire
Evidence in, evidence out
Evidence shapes how we work, and how others can too. From field data to analysis, synthesis and dissemination, we contribute to the wider knowledge base for restoration.
The Programme is recognised by Conservation Evidence as an Evidence Champion, with a commitment to using and contributing to scientific evidence.
The Monitoring Hub highlights how projects measure progress—what’s changing, how it’s tracked, and what it means.
The Resources page hosts published research, case studies, guidance, and toolkits produced across the Programme.
Visit the Resources page.
A safe haven for the future: restoring Romania’s Carpathian Mountains
First satellite-tagged angel shark marks milestone for Lemnos restoration project
Songs of the Watershed: Katja Malinen on music, memory and restoration
The return of the wild in Portugal’s Greater Côa Valley
Can Europe produce enough native oysters for restoration?
