What is Restoration Ecology?

Restoration Ecology addresses the question how to repair various human-disturbed sites. It provides a scientific basis for practical ecological restoration and promotes, among others, the use of spontaneous or reasonably managed succession in the greatest possible extent without using traditional methods of technical reclamation.

Restoration Ecology Group

"Promotion of spontaneous or reasonably
controlled succession in order to restore disturbed sites"

DASS Database of Successional Seres

EDaSS European Database of Successional Seres

DASP Database
of seeded plots

EDaSS - European Database of Successional Seres

The study of succession, the sequential replacement of species following a disturbance, have much to offer to solve contemporary problems concerning biodiversity loss, climate change, invasive species, and ecological restoration. Results of a single particular study can be exploited immediately for local restoration projects, but the systematic comparison of studies across habitats and larger space-temporal scales can enable extrapolation of the results, formulation of new theoretical principles, and inform restoration efforts.

You are kindly invited to contribute your succesional data to the European Database of Successional Series (EDaSS). We aim to compile existing successional data of changes in vegetation following disturbance (mining, abandonment from agriculture, forest clearing, fire, landslides, dunes, emerged bottoms, glacial retreat, etc.). Synthesis at multiple scales and meta-analysis can allow us to identify overall trends in succession and assess restoration success.

The Restoration Ecology Group has already put together a unique dataset from multiple human-disturbed sites across different latitudes in Europe considering all biomes. We are enlarging this successional database and you are welcome to collaborate and share our effort.

Disturbance types:

Mining activities	Abandoned fields
Post-fire succession	Clear cutting
Road verges	Landslides
Glacier retreat	Dunes
Emerged lake-bottoms	Others are welcome

Requirements to include the data:

Vegetation cover data (species) composing successional series of at least 10 years, recording development not later than 5 years after the disturbance.

Only spontaneous succession is considered, without obvious alterations or additional management (e.g. no grazing, no sowing, planting, topsoiling, etc.).

Data from permanent plots or transects (multiple time-points of monitoring) or chronosequences (covering a more or less continuous period), obtained from plots of preferably 5x5 m (other sizes could also be included, e.g. 2x2 - 20x20 m).