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 Series

The study of succession—the sequential replacement of species following disturbance—offers valuable insights for addressing contemporary challenges such as biodiversity loss, climate change, biological invasions, and ecological restoration. While individual case studies can directly inform local restoration projects, systematic comparisons across habitats and broader spatial and temporal scales allow for extrapolation of results, the development of general principles, and stronger guidance for restoration practice.

You are kindly invited to contribute your successional data to the European Database of Successional Series (EDaSS). Our aim is to compile existing data on vegetation change following disturbance, including mining, agricultural abandonment, forest clearing, fire, landslides, dunes, exposed substrates, and glacial retreat. Syntheses across multiple scales and meta-analyses will enable us to identify general successional patterns and to evaluate restoration success more robustly.

The Restoration Ecology Group has already assembled a unique dataset covering a wide range of human-disturbed sites across Europe and across major biomes. We are now expanding this database and would be very pleased to collaborate with colleagues willing to share data and contribute to this joint 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 20-30 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).