Restoration Ecology Lab

The Restoration Ecology Lab focuses on increasing knowledge about ecological processes and their application to the restoration of degraded ecosystems. Specific areas of focus include: effects of abiotic and biotic disturbances on vegetation, the efficacy and ecological impacts of restoration treatments, and the conceptual basis for ecological restoration. These topics are explored at landscape, community, population, and organism scales, through field experiments, retrospective studies, and meta-analyses. We are particularly interested in projects that contribute both to basic knowledge of plant and restoration ecology and provide managers with timely information about the ecological effects of management activities.

Ecological Restoration Lab at the University of Montana

 

Recent news

Katya Brown, Eugene Byron, and Chris Hurd, undergraduates in the Ecosystem Science and Restoration Program in the College of Forestry received Franke Sustainability Fellowships to work with Cara Nelson to research reference models for Araucaria forests in Conguillio National Park in Chile.

Cara Nelson received a Fulbright Specialist Award for forest restoration research and education at the University of Concepcion (Chile) from May through July 2023.

Enzo Martelli presented results of his research on the efficacy and effects of restoration treatments in whitebark pine in the January 2023 session of the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation Webinar Series

Learn about Cara Nelson’s research on seedbanks (Science and video) and seed supply chains (Restoration Ecology) for ecosystem restoration.

Cara Nelson is Chair of the Ecosystem Restoration Thematic Group of IUCN’s Commission on Ecosystem Management, which hosts a monthly webinar series, Global Initiatives in the Science and Practice of Ecosystem Restoration (the 3rd Friday of the month). Link to RegisterSeries YouTube Playlist.

Cara Nelson led a UN effort to develop principles for ecosystem restoration. The principles were released at the IUCN World Conservation Congress on September 7, 2021.