Ecological Restoration Research Guide

Introduction Literature Search Strategies Restoration Literature Books Journals Magazines & Newsletters Plans and Projects Reference Materials Literature Databases & Bibliographies Handbooks & Manuals Geospatial Resources (Atlases, Maps, GIS, Imagery) Societies & Organizations Internet Subject Guides/Portals/Gateways For personal assistance please contact Robert Sathrum, Natural Resources Librarian

Introduction

This research guide covers 1) sources of literature on ecological restoration and restoration ecology, 2) strategies on searching for this literature, and 3) key reference sources for identifying this literature.

The literature covering the theory and science of restoration ecology and the principles and practices of ecological restoration is scattered in a variety of publications across many disciplines. These publications include scholarly articles, books and project reports. For additional information on scientific literature in general see the Literature of Science research guide.

Literature Search Strategies

General strategies for preparing an efficient and effective literature search are found in the Searching the Scientific Literature research guide. In restoration ecology search topics typically incorporate one or more of the following concepts and their associated keywords:

• Restoration concept--suggested keywords include restoration, reclamation, recovery, repair, mitigation, assessment, monitoring, degradation, damage, destruction, rehabilitation, transformation, or deterioration; or their wildcard variants, e.g. restor* that will retrieve restoration, restore, restored, restoring.
• Habitat or organism concept--e.g., estuarine, wetland, grassland, riparian, plants, wildlife, etc.
• Geographic concept--e.g., Channel Islands, Ca; Yosemite National Park
• Publication Type concept--e.g., project, plan, assessment or case study

Examples of search topics include:

I am interested in finding out basic information on the restoration of wetlands

What research studies exist on the restoration of native vegetation on the Channel Islands, CA

I want to find any restoration project reports on revegetation on the Channel Islands, CA

In addition to keywords that have been suggested above the SER International Primer on Ecological Restoration includes an excellent introduction to keywords used in restoration ecology and ecological restoration.

Restoration Literature

The following section discusses how to find books; journal and magazine articles; and plans and project reports found in the HSU Library, other libraries and on the web. You can use the HSU Library's Interlibrary Loan Service to acquire copies of resources not available in full text format.

• Books
  
  

  Books on restoration ecology range from general to specific. Books that are more general in nature contain information that is synthesized and condensed from specific research studies. They are often excellent works to consult to understand the theory, science and practice of restoration ecology. Books that are more specific in nature focus on a specific topic or restoration project. They may be theses, dissertations, conference proceedings, or project reports.

  Books available locally are indexed in the HSU Library Catalog and books available worldwide are indexed in other library catalogs. The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications is good for indexing federal documents.

  In searching the above catalogs you should use a combination of "official" subjects and "free-text" keywords that have been suggested above under Literature Search Strategies. Following are some of the "official" subjects taken from Library of Congress Subject Headings that are used for indexing restoration ecology books in library catalogs:

  Abandoned Mined Lands Reclamation Animal Introduction Applied Ecology Biological Invasions Coral Reef Restoration Ecological Assessment Ecological Engineering Estuarine Restoration Environmental Monitoring Exotic Plants Environmental Monitoring Fish Habitat Improvement Forest Restoration Grassland Restoration Invasive Plants

  Lake Restoration Nature - effect of human beings on Nonindigenous Pests Plant Reintroduction Reclamation of Land Restoration Ecology Revegetation Riparian Restoration Soil Restoration Stream Restoration Watershed Restoration Wetland Restoration Wildlife Habitat Improvement Wildlife Reintroduction

  
  

  Following is an example of a search on riparian restoration in the Great Basin using the WorldCat database:

  
• Journals
  
  

  Scholarly journals contain articles that focus mainly on specific research that advances the science and practice of restoration ecology. A few articles focus on case studies. Following are some of the key scholarly journals that include research in restoration ecology. In addition there are many other discipline focused journals that include similar research, e.g., Rangeland Ecology & Managment. Use the Journal and Newspaper Finder to find exact holdings, location and format of these journals.

  Aquatic Conservation Biological Conservation Ecological Applications Ecological Engineering Ecological Restoration Ecological Management and Restoration Ecology and Society Environmental Management Forest Ecology and Management Human Ecology Journal of Applied Ecology Journal of Aquatic Ecosystem Stress and Recovery Journal of Chemical Ecology Journal of Environmental Quality

  Land Degradation and Development Landscape Ecology Landscape and Urban Planning Native Plants Journal Natural Areas Journal New Forests Plant Ecology Population Ecology Restoration Ecology Science of the Total Environment Trends in Ecology and Evolution Water Resources Management Wetlands Wetlands Ecology and Management

  To find research articles on a specific topic use the literature databases listed in Articles and Databases: Environmental Science and the bibliographies listed under Literature Databases and Bibliographies below.

  In searching use the suggested "free text" keywords listed under Literature Search Strategy and the "controlled" keywords listed under Books above. Following is an example of a search in the Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management database on the restoration of native plants on the Channel Islands:

  
• Magazines & Newsletters
  

  Conservation Magazine (Society for Conservation Biology)

  Fremontia (California Native Plant Society)

  Park Science (US National Park Service)

  Solutions

• Plans and Projects
  
  

  Finding examples of restoration plans, project and case studies is more difficult. Use the Publication Type keywords suggested in Literature Search Strategy above in the following sources:

  • WorldCat
  • Google / Google Scholar
  • Scirus
  • Science.gov
  • USA.gov
  • Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
  • Sources listed under Literature Datatases and Bibliographies

Reference Materials

• Literature Databases and Bibliographies
  
  

  See Articles and Databases: Environmental Science for major literature databases that index literature in restoration ecolgy. In searching use the suggested "free text" keywords listed under Literature Search Strategy and the "controlled" keywords listed under Books above.

  The "Bibliographies" section of other natural resource research guides include restoration bibliographies focused on their specific area of interest. See in particular the fisheries, forestry, rangeland resource science, and wildlife guides. Listed below are more general restoration ecology bibliographies and databases:

  • Bibliography of Literature Describing Riparian Restoration/Revegetation Projects, Programs, Techniques and Standards in the Western United States (with emphasis on California) (National Trails Training Partnership. Habitat Restoration Group) 1999
  • Center for Invasive Plant Management (CIPM) Restoration Database (Society for Ecological Restoration) Database includes literature and other resources on restoration, particularly relating to invasive species. Search by resource type, source, species or keyword.
  • Coastal Wetland Restoration Bibliography (Yozzo and Titre) 1997. Incluces 435 literature citations on coastal wetland restoration in the United States. Sources include scientific journals, conference proceedings, and technical reports from federal and state agencies. The bibliography is organized by the following wetland habitat types: (a) tidal marshes, (b)mangroves, (c) seagrasses, and (d) miscellaneous.
  • Ecological Restoration Institute Library (Nothern Arizona University Ecological Restoration Institute) Contains over 700 fulltext resources relating to ecological restoration. The library includes articles involving ecological and sociopolitical research, congressional testimony, newsletters, press releases, slides, videos, working papers, and white papers.
  • Global Restoration Network Database (Society for Ecological Restoration International) Includes project case studies, restoration experts and organizations and published literature. Database fields allow searching by ecosystem (biome) type, geographical location and/or source of degradation.
  • Introduction and User’s Guide to Wetland Restoration, Creation, and Enhancement (Interagency Workgroup on Wetland Restoration) 2003. Includes an eight page bibliography of reference resources.
  • Managing for Enhancement of Riparian and Wetland Areas of the Western United States: An Annotated Bibliography (Koehler and Thomas) 2000 (print copy available in Docs A 13.88: RMRS-54) (USFS General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-54) Includes approximately 2000 references on riparian and wetland management.
  • Natural Resource Projects Inventory (UC Davis Information Center for the Environment and California Biodiversity Council) Includes over 8,000 natural resource projects in California on watershed conservation and acquisition; restoration; and noxious weed eradication, assessment, planning, and scientific studies.
  • Rangeland Restoration Bibliography (Montana State University) Bibliography covering ecological and management literature on grasslands and rangelands of the western US. The citations are almost exclusively from recognized journals and cover a wide range of topics related to habitat restoration, revegetation, management, disturbance, and general ecology.
  • Restoration Bibliography (Wild Fish Habitat Initiative) Emphasis is on fish habitat restoration projects within the intermountain west.
  • Riparian Ecosystem Creation and Restoration: a Literature Summary (Manci and Schneller-McDonald) 1989 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Report 89(20))
  • Savanna Restoration Bibliography (Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center) Includes 206 references up through 1995.
  • Stream Restoration Databases and Case Studies: a guide to information resources and their utility in advancing the science and practice of restoration (Jenkinson, Barnas, Braatne, Bernhardt, Palmer, Allan and the National River Restoration Synthesis) 2006 Restoration Ecology 14:177–186 (HSU users only)
  • Stream Restoration (National Agricultural Library Water Quality Information Center) Dynamic links generate bibiographies on stream restoration from the Agricola database and the National Agricultural Library Catalog.
  • Wetland Creation and Restoration: Description and Summary of the Literature (Schneller-McDonald, Ischinger and Auble) 1990 (print copy available in Docs I 49.89/2:90(3)) (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Biological Report 90(3)) Contains 1,100 literature references from the Wetland Creation/Restoration database. Includes plant genus, location, subject and wetland type indexes.
  • Wetland Restoration Bibliography (Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center) Includes over 2000 references up through 2004.
• Handbooks & Manuals
  
  

  The "Handbooks and Manuals" section of other natural resource research guides include restoration handbooks that focus on their specific area of interest. See the fisheries, forestry, rangeland resource science, soil science and wildlife guides. Listed below are more general restoration ecology handbooks:

  • Guidelines for Developing and Managing Ecological Restoration Projects (Clewell, Rieger and Munro) 2005. Prepared by the Society for Ecological Restoration International
  • Handbook of Ecological Restoration (Perrow and Davy) 2002 (QH 541.15 R45 H36 2002) Two volumes
  • Historical Ecology Handbook: a Restorationist's Guide to Reference Ecoystems (Egan and Howell) 2001 (GF 13 H58 2001)
  • Landscape Restoration Handbook (Harker) 1993 (SB439 .L35 1993)
  • Riparian Restoration (Eubanks) 2004 (US Forest Service San Dimas Technology and Development Center)
  • Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration Book series co-sponsored by the Society for Ecological Restoration and Island Press. The HSU Library has these books.
• Geospatial Resources (Atlases, Maps, GIS, Imagery)
  
  

  See Maps and Atlases (HSU Library Geospatial Resources) for maps available in print and on the Internet.

Societies and Organizations

Listed below are a few of the prominent societies and organizations involved in restoration. In addition check the Internet guides below that often maintain more extensive lists of societies and organizations.

Internet Subject Guides/Portals/Gateways

• Global Restoration Network (Society for Ecological Restoration International)
• Restoration Resources (Nothern Arizona University Ecological Restoration Institute)
• River Corridor and Wetland Restoration (US EPA Office of Water)
• SERCAL Related Internet Resources (California Society for Ecological Restoration)