How to Monitor Restoration

What are the essential steps for effective monitoring?

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to monitoring restoration. Monitoring approaches need to be adapted to the size of the area to be monitored (e.g., a plot of a few hectares vs. an entire country) and the goals of the activity, which can be highly variable from case to case. Despite this variability, there are a few essential steps that are necessary for effective monitoring.

This guide defines a restoration monitoring system as: A system that allows decision-makers and practitioners to measure positive or negative changes in an area of interest to gauge the success of restoration activities against specific goals in a manner that is repeated and consistent over time.

The five essential steps for effective restoration monitoring are:

Define the area of interest
The geographic boundary of the area being monitored is clearly delineated to ensure spatial accuracy and consistency for measuring progress over time.
Establish a clear and consistent set of indicators
A set of variables and/or metrics are used to measure progress over time and determine the extent to which defined objectives are being met.
Establish a baseline
Baseline data for the chosen indicators is collected prior to interventions to enable comparison to conditions after interventions. Without a baseline, the extent to which the interventions affected change cannot be measured.
Collect sustainable and reproducible input data
To monitor progress over time, data on the chosen indicators must be collected at repeated intervals. To facilitate this, data should be cost-effective, comparable, and consistent across time and space. When possible, data should be validated using a transparent method to ensure the accuracy of the information and its parameters.
Report results
Progress should be reported to decision-makers and other stakeholders in a format that is clear and easy to understand to help them determine the extent to which defined objectives are being met and adapt approaches as needed.

There is currently no single tool that performs all these monitoring steps. The ToolFinder guides users to the tools that best fit their needs to perform each step.

Restoration monitoring is a flexible and iterative process that can be adapted over time to accommodate changing conditions and support the goals of the restoration activity. While the five essential steps are generally sequential (i.e., it’s ideal to define an area of interest, select indicators, and establish baselines for those indicators before collecting repeat data) some flexibility is often required. For example, collecting data and reporting on it are done in cycles, and it can be necessary to include additional indicators (and establish baselines for these indicators) as new conditions arise over time.

The definition and five essential steps for effective restoration monitoring were adapted by the authors from the version published in the Sustainability Index for Landscape Restoration: A tool for monitoring the biophysical and socioeconomic impacts of landscape restoration and refined based on input from restoration monitoring experts, including input collected during a September 2021 workshop of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration Task Force on Monitoring.

How does scale factor into restoration monitoring?

While restoration is typically implemented within defined project sites, the impacts of restoration often go beyond these boundaries providing benefits and services across a wider landscape. For example, trees cultivated along a steep hillside above a river will prevent erosion of soils into that river, thereby improving water quality for people far downstream from the restoration site. When the goal of your restoration monitoring activity is to measure the impacts of restoration on ecosystem services within this broader context, then the approach to monitoring will be different and you will need to adjust your tools accordingly. For this reason, this guide has categorized the monitoring tools into two categories:

  1. tools that more are appropriate for “site” scale monitoring and,
  2. tools that are more appropriate for “landscape” scale monitoring.

Site scale monitoring tools are better equipped for monitoring restoration within defined site boundaries (i.e., an area less than 200 hectares). These types of tools include field-based apps that are used at the project site or tools that can elicit measurements at a very fine resolution.

Landscape scale tools are better equipped for monitoring restoration across a larger geographic area like an entire watershed, district, or country. These tools are more efficient and cost effective for larger areas, while trading off precision and detail. These tools include remote-sensing-based tools that utilize high or medium-resolution imagery or tools that take a sample-based approach.

There are also tools that can be applied at either site or landscape scale.