Where and when to revegetate: a quantitative method for scheduling landscape reconstruction.

Area of Science:

• Ecological restoration
• Conservation planning
• Biodiversity management

Background:

• Large-scale native vegetation restoration is essential globally.
• Prioritizing revegetation sites is complex, especially for multiple species.
• Existing agricultural landscapes require strategic restoration planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine spatial and temporal priorities for revegetation to maximize habitat for 62 bird species.
• To apply a reserve-selection framework to a large-scale restoration problem.
• To account for time lags in habitat development and connectivity.

Main Methods:

• Coupled species-specific habitat models with replanting dynamics.
• Used the Zonation conservation planning tool to rank restoration sites.
• Incorporated time lags for habitat resources like tree hollows.

Main Results:

• Generated a spatially explicit revegetation schedule for a 11000 km2 region.
• Achieved a balanced increase in habitat availability for all target bird species.
• Identified priority areas often near existing vegetation, favoring areas with richer soils and high rainfall.

Conclusions:

• Systematic, large-scale restoration planning is feasible and effective.
• Accounting for habitat development time improves restoration outcomes, especially for sensitive species.
• This approach provides essential guidance for land and natural resource managers.