Land restoration – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

Solar panels shade grassland at Jack’s Solar Garden, an agrovoltaic farm in Longmont, Colo. Matthew Sturchio

March 12, 2024

Solar power occupies a lot of space – here’s how to make it more ecologically beneficial to the land it sits on

Matthew Sturchio, Colorado State University

Solar development isn’t always good for the land, but pairing it with agriculture can produce multiple benefits.

December 17, 2023

Private landholders control 60% of the Australian continent – so let’s get them involved in nature protection

Benjamin J. Richardson, University of Tasmania; Afshin Akhtar-Khavari, Queensland University of Technology; James Fitzsimons, Deakin University; Phillipa C. McCormack, University of Adelaide, and Sarah Brugler, University of Tasmania

Legally binding deals struck with landholders can help protect and restore the environment over the long term.

April 27, 2023

Restoring forests often falls to landholders. Here’s how to do it cheaply and well

Penny van Oosterzee, James Cook University and Noel D. Preece, James Cook University

Australia has half as much forest as it did before colonisation. Restoring it can be hugely expensive. But new approaches can help

Farmland razed by Eritrean soldiers at a village in Ahferom district, Central zone, Tigray. Abrha Brhan Gebre/with permission

April 2, 2023

The war on Tigray wiped out decades of environmental progress: how to start again

Aster Gebrekirstos, Center for International Forestry Research – World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) and Emiru Birhane, Mekelle University

Typically, humanitarian concerns are prioritised following a war. But the environment must also get attention so that societies can produce food and goods to rebuild their lives.

February 7, 2023

‘We need to restore the land’: as coal mines close, here’s a community blueprint to sustain the Hunter Valley

Kimberley Crofts, University of Technology Sydney and Liam Phelan, University of Newcastle

The people of the Hunter have a clear picture of the future they want. But to unlock the region’s future opportunities, we must first clean up the costly legacy of its coal-mining past.

Beavers dramatically change a landscape by building dams that create ponds of still water. Jerzy Strzelecki/Wikimedia Commons

January 26, 2023

Beavers and oysters are helping restore lost ecosystems with their engineering skills – podcast

Daniel Merino, The Conversation and Nehal El-Hadi, The Conversation

Restoring entire ecosystems is a difficult and expensive process. Thankfully, certain species, called ecosystem engineers, can make restoration easier. Gaining social and political support is critical too.

Family photo in the Borden reserve, published with the family’s permission. Alison Lullfitz

October 20, 2022

‘We can write novels of memories made here’: Elder-led land restoration is about rebuilding love

Alison Lullfitz, The University of Western Australia; Eliza Woods, Indigenous Knowledge; Elsie Penny, Indigenous Knowledge; Eugene Eades, Indigenous Knowledge, and Jeremy Lacco, Indigenous Knowledge

For descendants of those stolen, restoring a special family place enables them to reconnect to the past, to people and identity.

The Earth viewed from the Apollo 8 lunar mission on Dec. 24, 1968. NASA

April 18, 2022

Is it possible to heal the damage we have already done to the Earth?

Scott Denning, Colorado State University

The Earth is a resilient planet, but people are altering it in ways that may take centuries to reverse.

Zareth Long undertaking controlled burn in Birriliburu Indigenous Protected Area, WA. Annette Ruzicka, Bush Heritage Australia

November 24, 2021

5 big ideas: how Australia can tackle climate change while restoring nature, culture and communities

Rachel Morgain, The University of Melbourne; Brendan Wintle, The University of Melbourne; Judy Bush, The University of Melbourne; Michael-Shawn Fletcher, The University of Melbourne, and Thami Croeser, RMIT University

Why rely on unproven technologies when we can store carbon and cut emissions through Country-based and nature-based solutions?

October 8, 2021

Australia could ‘green’ its degraded landscapes for just 6% of what we spend on defence

Bonnie Mappin, The University of Queensland; James Watson, The University of Queensland, and Lesley Hughes, Macquarie University

By spending $2 billion each year for about 30 years, we could restore much of Australia’s severely denuded landscapes.

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