As biological communities become more and more similar across unmanaged and managed ecosystems globally, research on land management practices that protect and restore biodiversity are of critical importance. YASSP is contributing to biodiversity research through the following projects (IPBES 2019).
Andean Tropical Montane Forest Restoration Synthesis
This project synthesizes evidence from more than 270 restoration studies to better understand the current state of forest restoration research across the tropical montane forests of the Andes Biodiversity Hotspot, the most biodiverse hotspot on Earth. By aggregating data on more than 10,000 plant and animal species involved in restoration studies across the region, the project examines how species utility influences biodiversity conservation priorities and patterns of forest succession. Through a detailed review of montane forest subtypes and their restoration contexts, the study identifies key gaps in existing restoration research and highlights important management and policy considerations for restoring forests in the human-dominated landscapes of the tropical Andes.
Quantifying impacts of policy and practice interventions on biodiversity and climate
We bring together ecologists with researchers in so-called “causal fields”, such as economics, political science and epidemiology, to evaluate the underlying philosophy of project designs and analyses that are best suited to quantifying the impact of natural climate solutions, such as reforestation and climate-smart agriculture, on climate, biodiversity and other outcomes. Whereas other projects tend to focus on technical translation, we explore the history of modern causal science - which was around agricultural experimentation to improve food production - and philosophical mismatches between how ecology versus causal fields ask questions. Our overall goal is to advance the translation of approaches from causal fields into ecology, to improve quantification and resulting quantification in land management practices and policies. Link to the preprint here.
