Experimental plantings

Australia has a growing network of restoration practitioners with substantial practical knowledge and experience. At the same time, increasing demand for restoration creates an opportunity to generate new evidence while restoration is being delivered. Experimental plantings provide a practical way to do this, allowing restoration projects to test questions that matter directly to outcomes on the ground.

Experiments could investigate the influence of factors such as seed choice, microbial inoculation or plant adaptability to environmental stressors. Embedding experimental plots within practitioner-led restoration projects creates opportunities to gather evidence under real-world conditions, while reducing the disconnect that can sometimes exist between research and practice.

The project developed Guidelines for Embedded Experiments in Ecological Restoration in Australia to help practitioners and researchers incorporate experiments into restoration projects in a practical and consistent way. The guidelines recognise that experimentation can generate value beyond an individual project by creating knowledge that can be shared, tested and applied elsewhere.

WABSI supported development of the guidelines and led the science partnership, bringing together researchers, restoration organisations, government and practitioners from across Australia. This collaborative approach strengthens connections between science and practice and supports a restoration sector that can learn from experience, improve methods and build evidence as restoration scales.