Want to plant some Arizona native species?
Tell us about the site where you want to restore the native ecology, and we will provide you with recommended plant life to fit your environment.
The assessment only takes 2-3 minutes.
Find County Resources
Explore our recommended county resources to help you with your ecology restoration needs.
How to do it...
Restoring the native landscape takes time and patience.
Below are some resources that will help you make informed decisions during this process.
Restoration Management Goals
It is often not possible or practical to return many disturbed sites back to their original biotic and abiotic features; restoration goals, instead tend to focus on the maintenance of the ecosystem processes and the provision of ecosystem services. Knowing your restoration goals will help you develop an effective restoration design and make species choice much easier.
Plant Collection
Once you have determined which species you will use for your restoration project, you must then acquire the plant or seed materials. This can be one of the hardest and most expensive parts of the entire restoration procedure.
Site Preparation
Preparing a site for planting or seeding can significantly affect restoration outcomes. There are several ways that sites can be prepared for plant material installation.
Plant Material Application
After you secure your plant materials, you need to get them into the ground. Plant material application method depends on species type, management goals, habitat characteristics and, of course, funding.
Post Restoration
A project is not 'done' after plant materials are installed. Often, activities deployed after plants are in the ground can be some of the most important for restoration success.
Challenges
Restoration is not easy! Here we attempt to tackle some of the more comment challenges to restoration success.
The importance of EcoRestore Portal...
Restoration of arid and semi arid areas can be extremely difficult due to the low amounts and high variability of precipitation [1]. Guides that help practitioners at any level of expertise or land type and size can provide useful direction for successful strategies. Many local restoration guides are available to provide general direction for ecological restoration efforts in the arid Southwestern U.S [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]. However, these guides generally do not provide an easy to use platform on which to investigate potential species based on site characteristics and management goals. This restoration portal is largely designed to address this management need. Based on user entered site characteristics and management goals, a list of candidate restoration species is developed and can be further refined for use based on availability and funding.
Take the assessment