@article{01HVGXYPAN5NEE1PN3BQ3GB2MT,
  abstract     = {{1. The global movement for ecosystem restoration has gained momentum in response to the Bonn Challenge (2010) and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (UNDER, 2021-2030). While several science-based guidelines exist to aid in achieving successful restoration outcomes, significant variation remains in the outcomes of restoration projects. Some of this disparity can be attributed to unexpected responses of ecosystem components to planned interventions.

 2. Given the complex nature of ecosystems, we propose that concepts from Complex Systems Science (CSS) that are linked to non-linearity, such as regime shifts, ecological resilience and ecological feedbacks, should be employed to help explain this variation in restoration outcomes from an ecological perspective.

 3. Our framework, Explore Before You Restore, illustrates how these concepts impact restoration outcomes by influencing degradation and recovery trajectories. Additionally, we propose incorporating CSS concepts into the typical restoration project cycle through a CSS assessment phase and suggest that the need for such assessment is explicitly included in the guidelines to improve restoration outcomes.

 4. To facilitate this inclusion and make it workable by practitioners, we describe indicators and methods available for restoration teams to answer key questions that should make up such CSS assessment. In doing so, we identify key outstanding science and policy tasks that are needed to further operationalize CSS assessment in restoration.

 5. Synthesis and applications. By illustrating how key Complex Systems Science (CSS) concepts linked to non-linear threshold behaviour can impact restoration outcomes through influencing recovery trajectories, our framework Explore Before You Restore demonstrates the need to incorporate Complex Systems thinking in ecosystem restoration. We argue that inclusion of CSS assessment into restoration project cycles, and more broadly, into international restoration guidelines, may significantly improve restoration outcomes.}},
  author       = {{Maes, Sybryn and  Perring, M. P. and  Cohen, R. and  Akinnifesi, F. K. and  Bargues-Tobella, A. and  Bastin, J. -f. and Bauters, Marijn and  Bernardino, P. N. and  Brancalion, P. H. S. and  Bullock, J. M. and  Ellison, D. and  Fayolle, A. and  Fremout, T. and  Gann, G. D. and  Hishe, H. and  Holmgren, M. and  Ilstedt, U. and  Mahy, G. and  Messier, C. and  Parr, C. L. and  Ryan, C. M. and  Sacande, M. and  Sankaran, M. and  Scheffer, M. S. and  Suding, K. N. and  Van Meerbeek, K. and Verbeeck, Hans and  Verbist, B. J. P. and Verheyen, Kris and  Winowiecki, L. A. and Muys, Bart}},
  issn         = {{0021-8901}},
  journal      = {{JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY}},
  keywords     = {{EARLY-WARNING SIGNALS,REGIME SHIFTS,CATASTROPHIC SHIFTS,FOREST RESILIENCE,LAKE RESTORATION,ATLANTIC FOREST,TIPPING POINTS,SLOWING-DOWN,CLIMATE,THRESHOLDS,complex systems science,feedbacks,hysteresis,non-linearity,regime shift,resilience,restoration project cycle,threshold}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{922--939}},
  title        = {{Explore before you restore : incorporating complex systems thinking in ecosystem restoration}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14614}},
  volume       = {{61}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}

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