Restoration Ecology Lab
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech
Advancing ecological restoration
We aim to improve ecological restoration outcomes for society and nature through applied research and effective capacity building. We work in a variety of terrestrial ecosystems including temperate grasslands and woodlands and tropical forests.
Lab News
Nov 2025 – Congratulations to Sebastián Aparicio Vera for successfully defending this master’s thesis on the survival and growth of trees planted for forest restoration in the Ecuadorian Chocó!
Nov 2025 – Cecropia alumnus Chris Logan ’22 published a new paper in Tropical Conservation Science about tree planting on land burned by wildfire in Madagascar
Nov 2025 – New paper! How to mediate wildfire effects on tree planting projects in Madagascar. Open access at Restoration Ecology
Oct 2025 – Check out Phoebe Judge’s presentation on answering the call for native seed with the Natural Areas Association
Read the latest blog posts on
Natural History of Ecological Restoration
- Peter's Mountain Mallow (Iliamna corei), one of the rarest plants globally, has dwindled to just five individuals as of 2025. Historically endangered, it relies on fire for seed germination and population revival. Despite recent declines due to drought, a dedicated new wave of researchers aims to restore and monitor this endangered species.
- By Leland Werden Leland Werden, PhD, is a Senior Scientist at ETH Zurich. lwerden@gmail.com I remember starting my PhD in 2012 with a strong desire to develop tools for recovering tropical forests around the world. My background was in ecosystem ecology, which had led me to spend time thinking about soil nutrient cycling and other belowground processes […]
- By J. Leighton Reid J. Leighton Reid is an Associate Professor of Ecological Restoration in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Virginia Tech. The acid test of our understanding is not whether we can take ecosystems to bits on pieces of paper, however scientifically, but whether we can put them back together in practice […]
Restoration Ecology Lab 