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
Jun 2026 – Check out this cool meshed sensor network that we are testing in the Choconexion Experiment in western Ecuador! Built by Matt Toups and his awesome engineering students at Tulane. The ultimate goal is to put one of these at each of 192 vegetation monitoring stations to learn about plant-environment relationships.
May 2026 – Cecropia undergraduate researcher Ezra Staengl won the Phi Kappa Phi medallion! Congratulations, Ezra!
Apr 2026 – Congratulations to Dr. Gabrielle Ripa for successfully defending her PhD on invasive plants and stream restoration in the Chesapeake Bay watershed!
Read the latest blog posts on
Natural History of Ecological Restoration
- By Gabrielle Ripa Dr. Gabrielle Ripa is a postdoctoral researcher at North Carolina State University. Imagine: it’s a nice warm and breezy evening and you decide to enjoy your dinner outside. You hear the burbling of a nearby stream mingling with the nightly chorus of frogs and insects. Maybe a Barred Owl is asking “who […]
- Matías Barceló, an early career researcher in Chile, studies local community engagement in ecosystem restoration at the land-sea interface. His work emphasizes integrating ecological evidence with local knowledge and values to create effective restoration initiatives. The project aims to promote social-ecological restoration by focusing on community priorities and participation in southern Chile.
- By Eve Allen, Geordie Elkins, Heather Liljengren, and Sefra Alexandra Eve Allen is the US Northeast Regional Director at the Ecological Health Network. In this role, she co-coordinates the Northeast Seed Network. She is joined by Geordie Elkins, the Executive Director of the Highstead Foundation, Heather Liljengren, the owner and president of Local Land Consulting, and Sefra Alexandra- The Seed […]
Restoration Ecology Lab 