Publications

Publications

The Natural History of Ecological Restoration: A short format journal and joint project of the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Ecological Health Network, and the Restoration Ecology Lab at Virginia Tech

Selected publications by EHN leadership, members, and allies

• Aronson, J., Goodwin, N., Orlando, L., Eisenberg, C., Cross, A.T. (2020) A World of Possibilities: Six Restoration Strategies to support the United Nation's Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, Restoration Ecology, 28:730–736. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13170
• Aronson, J., Mola, I., Pérez D.R. 2026. Depoblamiento rural, una oportunidad para el Rewilding o un desafío para la Restauración Ecológica? (Rural exodus: an opportunity for Rewilding or a challenge for Ecological Restoration?). Ecosistemas https://doi.org/10.7818/ECOS.3050
• Avisar, A., Aronson, J., & Dayan, T. (2026). Restoration tools and strategies for afforested Mediterranean coastal grasslands: Is eucalypt removal alone enough to kickstart ecosystem recovery? Restoration Ecology, 34: e70340. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.70340
• Siqueira, L., C. Salk, L.C. Garcia, A. Guerra, P. Meli, A. Mendes, J. Roma, A. Rovedder, F. Balderi, J. Aronson & P. Brancalion. (2026). Gender disparity and biases in ecological restoration in Brazil. Restoration Ecology, e70482. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.70482
• Corinaldesi, C., Anantharaman, K., Aronson, J. C., Baker, B. J., et al. (2026). Grounding microbial conservation in ecological principles. Nature Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-026-02462-9
• Danovaro, R., J. Aronson, S. Bianchelli, C. Boström, E. Cebrian, et al. (2025). Assessing the success of marine ecosystem restoration using meta-analysis. Nature Communications, 16, 3062.
• Zorbalas, F. N., Alvarez, A., Pérez, D. R., Rodriguez Araujo, M. E., Valfré Giorello, T. A., & Lagos, L. J. (2025). Root nodulation and growth in nursery garden ofNeltuma flexuosavar.depressa(Fabaceae), a framework species for Monte Desert ecological restoration. Journal of Arid Environments.
• Aronson, J. 2025. La Restauracion holistica: Portal hacia una cultura de Restauración Ecológica. In: Pérez, D., González, F., Rodriguez Araujo, M.E. et al. Editors. Abordajes y debates para la restauración ecológica de la Argentina. Red de Restauración Ecológica de Argentina. Neuquén. PDF. ISBN: 978-631-00-6989-0. Pp. 25-31.
•  Cross, A. T. 2025. Aportes a la Restauración de zonas áridas Latinoamericanas: La Experiencia de Restauración en áreas de Minería en Australia. In: Pérez, D., González, F., Rodriguez Araujo, M.E. et al. Editors. Abordajes y debates para la restauración ecológica de la Argentina. Red de Restauración Ecológica de Argentina. Neuquén. PDF. ISBN: 978-631-00-6989-0. Pp. 293-300.
• Pérez, D., González, F., Rodriguez Araujo, M.E. et al. Editors. Abordajes y debates para la restauración ecológica de la Argentina. Red de Restauración Ecológica de Argentina. Neuquén. PDF. 309 pages. PDF. ISBN: 978-631-00-6989-0.
•  Interview with James Aronson, Bulletin of the Ecological Restoration Network of Argentina (BREA) 42(8) October, 2024. pp 42-45 (in Spanish).
•  Allen, E. B., Cross, A. T., Berger, A. M., & Aronson, J. (2024). Restoration seed and plant material supply chains are complex social networks. Restoration Ecology, 32(8), e14279.
• Dictionary Definitions (ecological restoration, ecohealth, human health, microbiome, natural capital, and one health) in: Haddad, B.M. & Solomon, B.D. eds., Dictionary of Ecological Economics: Terms for the New Millennium. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2023 (citations for each word are at the end of the document)
• Cross, A. T., & Aronson, J. (2023). Editorial: Plant-soil-microbe interactions and drivers in ecosystem development and ecological restoration. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.1216016
• Stanhope, J., & Weinstein, P. (2023). Exposure to environmental microbiota may modulate gut microbial ecology and the immune system. Mucosal Immunology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mucimm.2023.03.001
• Sekera, J., Cagalanan, D., Swan, A., Birdsey, R., Goodwin, N., & Lichtenberger, A. (2023). Carbon dioxide removal–what’s worth doing? A biophysical and public need perspective. PLOS Climate, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000124
• Araujo, M. E., & Pérez, D. R. (2023). From seed germination to established seedlings: A comparative evaluation in five shrub species and implications for seed based restoration in arid lands. Restoration Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13862. Daniel Pérez is working with an EHN site in Caviahue, Argentina (Northwest Patagonia), in the Araucaria araucana xeric forest.
• Robinson, J. M.; Aronson, J.; Daniels, C. B.; Goodwin, N.; Liddicoat, C.; Orlando, L.; Phillips, D.; Stanhope, J.; Weinstein, P.; Cross, A. T.; Breed, M. F. Ecosystem Restoration Is Integral to Humanity's Recovery from Covid-19. The Lancet Planetary Health 2022, 6 (9).
• Orlando LF, DePinto AJ, Wallace KJ. Ecohealth Villages: A Framework for an Ecosystem Approach to Health in Human Settlements. Sustainability. 2022; 14(12):7053.
• Albrecht, M.A., Dell, N.D., Engelhardt, M.J., Reid, J.L., Saxton, M.L., Trager, J.C., Waldman, C. and Long, Q.G. (2022), Recovery of herb-layer vegetation and soil properties after pile burning in a Midwestern oak woodland. Restoration Ecology, 30: e13547. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13547
• James Aronson, Neva Goodwin, Adam Cross, and Laura Orlando, "Focus on Ecosystem Health", contribution to GTI Forum "Conservation at the Crossroads," Great Transition Initiative (May 2022)
•  Bradley, H. S., M. D. Craig, A. T. Cross, S. Tomlinson, M. J. Bamford, and P. W. Bateman. "Revealing microhabitat requirements of an endangered specialist lizard with LiDAR." Scientific Reports 12 (1). In press.
•  Krueger, T., A. T. Cross, J. Hübner, J. Morinière, A. Hausmann, and A. Fleischmann. "A novel approach for reliable qualitative and quantitative prey spectra identification of carnivorous plants combining DNA metabarcoding and macro photography." Scientific Reports 12 (1). In press.
• Turner, S. R., A. T. Cross, M. Just, V. Newton, S. Pedrini, S. Tomlinson, and K. Dixon. 2022. "Restoration seedbanks for mined land restoration." Restoration Ecology
• Rajapakshe, R., A. Cross, S. Turner, and S. Tomlinson. 2022. "Understanding the interplay of temperature and moisture on the germination niche to improve management of threatened species impacted by mining." Restoration Ecology
• Goodwin, N., & Sekera, J. (2021, November 23). Why the oil industry’s pivot to carbon capture and storage – while it keeps on drilling – isn’t a climate change solution.The Conversation.
•  Farrell, C.A., Aronson, J., Daily, G.C., Hein, L., Obst, C., Woodworth, P. & Stout, J.C. 2021. Natural Capital Approaches: shifting the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration from aspiration to reality. Restoration Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13613\
• Cross SL, Bradley HS, Tudor EP, Craig MD, Tomlinson S, Bamford MJ, Bateman PW, Cross AT. 2021. A life of mine approach to fauna monitoring is critical for recovering functional ecosystems to restored landscapes. Restoration Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13540
• Cross AT. 2021. Nutrient-acquisition strategy influences seed nutrient concentration and seed-to-seedling transition in ecological restoration in a regional dryland flora. Plant and Soil. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-05198-z
• FAO, IUCN CEM & SER. 2021. Principles for Ecosystem Restoration to Guide the United Nations Decade 2021–2030. Rome, FAO. (EHN co-founder James Aronson is a lead author on this publication.)
• Moat, J., Orellana-Garcia, A., Tovar, C., Arakaki, M., Arana, C., Cano, A., … Whaley, O. Q. (2021). Seeing through the clouds – Mapping desert fog oasis ecosystems using 20 years of MODIS imagery over Peru and Chile. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 103, 102468. https://doi:10.1016/j.jag.2021.102468
• Bradby, K., Wallace, K.J., Cross, A.T., Flies, E.J., Witehira, C., Keesing, A., Dudley, T., Breed, M.F., Howling, G., Weinstein, P., Aronson, J. 2021. Four Islands EcoHealth Network: An Australasian initiative building synergies between the restoration of ecosystems and human health. Restoration Ecology, p.e13382.
• Cross, S.L., Cross, A.T., Tomlinson, S., Clark-Ioannou, S.M., Nevill, P.G. and Bateman, P.W., (2021). Mitigation and management plans should consider all anthropogenic disturbances to fauna. Global Ecology and Conservation, p.e01500.
• Suzanne J. Milton & W. Richard J. Dean 2021. Anthropogenic impacts and implications for ecological restoration in the Karoo, South Africa. Anthropocene 36: 100307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2021.100307. Drs. Milton and Dean are EHN colleagues and manage the Wolwekraal Nature Reserve, an EHN site, in South Africa.
• Cross, A.T., Zhong, H. and Lambers, H. 2021. Incorporating rock in surface covers improves the establishment of native pioneer vegetation on alkaline mine tailings. Science of The Total Environment, p.145373.
• Cross A.T., Lambers H. 2021. Calcicole-calcifuge plant strategies limit restoration potential in a regional semi-arid flora. Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7544
• Cross, S.L., Bateman, P.W., Cross, A,T. 2020. Restoration goals: why are fauna overlooked in the process of recovering functioning ecosystems and what can be done about it? Ecological Management and Restoration 21, 4–8.
• P Nevill P., Cross, A.T., Dixon,K.W.  2018. Ethical sourcing of wild seeds - a key issue in meeting global restoration targets. Current Biology 28, R1378-R1379.
• Valliere, J.M., Ruscalleda, A.J., Cross, A.T., Lewandrowski, W., Riviera, F., Stevens, J.C., Tomlinson, S., Wong, W.S., Yong  J.W.H., Veneklaas, E.J. 2021. Restoration ecophysiology: An ecophysiological approach to improve strategies and outcomes for restoration of severely disturbed landscapes. Restoration Ecology.  https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13571
•  Bradley, H.S., Tomlinson, S., Craig, M.D., Cross, A.T. and Bateman, P.W. (2020). Mitigation translocation as a management tool. Conservation Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13667
• Hall, M.M., Wehi, P.M., Whaanga, H., Walker, E.T., Koia, J.H. and Wallace, K.J. (2020). Promoting social and environmental justice to support Indigenous partnerships in urban ecosystem restoration. Restoration Ecology, e13305. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13305
• Flies, E.J., Jones, P., Buettel, J.C.,  Brook, B.W. (2020) Compromised Ecosystem Services From Urban Aerial Microbiomes: A Review of Impacts on Human Immune Function. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 8:1–8.
• Nabhan, G.P., Orlando, L., Smith Monti, L., Aronson, J. (2020) Hands-On Ecological Restoration as a Nature-Based Health Intervention: Reciprocal Restoration for People and Ecosystems. Ecopsychology, 12: 195–202.
• Cross, A.T., Wallace, K.J., Aronson, J. (2020) Healthy Societies built from Healthy Ecosystems: How Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand are Working at the Intersection of Human Health and Ecological Restoration for a Healthier World. Natural History of Ecological Restoration, July, 2020..
• Cross, A.T., Krueger, T.A., Gonella, P.M., Robinson, A.S., Fleischmann, A.S. (2020) Conservation of carnivorous plants in the age of extinction, Global Ecology and Conservation, 24: e01272. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01272.
• Breed, M.F., Cross, A.T., Wallace, K.J., Bradby, K., Flies, E., Goodwin, N., Kendal, D., Orlando, L., Skelly, C., Weinstein, P., Aronson, J. (2020) Ecosystem Restoration: A Public Health Intervention, EcoHealth. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-020-01480-1
• Aronson, J., Goodwin, N., Orlando, L., Eisenberg, C., Cross, A.T. (2020) A World of Possibilities: Six Restoration Strategies to support the United Nation's Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, Restoration Ecology, 28:730–736. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13170
• Mills, J.G., Bissett, A., Gellie, N.J.C., Lowe, A.J., Selway, C.A., Thomas, T., Weinstein, P., Weyrich, L.S.,Breed, M.F. (2020) Revegetation of urban green space rewilds soil microbiotas with implications for human health and urban design. Restoration Ecology, 28:S322–S334. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13175
•  Blignaut, J., Aronson, J. (2020). Developing a restoration narrative: A pathway towards system-wide healing and a restorative culture, Ecological Economics, 168:106483.
• Cross, A.T., Nevill, P., Dixon, K.W., Aronson, J. (2019). Time for a paradigm shift toward a restorative culture, Restoration Ecology, 27:924–928 https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12984
• Goodwin, N. (2019) Addressing meta-externalities: investments in restoring the Earth, Real-World Economics Review, 87:36–53.
• Eisenberg, C., Anderson, C.L., Collingwood, A., Sissons, R., Dunn, C.J., Meigs, G.W., Hibbs, D.E., Murphy, S., Kuiper, S.D., SpearChief-Morris, J., Little Bear, L., Johnston, B., Edson, C.B. (2019). Out of the Ashes: Ecological Resilience to Extreme Wildfire, Prescribed Burns, and Indigenous Burning in Ecosystems. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7:436. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00436
• Gann, G.D., McDonald, T., Walder, B., Aronson, J., Nelson, C.R., Jonson, J., Hallett, J.G., Eisenberg, C., Guariguata, M.R., Liu, J., Hua, F. (2019). International Principles & Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration, 2nd Edition, International principles and standards for the practice of ecological restoration. Restoration Ecology, 27:S1–S46.
• Apfelbaum, S.I. (2019). “S” is for Soil! Lower Sugar River Watershed Association, June.
• Goodwin, N. (2018). Ecological Repair: A Hope for the Human Economies, Opinion Sur, August.
• Aronson, J., T. B. Aronson, T.B.,  Patzelt, M.A.,  Knees, S., Lewis, G,m  Lupton, D.,  Taifour,H.,  Gardner,M.F.,  Thompson, H.,  Al Hatmi, S, Al Khulaidi, A.W. (2017). Paleorelicts or archaeophytes: enigmatic trees in the Middle East. J. Arid Environments 137: 69-82.
• Aronson, J., Blatt, C.M., Aronson, T. B. (2016). Restoring ecosystem health to improve human health and well-being: physicians and restoration ecologists unite in a common cause, Ecology and Society,21:39. doi.org/10.5751/ES-08974-210439
• Woodworth, P. (2015), Our Once and Future Planet: Restoring the World in the Climate Change Century, University of Chicago Press.
• The Society for Ecological Restoration International Primer on Ecological Restoration, (2004). SER International Science & Policy Working Group.