Assessing the success of peatland restoration (SOINTU)

The ecological status of peatlands can be improved through restoration actions. To implement restoration, we need knowledge about what factors affect the ecological success of restoration. To answer this need, this transdisciplinary project utilizes globally unique restoration monitoring data collected by restoration planners, geospatial and remote sensing methods, surveys, and workshops. We answer the following questions: (1) what factors impact peatland restoration success according to restoration planners, (2) can remote sensing methods be used to differentiate successful and unsuccessful restoration sites, (3) what landscape factors impact restoration success, and (4) what kinds of indicators can be used to monitor restoration success? The restoration monitoring data will be analyzed with qualitative content analysis and supervised machine learning methods. In the remote sensing work, we develop satellite image analysis methods to observe post-restoration changes and impacted area of restoration. With geospatial modeling, we study what landscape and environmental factors affect restoration success. With surveys and participatory workshops targeted to restoration specialists, we co-develop ecological restoration indicators that can be monitored with remote sensing. The project enables scientific breakthroughs because there is a lack of systematic research on peatland restoration success factors. Additionally, remote sensing analyses enable scaling peatland monitoring to larger spatial extents. The results of the project can be used in developing peatland restoration planning and monitoring.