Seeing how others have approached restoration and finding practical tools can make getting started easier.
Practical Tools to Help You
While every site is different, some tools can help structure your planning:
- Action Plan Templates (Conceptual): Think about creating your own simple plan:
- My Land: Brief description, map/sketch.
- My Goal: What I want to achieve (e.g., more wildflowers in Field X).
- My Actions: What I will do (e.g., mow later, sow seeds).
- My Timeline: When I will do it.
- How I’ll Check: Simple monitoring (e.g., photos, flower count).
- Decision Guides/Apps: Some tools help choose actions or use apps for monitoring/citizen science. The Slovenian platform centralising data is a good example.
- Good Practice Guides: Look for guides from your national landowner association (e.g., EPFU, COSE), government agencies, or groups like ELO.
- Local Resources: Your local landowner association or agricultural/forestry advisor is often the BEST place to find practical tools and advice relevant to your specific area and situation.
Useful Apps for Landowners for Restoration Purposes
Based on your document’s content about ecological restoration and monitoring needs, here are several useful apps that landowners could use for restoration purposes:
- iNaturalist – A citizen science platform that helps identify plants, animals, and other organisms. Perfect for establishing baseline biodiversity and monitoring changes.
- eBird – Specialized for bird identification and tracking. Useful for monitoring indicator species that reflect habitat health.
- PlantNet – Plant identification using image recognition, helpful when identifying native vs. invasive species.
- Seek by iNaturalist – A simpler version of iNaturalist, good for beginners to identify species in the field.
- Pl@ntNet – Helps identify plants from photographs, useful when restoring native plant communities.
- Avenza Maps – Allows you to download maps for offline use and record GPS tracks, points, and photos, useful for mapping restoration sites.
- LandPKS (Land Potential Knowledge System) – Helps assess soil characteristics and land potential for vegetation.
- Collector for ArcGIS – Professional mapping app for field data collection.
- What3words – Simplifies location sharing with a three-word address system, useful for marking specific points in restoration projects.
- SoilWeb – Provides access to USDA-NRCS soil survey data, helping understand soil types for appropriate restoration planning.
- WaterLUPI – Helps assess land use impacts on water quality.
- HydroApp – For monitoring water levels and flows in restoration sites.
- Fieldwork – Designed for ecological monitoring with customizable data collection forms.
- Epicollect5 – Create mobile questionnaires for field data collection.
- iRecord – Record wildlife sightings that contribute to research and conservation.
- PhotoMonitoring – Specialized for repeat photography at fixed points to document change over time.
- WEED-ID – Helps identify and manage invasive plant species.
- Forest Tools – Calculates timber volume, tree height, and other forestry metrics.
- NatureTracker – Records observations of species in conservation programs.
- Land Manager – Helps keep records of land management activities, including restoration efforts.
- CAP2ER – A tool developed by the French Livestock Institute that evaluates the environmental footprint of livestock farms. It calculates carbon emissions, assesses biodiversity impact, and helps farmers identify improvement strategies for sustainable land management and carbon sequestration.
- eAgronom – A carbon farming platform that helps farmers implement regenerative agriculture practices, measure carbon sequestration, and access carbon credit markets. The app guides landowners through the process of transitioning to carbon farming, tracking progress, and potentially generating additional income through carbon certificates.
- Farm Carbon Calculator – App helps farmers and landowners calculate their carbon footprint and identify ways to reduce emissions and increase carbon sequestration on their land. It provides detailed reports on carbon stocks and flows throughout the farm system, including soil, livestock, crops, and energy use.
- LIFE B4B Tools (Belgium) – Tools developed by the LIFE B4B project for private landowners.
- EPFU Field Guide (Estonia) – Digital field guide for Estonian forest and farmland management.
- Slovenian Biodiversity Platform – The centralized data platform mentioned in your document.
- WOCAT SLM – Database of sustainable land management practices globally, including many European examples.
- ForestMan (Estonia) – Forest management application that helps private forest owners plan, document, and monitor forest restoration and management activities. It provides digital tracking progress while supporting biodiversity conservation and sustainable forestry practices.
These apps can help with different aspects of the restoration process, from baseline assessment and planning to implementation, monitoring, and adaptive management. Most are available for both iOS and Android devices, though availability may vary by region.
Key Takeaways
- Case studies from Estonia, Spain, and Belgium show successful landowner involvement in restoration.
- Lessons include the power of collaboration, the link between restoration and rural economies, and the potential of specific tools for private land.
- Use simple planning structures (like a basic action plan outline).
- Look for resources from large projects (e.g., LIFE IPs), government agencies, and especially your local landowner association/advisor.
- Focus on practical, actionable tools like checklists, simple guides, and relevant apps.
