Land restoration is considered to be the remedy for 21st century global challenges of land degradation. As a result, various land restoration and conservation efforts are underway at different scales. Ethiopia is one of the countries with huge investments in land restoration. Tremendous land management practices have been implemented across the country since the 1970s. However, the spatial distribution of the interventions has not been documented, and there is no systematic, quantitative evidence on whether land restoration efforts have achieved the restoration of desired ecosystem services. Therefore, we carried out a meta\uffe2\uff80\uff90analysis of peer\uffe2\uff80\uff90reviewed scientific literature related to land restoration efforts and their impacts in Ethiopia. Results show that most of the large\uffe2\uff80\uff90scale projects have been implemented in the highlands, specifically in Tigray and Amhara regions covering about 24 agroecological zones, and land restoration impact studies are mostly focused in the highlands but restricted in about 11 agroecological zones. The highest mean effect on agricultural productivity is obtained from the combination of bunds and biological interventions followed by conservation agriculture practices with 170% and 18% increases, respectively. However, bunds alone, biological intervention alone, and terracing (fanya juu) reveal negative effects on productivity. The mean effect of all land restoration interventions on soil organic carbon is positive, the highest effect being from \uffe2\uff80\uff9cbunds + biological\uffe2\uff80\uff9d (139%) followed by exclosure (90%). Reduced soil erosion and runoff are the dominant impacts of all interventions. The results can be used to improve existing guidelines to better match land restoration options with specific desired ecosystem functions and services. Although the focus of this study was on the evaluation of the impacts of land restoration efforts on selected ecosystem services, impacts on livelihood and national socioeconomy have not been examined. Thus, strengthening socioeconomic studies at national scale to assess the sustainability of land restoration initiatives is an essential next step.
", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "land restoration", "land degradation", "ecological restoration", "1. No poverty", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "15. Life on land", "01 natural sciences", "6. Clean water", "landscape conservation", "13. Climate action", "11. Sustainability", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "ecosystem services", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3424"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Land%20Degradation%20%26amp%3B%20Development", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1002/ldr.3424", "name": "item", "description": "10.1002/ldr.3424", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1002/ldr.3424"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-11-11T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.foreco.2018.11.033", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-31T06:57:08Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2018-11-29", "title": "Impacts of forests and forestation on hydrological services in the Andes: A systematic review", "description": "Abstract Several Andean countries have planned to restore forest cover in degraded land to enhance the provision of multiple ecosystem services in response to international commitments such as the Bonn Challenge. Hydrological services, e.g. water supply, hydrological regulation and erosion mitigation, are particularly important to sustain the life of more than fifty million Andean people. While rapid and important forest cover changes have occurred during recent decades, critical information on the impact of forestation on hydrological services has not yet been synthesized in the context of Andean ecosystems. We define forestation as the establishment of forest by plantation or natural regeneration on areas that either had forest in the past or not. To help improve decision-making on forestation in the Andes, we reviewed the available literature concerning the impacts of forestation on water supply, hydrological regulation and mitigation of erosion and landslides. We also examined available data on the most relevant hydrological processes such as infiltration, evapotranspiration and runoff in forest stands. Hydrological services from native forests were also included as a reference state for comparing processes and services provided by forestation. Following systematic review protocols, we synthesized 155 studies using different methods, including meta-analyses and meta-regressions. Results show that forestation has had clear impacts on degraded soils, through reducing water erosion of soils and risk of moderate floods, increasing soil infiltration rate by 8 and topsoil organic matter (SOM). We found that 20\u202fyears of tree plantation was sufficient to recover infiltration rate and sediment yield close to the levels of native forests whereas SOM, soil water storage and surface runoff of native forests could not be recovered by forestation in the time scales examined. The benefits in terms of hydrological regulation are at the expense of a reduction in total water supply since forest cover was associated with higher water use in most Andean regions. Forestation with native species was underrepresented in the reviewed studies. The impact of forestation on landslides has also been largely overlooked in the Andes. At high elevations, exotic tree plantations on Andean grasslands (e.g. paramo and puna) had the most detrimental consequences since these grasslands showed an excellent capacity for hydrological regulation and erosion mitigation but also a water yield up to 40% higher than tree plantations. People engaged in forest restoration initiative should be aware that hydrological services may take some time for society and the environment to show clear benefits after forestation.", "keywords": ["P33 - Chimie et physique du sol", "Pine plantations", "forest rehabilitation", "propri\u00e9t\u00e9 physicochimique du sol", "550", "F40 - \u00c9cologie v\u00e9g\u00e9tale", "Monitoring", "Ecosystem service", "[SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes", "ecological restoration", "05 Environmental Sciences", "systematic reviews", "0207 environmental engineering", "forest cover", "hydrology", "02 engineering and technology", "hydrologie", "01 natural sciences", "630", "cycle hydrologique", "http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_3062", "for\u00eat", "K01 - Foresterie - Consid\u00e9rations g\u00e9n\u00e9rales", "11. Sustainability", "http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_13802", "reconstitution foresti\u00e8re", "P10 - Ressources en eau et leur gestion", "Land-use", "Nature and Landscape Conservation", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences", "forests", "P36 - \u00c9rosion", " conservation et r\u00e9cup\u00e9ration des sols", "2. Zero hunger", "Policy and Law", "http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_7182", "Forestry", "http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_401", "06 Biological Sciences", "15. Life on land", "6. Clean water", "Management", "http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_11670", "[SDE.MCG] Environmental Sciences/Global Changes", "13. Climate action", "degraded land", "07 Agricultural And Veterinary Sciences", "http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_3731"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.11.033"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Forest%20Ecology%20and%20Management", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.foreco.2018.11.033", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.foreco.2018.11.033", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.11.033"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-02-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1111/gcb.14774", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-31T06:59:29Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2019-08-28", "title": "Effect of land-use and land-cover change on mangrove blue carbon: A systematic review", "description": "AbstractMangroves shift from carbon sinks to sources when affected by anthropogenic land\uffe2\uff80\uff90use and land\uffe2\uff80\uff90cover change (LULCC). Yet, the magnitude and temporal scale of these impacts are largely unknown. We undertook a systematic review to examine the influence of LULCC on mangrove carbon stocks and soil greenhouse gas (GHG) effluxes. A search of 478 data points from the peer\uffe2\uff80\uff90reviewed literature revealed a substantial reduction of biomass (82%\uffc2\uffa0\uffc2\uffb1\uffc2\uffa035%) and soil (54%\uffc2\uffa0\uffc2\uffb1\uffc2\uffa013%) carbon stocks due to LULCC. The relative loss depended on LULCC type, time since LULCC and geographical and climatic conditions of sites. We also observed that the loss of soil carbon stocks was linked to the decreased soil carbon content and increased soil bulk density over the first 100\uffc2\uffa0cm depth. We found no significant effect of LULCC on soil GHG effluxes. Regeneration efforts (i.e. restoration, rehabilitation and afforestation) led to biomass recovery after ~40\uffc2\uffa0years. However, we found no clear patterns of mangrove soil carbon stock re\uffe2\uff80\uff90establishment following biomass recovery. Our findings suggest that regeneration may help restore carbon stocks back to pre\uffe2\uff80\uff90disturbed levels over decadal to century time scales only, with a faster rate for biomass recovery than for soil carbon stocks. Therefore, improved mangrove ecosystem management by preventing further LULCC and promoting rehabilitation is fundamental for effective climate change mitigation policy.
", "keywords": ["0106 biological sciences", "Carbon Sequestration", "mangroves", "ecological restoration", "systematic reviews", "land use", "15. Life on land", "coastal areas", "01 natural sciences", "Carbon", "mitigation", "Soil", "climate change", "carbon sinks", "13. Climate action", "Wetlands", "emission", "Ecosystem", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14774"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Global%20Change%20Biology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/gcb.14774", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/gcb.14774", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/gcb.14774"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2019-08-27T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5061/dryad.c866t1gfw", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-31T07:02:15Z", "type": "Dataset", "created": "2024-06-14", "title": "Data from: Arbuscular mycorrhizal communities respond to nutrient enrichment and plant invasion in phosphorus-limited eucalypt woodlands", "description": "unspecified# Arbuscular mycorrhizal communities respond to nutrient enrichment and plant invasion in phosphorus-limited eucalypt woodlands [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.c866t1gfw](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.c866t1gfw) This data was used to conduct all analyses of the linked article. It contains treatments allocated to each sample, as well as all soil chemistry, vegetation, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) variables ## Description of the data and file structure Three data files are provided: a raw community matrix of AMF (i.e. prior rarefaction), a raw community matrix of plants, and a data frame with the other is the environmental data frame with\u00a0all soil chemistry, vegetation cover and richness, and AMF richness. Please refer to the published article for methodology on how these data were collected. All three data files are connected by the 'sample' column from each data file. Each data file is in excel form and has two sheets: one with the data, and one with the metadata that explains each column. Missing data code: NA", "keywords": ["nutrient enrichment", "Mucoromycotina", "FOS: Biological sciences", "Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi", "Glomeromycotina", "Ecosystem degradation", "Ecological restoration", "Mediterranean-climate eucalypt woodlands", "plant invasion"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Albornoz, Felipe, Prober, Suzanne, Bissett, Andrew, Tibbett, Mark, Standish, Rachel,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.c866t1gfw"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5061/dryad.c866t1gfw", "name": "item", "description": "10.5061/dryad.c866t1gfw", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5061/dryad.c866t1gfw"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2024-06-19T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.5061/dryad.ht76hdrnm", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-05-31T07:02:17Z", "type": "Dataset", "created": "2023-10-19", "title": "Data from: Abiotic legacies mediate plant-soil feedback during early vegetation succession on rare earth element mine tailings", "description": "Open AccessAn increasing number of studies have shown how feedback interactions between plants and soil can influence primary and secondary succession. However, very little is known about the patterns and mechanisms of such plant-soil feedbacks on stressed mine tailings ecosystem, which can be severely contaminated by a range of toxic elements.\u00a0 In a two-phase plant-soil feedback experiment based on the rare earth element (REE) mine tailing soil, we investigated biotic (changes in bacterial and fungal community) and abiotic legacies (changes in chemical properties) of three pioneer grass species, and examined feedback effects of three grasses, two legumes and two woody plants with different root traits. Positive plant-soil feedback was found in Miscanthus sinensis, Paspalum thunbergii and Tephrosia candida, and neutral feedback was observed in other four plants. These effects corresponded with an increase of nutrients and total organic carbon, as well as a decrease of acidity and extractable aluminum and REEs. There were less signs of biotic changes in the conditioned tailings.\u00a0 The correlation analysis suggested a relationship between responses to soil legacies and root traits, as well as root economics spectrum. On the mine tailings, acquisitive species with higher specific root length appeared to have greater potential for positive feedback.\u00a0 Synthesis and application: Our study shows that early succession on contaminated REE mine tailings may lead to more positive plant-soil feedback than predicted based on results of non-contaminated soils, mainly due to the alleviation of abiotic stress in tailings. Therefore, the improvement of specific abiotic soil stress and the trait-based selection of acquisitive plants should be preferentially considered to promote the primary restoration of degraded land.", "keywords": ["plant-soil feedback", "primary succession", "rare earth mine waste soil", "Trait-based approach", "root functional traits", "FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences", "soil legacies", "Ecological restoration"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Zhu, Shi Chen, Liu, Wen Shen, Chen, Zi Wu, Liu, Xiao Rui, Zheng, Hong Xiang, Chen, Bo Yu, Zhi, Xin Yu, Chao, Yuanqing, Qiu, Rong Liang, Chu, Chengjin, Liu, Chong, Morel, Jean Louis, van der Ent, Antony, Tang, Ye Tao,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ht76hdrnm"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.5061/dryad.ht76hdrnm", "name": "item", "description": "10.5061/dryad.ht76hdrnm", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.5061/dryad.ht76hdrnm"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2023-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}], "links": [{"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "This document as GeoJSON", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=ecological+restoration&f=json", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "alternate", "type": "text/html", "title": "This document as HTML", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=ecological+restoration&f=html", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection URL", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"type": "application/geo+json", "rel": "first", "title": "items (first)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=ecological+restoration&", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "last", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "items (last)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=ecological+restoration&offset=5", "hreflang": "en-US"}], "numberMatched": 5, "numberReturned": 5, "distributedFeatures": [], "timeStamp": "2026-05-31T10:01:37.988338Z"}