By Elizabeth Bach, Ecosystem Restoration Scientist, The Nature Conservancy

Ecosystem restoration is a critical tool to reduce biodiversity loss, combat climate change, improve ecosystem functioning, and support human health and well-being. In recognition of restoration’s role in meeting multiple global challenges, The United Nations has declared 2021-2030 as The Decade on Restoration. As restoration practitioners, we are the boots on the ground doing restoration. We know what works and what doesn’t. We keep trying new ideas to improve restoration success. We share tips, practices, and ideas through the Grassland Restoration Network, including this blog.

In an effort to hear and share lessons from restoration “doers” from all around the world, two professional organizations, the Society for Ecological Restoration and the British Ecological Society, are collaborating to produce a unique Special Feature on the Decade of Restoration. This will be a peer-reviewed special issue featuring papers published from eight scientific journals published by these two societies. These journals intentionally publish different types of ecological research and one journal, Ecological Solutions and Evidence, includes an article type, From Practice, which are authored or co-authored by restoration practitioners. These can include case studies of successful projects, calls for new approaches for dealing with persistent problems or perspectives on research topics relevant for management. The article should make clear recommendations regarding how the issue can be taken forward to ensure improved science-based practice. (from the journal’s website)

As an associate editor for Ecological Solutions and Evidence, I would like to personally invite you all to consider submitting a manuscript for this Special Feature, to share your expertise with colleagues and the world. Many of the posts on this blog would be an excellent starting point for a From Practice manuscript. Writing a manuscript is daunting, so collaborations with colleagues are strongly encouraged. I am happy to be a resource if you’re interested in the idea, but not sure how to get started.

The process to submit your work is:

1. Develop an idea or brush off some data that sitting around in file cabinets (or computer files)
2. Send a title and a few sentences about their proposed contribution and the target journal to one of the two editors by November 13, 2020:
   1. Dr. Holly Jones, Lead Editor, Ecological Solutions and Evidence, hjones@niu.edu 
   1. Dr. Stephen Murphy, Editor-in-Chief, Restoration Ecology, stephen.murphy@uwaterloo.ca 
3. The editor will provide feedback on if the proposed paper is a good fit, and may suggested collaborators who submitted similar ideas that could be combined into a single paper.
4. Write the paper and submit by January 31, 2021
5. The paper will go through the peer-reviewed process. It is possible the paper could be rejected during the peer-review stage.
6. The Special Feature will be published in 2021.

Full details of the call for papers can be found here: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/Call_for_Papers_Decade_of_Ecosystem_Restoration?campaign=dartwol|5453941188