Project: Quantifying restoration success across biomes by linking biodiversity, multifunctionality and hydromorphological heterogeneity

Acronym	RESTOLINK (Reference Number: BiodivRestore-306)
Duration	01/04/2025
Project Topic	Restoration approaches to improve in-stream hydromorphology are increasing worldwide but often fail to recover good ecological status as well as biodiversity. Yet, the evidence for dominant effects of hydromorphology on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning suggests that the strong potential for hydromorphological restoration is not fully explored in stream rehabilitation. We argue that restoration often fails because it does not consider the spatial scales of stream hydromorphology that are most relevant to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Moreover, traditional indicators of restoration success based on the composition of biological communities may not show the same recovery trajectory as key ecosystem functions. We propose a novel framework for evaluating restoration success by mechanistically linking three central facets of stream ecosystems: hydromorphological heterogeneity at relevant scales, multi-group biodiversity (microbial and macrobial), and ecosystem multifunctionality. We will apply this framework to streams a broad latitudinal gradient from boreal to tropical biomes and will thus test how biome-specific factors such as climate, vegetation, and hydrology set the boundaries for local responses. With RESTOLINK, we i) identify scales of hydromorphology that need to be restored to induce recovery of microbial and macrobial biodiversity (call theme 3.1), ii) decipher the role of biodiversity for ecosystem functioning (theme 1.1 and 1.2), iii) establish ecosystem functions as novel targets for freshwater restoration (theme 2.2), iv) determine thresholds of biodiversity that must be restored to maximise ecosystem multifunctionality (theme 1.2), and v) evaluate the uncertainties of biodiversity and (multi)functional restoration targets across biomes (theme 3.3). RESTOLINK will advance our fundamental understanding of how physical complexity, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning are interlinked. Through close collaboration with stakeholders, knowledge delivered by RESTOLINK will be available to water managers tasked with tailoring restoration measures that improve the biodiversity, ecological status, and ecosystem functioning of streams. In doing so, RESTOLINK contributes significantly to the implementation of the biodiversity strategy of the European Union for 2030 as well as the European Water Framework Directive. Functional indicators delivered by RESTOLINK will allow for the implementation of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, which consider biodiversity and ecosystem functioning as environmental commodities at risk.
Network	BiodivRestore
Call	BiodivRestore Transnational Cofund Call 2020-2021

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
1	Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research	Coordinator	Germany
2	University of Barcelona	Partner	Spain
3	Umeå University	Partner	Sweden
4	University of São Paulo	Partner	Brazil
5	University of Koblenz-Landau	Partner	Germany
6	Federal University of São João del-Rei	Partner	Brazil