Natural Capital Laboratory: South Pilots and Measures Ecological Restoration Methods

To restore biodiversity in an area badly hit by forest fires, the Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute engaged AECOM to help restore hundreds of hectares of degraded land to combat threats such as land clearing, salinity, altered fire regimes and invasive species using a model first developed in Scotland. Natural Capital Laboratory South (NCL-South) is a follow-on from NCL-North, which is monitoring and assessing 100 acres of forest and re-introducing lost species in Scotland.

NCL-South will be in Southwest Australia, which contains one third of all Australian plant species and is considered a global biodiversity hotspot. NCL-South’s vision is to demonstrate best practice and five-star ecological restoration in a way that is regularly monitored and measured using traditional and the latest monitoring technologies. New tools and technologies will be field tested, calibrated and then shared throughout the region for other areas needing restoration.

This flagship site will demonstrate what can be achieved through restoration and how restored sites can be integrated into production landscapes. A digital accounting platform will draw together complex elements – including number and locations of plants and wildlife – and record how these change over time. The platform will monitor changes in soil, air or water quality, as well as the movement and growth of animal populations. It will also provide financial values for ecosystem services, such as the amount of carbon captured on site. The platform’s data will be supplemented by machine learning to remotely collect and analyse information using satellite data. This project aims to promote knowledge sharing and learning by offering a freely accessible restoration site open to the public, and make information widely available through the site’s live online digital twin – NCL-North.

You can learn more about NCL-North here.