The key research areas for Restoration Ecology are:
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Determining complex biodiversity targets for restoration;
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Harnessing ecological processes and building resilience and function in sustainable restoration;
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Optimising the hydrological, chemical and physical properties of restoration substrates for establishment of communities and species;
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Understanding ecological processes influencing plant establishment, namely processes that reflect seedling recruitment and survival opportunities;
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Understanding soil seed-bank dynamics;
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Developing revegetation techniques and topsoil handling and storage technologies;
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Developing integrated weed management strategies;
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Deriving seed quality standards;
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Enabling recovery of rare and threatened species following disturbance;
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Deriving benchmark standards to enable measurement of restoration success;
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Undertaking monitoring programs to evaluate restoration progress and to identify follow-up restoration measures; and
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Investigating and developing the use of remote-sensing technologies to assist with ecosystem assessment and restoration monitoring.