The role of wildlife science in wetland ecosystem restoration: Lessons from the Everglades

There has been little discussion of how and when to integrate wildlife science into ecological restoration projects. The recent emergence of wetland ecosystem restoration offers an opportunity to use wildlife science to increase the probability of a project being successful. This paper traces the evolution of wetland ecosystem restoration in North America and proposes three roles for wildlife science in wetland ecosystem restoration: (1) contribute to conceptual ecosystem models, (2) develop quantitative performance measures and restoration targets that track the progress of restoration, and (3) achieve social feasibility by sustaining long-term public support for a project. The extensive knowledge base for many species of wildlife makes them especially useful for contributing to conceptual ecosystem models. Wildlife species are often the subject of long-term monitoring and research because they have commercial value, are conspicuous, or have aesthetic appeal. Wildlife parameters can be good performance measures for large-scale restoration projects because some species integrate information over large spatial scales and are long-lived. Parameters associated with threatened or endangered wildlife species should get special consideration as performance measures because the information will meet multiple needs rather than just those of the conceptual ecosystem model. Finally, wetland ecosystem restoration projects need to sustain funding over decades to ensure the restored system is self-sustaining. Wildlife are a valued resource that can help achieve the social feasibility of a project by providing a way to communicate complex science in terms that society understands and values.     

Return of Fire as a Restoration Tool: Long‐Term Effects of Burn Severity on Habitat Use by Mexican Fox Squirrels

After decades of suppression, fire is returning to forests of the western United States through wildfires and prescribed burns. These fires may aid restoration of vegetation structure and processes, which could improve conditions for wildlife species and reduce severe wildfire risk. Understanding response of wildlife species to fires is essential to forest restoration because contemporary fires may not have the same effects as historical fires. Recent fires in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona provided opportunity to investigate long‐term effects of burn severity on habitat selection of a native wildlife species. We surveyed burned forest for squirrel feeding sign and related vegetation characteristics to frequency of feeding sign occurrence. We used radio‐telemetry within fire‐influenced forest to determine home ranges of Mexican fox squirrels, Sciurus nayaritensis chiricahuae, and compared vegetation characteristics within home ranges to random areas available to squirrels throughout burned conifer forest. Squirrels fed in forest with open understory and closed canopy cover. Vegetation within home ranges was characterized by lower understory density, consistent with the effects of low‐severity fire, and larger trees than random locations. Our results suggest that return of low‐severity fire can help restore habitat for Mexican fox squirrels and other native wildlife species with similar habitat affiliations in forests with a historical regime of frequent, low‐severity fire. Our study contributes to an understanding of the role and impact of fire in forest ecosystems and the implications for forest restoration as fire returns to the region.     

Effects of livestock grazing on rangeland biodiversity: A meta‐analysis of grouse populations

Livestock grazing affects over 60% of the world's agricultural lands and can influence rangeland ecosystem services and the quantity and quality of wildlife habitat, resulting in changes in biodiversity. Concomitantly, livestock grazing has the potential to be detrimental to some wildlife species while benefiting other rangeland organisms. Many imperiled grouse species require rangeland landscapes that exhibit diverse vegetation structure and composition to complete their life cycle. However, because of declining populations and reduced distributions, grouse are increasingly becoming a worldwide conservation concern. Grouse, as a suite of upland gamebirds, are often considered an umbrella species for other wildlife and thus used as indicators of rangeland health. With a projected increase in demand for livestock products, better information will be required to mitigate the anthropogenic effects of livestock grazing on rangeland biodiversity. To address this need, we completed a data‐driven and systematic review of the peer‐reviewed literature to determine the current knowledge of the effects of livestock grazing on grouse populations (i.e., chick production and population indices) worldwide. Our meta‐analysis revealed an overall negative effect of livestock grazing on grouse populations. Perhaps more importantly, we identified an information void regarding the effects of livestock grazing on the majority of grouse species. Additionally, the reported indirect effects of livestock grazing on grouse species were inconclusive and more reflective of differences in the experimental design of the available studies. Future studies designed to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of livestock grazing on wildlife should document (i) livestock type, (ii) timing and frequency of grazing, (iii) duration, and (iv) stocking rate. Much of this information was lacking in the available published studies we reviewed, but is essential when making comparisons between different livestock grazing management practices and their potential impacts on rangeland biodiversity.     

Infrastructure features outperform environmental variables explaining rabbit abundance around motorways

Human disturbance is widespread across landscapes in the form of roads that alter wildlife populations. Knowing which road features are responsible for the species response and their relevance in comparison with environmental variables will provide useful information for effective conservation measures. We sampled relative abundance of European rabbits, a very widespread species, in motorway verges at regional scale, in an area with large variability in environmental and infrastructure conditions. Environmental variables included vegetation structure, plant productivity, distance to water sources, and altitude. Infrastructure characteristics were the type of vegetation in verges, verge width, traffic volume, and the presence of embankments. We performed a variance partitioning analysis to determine the relative importance of two sets of variables on rabbit abundance. Additionally, we identified the most important variables and their effects model averaging after model selection by AICc on hypothesis‐based models. As a group, infrastructure features explained four times more variability in rabbit abundance than environmental variables, being the effects of the former critical in motorway stretches located in altered landscapes with no available habitat for rabbits, such as agricultural fields. Model selection and Akaike weights showed that verge width and traffic volume are the most important variables explaining rabbit abundance index, with positive and negative effects, respectively. In the light of these results, the response of species to the infrastructure can be modulated through the modification of motorway features, being some of them manageable in the design phase. The identification of such features leads to suggestions for improvement through low‐cost corrective measures and conservation plans. As a general indication, keeping motorway verges less than 10 m wide will prevent high densities of rabbits and avoid the unwanted effects that rabbit populations can generate in some areas.     

Forest Stand Characteristics Altered by Restoration Affect Western Bluebird Habitat Quality

Forest managers are setting Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests in the southwestern United States on a trajectory toward a restored ecosystem by reducing tree densities and managing with prescribed fire. The process of restoration dramatically alters forest stands, and the effects of these changes on wildlife remain unclear. Our research evaluated which aspects of habitat alteration from restoration treatments may be affecting the habitat quality of Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana), an insectivorous songbird whose populations are declining. Habitat loss resulting from fire‐suppression activities may be partially responsible for their population declines; thus, the bluebird is a good representative species for assessing how the reconstruction of presuppression forest conditions can affect wildlife. We measured habitat variables at 63 successful and 19 unsuccessful Western Bluebird nests in 1999–2001 and 2003. We compared habitat models that represented bluebird biology and habitat changes from restoration. Two models of nest success that included (1) an increased herbaceous and bare ground cover and (2) increased Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) densities and reduced Ponderosa pine densities were most supported by the data. Increased herbaceous ground cover and Gambel oak density likely represent improved invertebrate assemblages and thus improved forage abundance for nesting bluebirds. Lower Ponderosa pine densities may provide bluebirds with open perches from which to hunt and thereby improve the availability of invertebrates as a food source. We also provide a landscape‐scale example of changes to bluebird habitat quality from treatments, which we recommend as a useful tool in restoration planning.     

Plant phenological research enhances ecological restoration

While phenology data (the timing of recurring biological events) has been used to explain and predict patterns related to global change, and to address applied environmental issues, it has not been clearly identified as pertinent for restoration. This opinion article thus aims to raise awareness of the potential of phenology to enhance the quality of restoration projects and ecological restoration theory. We based our analysis on a systematic literature survey carried out in February 2014, searching the words “phenology” or “phenological” in books dealing with restoration, the term “phenolog*” in the journal Restoration Ecology, and the terms “restoration” and “phenolog*” in the database Web of Science until February 2014. We finally selected 149 studies relevant to our goals, and first classified them according to the context in which phenology was addressed. We then analyzed them within the framework of the five key steps of restoration projects: (1) the reference ecosystem; (2) biotic resources; (3) restoration methods; (4) monitoring; and (5) adaptive management. The literature survey showed that phenological information improved decision‐making in the few restoration projects in which it was incorporated. We thus advocate taking phenological data into account at all stages of restoration when appropriate: from the acquisition of baseline data on the reference ecosystem to treatment design, and from restoration action planning and timing to monitoring. Phenological data should at minimum be collected for sown, keystone, dominant, and/or rare species to improve restoration quality. Phenology studies and monitoring should be promoted in future restoration guidelines.     

Evaluating where and how habitat restoration is undertaken for animals

Habitat restoration is vital to ameliorate the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on animal habitats. We reviewed the peer‐reviewed literature to examine where and how habitat restoration is undertaken. Our aim was to identify key knowledge gaps as well as research and monitoring needs that can inform future restoration actions. We found: (1) marine and terrestrial actions focus most commonly on restoring vegetation, and freshwater actions focus on restoring the in‐channel habitat; (2) arthropods are the most common focal group; (3) there is often no collection of pre‐restoration data, so certainty in attributing environmental changes to restoration actions is limited; and (4) population and community measures are most commonly used in monitoring programs, which only show if animals are present at restored sites and not whether they are able to grow, survive, and reproduce. We highlight three important considerations for future restoration actions. First, more integration of knowledge among freshwater, marine, and terrestrial systems will help us to understand how, and why, restoration outcomes might vary in different contexts. Second, where possible, restoration projects should be assessed using before‐after‐control‐impact designs, which will provide the strongest evidence if desired restoration responses occur. Third, if the goal of restoration is to develop self‐sustaining breeding populations of target animals, then measures of fitness (i.e. breeding, survival) should be collected. These recommendations will hopefully help guide more effective restoration practices and monitoring in the future.     

Development of restoration trajectory metrics in reforested bottomland hardwood forests applying a rapid assessment approach

Large scale wetland restoration and reforestation efforts continue to expand throughout the Lower Mississippi Valley. Monitoring of restoration performance and the development of restoration trajectories pose challenges to resource managers and remain problematic due to (1) temporal patterns in forest succession, (2) budget constraints and short project monitoring timeframes, (3) disparity in the extent of pre-restoration hydrologic and landscape manipulations, and (4) lack of coherent restoration performance standards. The current work establishes a framework for identifying restoration trajectory metrics within project-relevant timescales. The study examined 17 variables commonly applied in rapid assessments. Four variables yielded positive restoration trajectories within a few years to 20 years. These include shrub-sapling density, ground vegetation cover, and development of organic and A soil horizons. Remaining variables including flood frequency and tree density provide limited useful information within critical early years following reforestation due to the time required for measurable changes to occur. As a result, assessment components are classified into three categories of rapid response, response, and stable variables. Restoring entities should maximize stable variables (e.g., afforestation species composition) during project implementation through site selection and planting techniques; while development of restoration milestones should focus on rapid response variables. Data collected at mature bottomland hardwood control sites displays the non-linearity of trajectory curves over decadal time scales.     

Restoration and Science: A Practitioner/Scientist's View from Rare Habitat Restoration at a Southern California Preserve

Researchers reexamining the relationship between restoration science and practice report a continuing scientist‐practitioner gap. As a land manager with scientific training, I offer my perspective of the chasm and describe a restoration practice infused with as much science as the realities of limited budget and time allow. The coastal sage scrub (CSS) restoration project at Starr Ranch, a 1,585 ha Audubon preserve in southern California, combines non‐chemical invasive species control, restoration, and applied research. Our practices evolve from modified scientific approaches and the scientific literature. Results from experiments with non‐optimum replication (on effects of seed rates, soil tamping, and timing of planting) nonetheless had value for management decisions. A critical practice came from academic research that encouraged cost‐effective passive restoration. Our passive restoration monitoring data showed 28–100% total native cover after 3–5 years. Another published study found that restoration success in semiarid regions is dependent on rainfall, a finding vital for understanding active restoration monitoring results that showed a range of 0–88% total native cover at the end of the first season. Work progresses through a combination of applied research, a watchful eye on the scientific literature, and “ecological intuition” informed by the scientific literature and our own findings. I suggest that it is less critical for academic scientists to address the basic questions on technique that are helpful to land managers but rather advocate practitioner training in methods to test alternative strategies and long‐term monitoring.     

Impact: Toward a Framework for Understanding the Ecological Effects of Invaders

Although ecologists commonly talk about the impacts of nonindigenous species, little formal attention has been given to defining what we mean by impact, or connecting ecological theory with particular measures of impact. The resulting lack of generalizations regarding invasion impacts is more than an academic problem; we need to be able to distinguish invaders with minor effects from those with large effects in order to prioritize management efforts. This paper focuses on defining, evaluating, and comparing a variety of measures of impact drawn from empirical examples and theoretical reasoning. We begin by arguing that the total impact of an invader includes three fundamental dimensions: range, abundance, and the per-capita or per-biomass effect of the invader. Then we summarize previous approaches to measuring impact at different organizational levels, and suggest some new approaches. Reviewing mathematical models of impact, we argue that theoretical studies using community assembly models could act as a basis for better empirical studies and monitoring programs, as well as provide a clearer understanding of the relationship among different types of impact. We then discuss some of the particular challenges that come from the need to prioritize invasive species in a management or policy context. We end with recommendations about how the field of invasion biology might proceed in order to build a general framework for understanding and predicting impacts. In particular, we advocate studies designed to explore the correlations among different measures: Are the results of complex multivariate methods adequately captured by simple composite metrics such as species richness? How well are impacts on native populations correlated with impacts on ecosystem functions? Are there useful bioindicators for invasion impacts? To what extent does the impact of an invasive species depend on the system in which it is measured? Three approaches would provide new insights in this line of inquiry: (1) studies that measure impacts at multiple scales and multiple levels of organization, (2) studies that synthesize currently available data on different response variables, and (3) models designed to guide empirical work and explore generalities.     

The effect of a gradual response to the environment on species distribution modeling performance

Species distribution models (SDMs) have been widely used in ecology, biogeography, and conservation. Although ecological theory predicts that species occupancy is dynamic, the outputs of SDMs are generally converted into a single occurrence map, and model performance is evaluated in terms of success to predict presences and absences. The aim of this study was to characterize the effects of a gradual response in species occupancy to environmental gradients into the performance of SDMs. First we outline guidelines for the appropriate simulation of artificial species that allows controlling for gradualism and prevalence in the occupancy patterns over an environmental gradient. Second, we derive theoretical expected values for success measures based on presence‐absence predictions (AUC, Kappa, sensitivity and specificity). And finally we used artificial species to exemplify and test the effect of a gradual probabilistic occupancy response to environmental gradients on SDM performance. Our results show that when a species responds gradually to an environmental gradient, conventional measures of SDM predictive success based on presence‐absence cannot be expected to attain currently accepted performance values considered as good, even for a model that recovers perfectly well the true probability of occurrence. A gradual response imposes a theoretical expected value for these measures of performance that can be calculated from the species properties. However, irrespective of the statistical modeling strategy used and of how gradual the species response is, one can recover the true probability of occurrence as a function of environmental variables provided that species and sample prevalence are similar. Therefore, model performance based on presence‐absence should be judged against the theoretical expected value rather than to absolute values currently in use such as AUC > 0.8. Overall, we advocate for a wider use of the probability of occurrence and emphasize the need for further technical developments in this sense.     

Monitoring and evaluating large-scale, ‘open-ended’ habitat creation projects: A journey rather than a destination

Ecological restoration frequently involves setting fixed species or habitat targets to be achieved by prescribed restoration activities or through natural processes. Where no reference systems exist for defining outcomes or where restoration is planned on a large spatial scale, a more ‘open-ended’ approach to defining outcomes may be appropriate. Such approaches require changes to the definition of goals and the design of monitoring and evaluation activities. We suggest that in open-ended projects restoration goals should be framed in terms of promoting natural processes, mobile landscape mosaics and improved ecosystem services. Monitoring can then focus on the biophysical processes that underpin the development of habitat mosaics and the provision of ecosystem services, on the way habitat mosaics change through time and on species that can indicate the changing landscape attributes of connectivity and scale. Stakeholder response should be monitored since an open-ended restoration approach is unusual and can encounter institutional and societal constraints. Evaluation should focus on reporting changing restoration impacts and benefits rather than on achieving a pre-defined concept of ecological success.     

Class incremental learning for wildlife biodiversity monitoring in camera trap images

Camera traps have been widely used for wildlife biodiversity monitoring, providing abundant ecological data. Manually classifying such abundant images is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Existing deep learning methods solve this problem for a fixed set of predefined wildlife species. The model trained on such sets cannot be applied to new wildlife species. Retraining models on new wildlife species can lead to catastrophic forgetting. Thus, in this work, we propose a class incremental learning method to identify new wildlife species. Our method employs a novel adaptive exemplar assignment (AEA) strategy with dynamic exemplar amounts to adapt to new species while alleviating the forgetting of old ones. Due to memory constraints, the data imbalance between limited exemplars and new species data can lead to class bias. We mitigate it by performing center vector retrieval (CVR) to classify samples in feature space and bypass the biased linear classifier. In addition, we propose two variants of CVR that incorporate the advantage of the linear classifier to further improve the performance. By using only 4% of old species data, our method achieves 77.09% accuracy at a low computational resource for recognition. Through extensive experiments and ablations, we demonstrate the superiority of our proposed approach over state-of-the-art methods. This method facilitates wildlife monitoring, biodiversity conservation, and ecological assessment.     

A new analytical method for wildlife habitat conservation planning on a city scale using the classification of physiologically homogeneous areas

Kyoto has a tradition of positively protecting scenic landscapes. However, a question has arisen about the effectiveness of the present legislative system on biodiversity conservation because most laws aim to essentially preserve the aesthetic value of the landscape. It is necessary to identify gaps in the present conservation system to develop an effective conservation policy for the city. The authors propose a practical method of analysis for wildlife habitat conservation planning without wildlife distribution information, which is the usual situation in many cities, and discuss the usefulness and limitations of the method by applying it to Kyoto. The proposed method relies on both of the following two assumptions: (1) the physical properties of the environment are closely related to the potential vegetation communities and (2) the conservation or restoration of rare or extinct vegetation communities ensures diverse wildlife habitats, contributing to biodiversity enhancement in a region. Thus it should be deemed a supplementary analysis to other types of analyses employing endangered, umbrella and/or flagship species in the planning process. A unique aspect of the method is to evaluate land potential, which is important for long-term conservation planning and the determination of target vegetation communities in restoration projects. In Kyoto, this revealed that the candidates for vegetation communities, prioritized for conservation and restoration, were appropriate. Moreover, identifying physiotopes corresponding with none of the existing vegetation communities was another advantage providing useful information for restoration planning. However, it was considered that a filtering process, with auxiliary information about the trend of vegetation communities over time, was necessary after applying the proposed method.     

The Need for Strategic Planning in Passive Restoration of Wildlife Populations

There are two reasons for strategic planning in passive wildlife restoration: first, to maximize the potential for colonization of restoration sites in challenged landscapes, and second, to maximize the contribution of each restoration project to regional, management area, ecosystem, or target species goals. Landscape configuration and the demographic/dispersal characteristics of target species can govern the level of wildlife response to habitat restoration projects. This is particularly true for fragmented habitats in rapidly suburbanizing areas, where the widely held notion that wildlife can colonize any restored habitat is challenged by barriers to dispersal. Because habitat restoration is a passive means of restoring wildlife populations, equal weight needs to be given to the context (likelihood of site colonization by target species) as well as the content (habitat) of restoration projects. Defining spatial patterns of demography, dispersion, and dispersal allows restorationists to place projects where they can have the greatest impact on the threats and sensitivities of target species, and the greatest contribution to the persistence and/or recovery of populations. Further, it provides a means of evaluating the relative potential worth of different restoration sites. If passive wildlife restoration is to be successful, the constraints to colonization need to be interpreted with regional goals of ecosystem and species management in mind.     

Comparison of Methods of Monitoring Wildlife Crossing-Structures on Highways

ABSTRACT Wildlife crossing-structures (e.g., underpasses and overpasses) are used to mitigate deleterious effects of highways on wildlife populations. Evaluating performance of mitigation measures depends on monitoring structures for wildlife use. We analyzed efficacy of 2 noninvasive methods commonly used to monitor crossing-structure use by large mammals: tracking and motion-activated cameras. We monitored 15 crossing-structures every other day between 29 June and 24 October 2007 along the Trans-Canada Highway in Alberta, Canada. Our objectives were to determine how species-specific detection rates are biased by the detection method used, to determine factors contributing to crossing-event detection, and to evaluate the most cost-effective approach to monitoring. We detected 3,405 crossing events by tracks and 4,430 crossings events by camera for mammals coyote-sized and larger. Coyotes (Canis latrans) and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) were significantly more likely to be detected by track-pads, whereas elk (Cervus elaphus) and deer (Odocoileus sp.) were more likely to be detected by cameras. Crossing-event detection was affected by species, track-pad length, and number of animals using the crossing structure. At the levels of animal activity observed in our study our economic analysis indicates that cameras are more cost-effective than track-pads for study durations >1 year. Understanding the benefits and limitations of camera and track-pad methods for monitoring large mammal movement at wildlife crossing-structures will help improve the efficiency of studies designed to evaluate the effectiveness of highway mitigation measures.     

Phytometers are underutilised for evaluating ecological restoration

Ecological restoration increases, but evaluation of restoration efforts is inadequate because reliable performance indicators are lacking. As plants are important actors in ecological restoration, we suggest that they be used as metres, i.e. phytometers, of restoration success. Phytometer plants are transplanted to different conditions to integrate measures of the prevailing conditions. We analysed 109 studies for the use of phytometers and especially their applicability to evaluate ecological restoration. Most studies employed single species and life-stages and focused on habitat conditions and environmental impacts. Most experiments were conducted on grasslands in moist temperate regions. Growth was the dominant response variable, in long-term studies often combined with reproductive output and plant survival. Only five studies specifically evaluated ecological restoration, implying that its potential is not yet realised. We found phytometers promising in evaluating restoration outcomes given that they are easy to measure, can provide rapid results, and serve as integrative indicators of environmental conditions with the ability of covering many aspects of plant life and ecosystem processes. To evaluate restoration success with high resolution and generality, we suggest a combination of different phytometer species, life-forms and life-stages, and experimental periods >1 year to reduce effects of transplantation and between-year variation and to account for time lags in ecological processes and changes after restoration.     

中国野生动物红外相机监测与研究: 现状及未来

智能传感器、人工智能、信息技术等现代科学技术的创新应用极大地提升了人类在全球生物多样性保护和恢复方面的潜力。结合国内外相关研究案例, 本文的主要内容包括: (1)对过去30年间(1991-2021年)中国野生动物红外相机监测研究相关文献资料进行总结分析; (2)结合国内2011年以来的典型案例, 对技术方法、物种发现与编目、形态与行为研究、生态学研究和保护管理等主题领域的进展进行总结分析; (3)结合国外近期的典型案例, 对红外相机监测与研究的重点领域进行评估分析; (4)对中国野生动物红外相机监测研究的未来发展提出相关建议。通过回顾, 本文旨在明晰国内外红外相机技术在野生动物监测研究中的创新应用和发展趋势, 为中国在该领域的未来发展提供参考依据, 以便更好地服务于中国生物多样性监测与研究网络建设和以国家公园为主体的自然保护地体系建设, 为推进国家生态文明建设、保障生态安全和生物安全提供决策支持和科学依据。     

Detecting restoration impacts in inter-connected habitats: Spring invertebrate communities in a restored wetland

Habitat restoration that improves the ecological status of a target ecosystem may have undesired effects in adjoining ecosystems. We assessed how restoration of a mire influenced benthic macroinvertebrates in associated freshwater springs. We included springs affected by restoration and compared these to remote control springs. We collected pre-restoration samples in May 2001 and post-restoration samples in May 2003, 2005 and 2010. Following restoration, water table rose in the whole mire. Restoration also caused profound changes to groundwater quality but, for the most part, water quality returned close to pre-restoration conditions within two years. Reflecting these chemical and hydrological changes, restoration altered spring invertebrate communities, especially the relative abundances of species, but had only weak effect on species richness. The proportional abundance of spring-dependent macroinvertebrates decreased in the restoration area, whereas their proportion remained stable in the remote control sites. Macroinvertebrate community structure at the remote control sites remained almost unchanged throughout the study, whereas communities in the restoration-area springs showed profound changes after restoration, followed by a slow recovery toward the initial conditions. Our results suggest that restoration planning and monitoring should be extended to adjoining ecosystems, and not only species richness but more complete compositional analysis of communities and species abundances should be used to indicate restoration impacts.     

Abundance Patterns of Landbirds in Restored and Remnant Riparian Forests on the Sacramento River, California, U.S.A.

Riparian vegetation along the Sacramento River—California's largest river—has been almost entirely lost, and several wildlife species have been extirpated or have declined as a result. Large-scale restoration efforts are focusing on revegetating the land with native plants. To evaluate restoration success, we conducted surveys of landbirds on revegetated and remnant riparian plots from 1993 to 2003. Our objectives were to estimate population trends of landbirds, compare abundance patterns over time between revegetated and remnant riparian forests, and evaluate abundance in relation to restoration age. Of the 20 species examined, 11 were increasing, 1 was decreasing (Lazuli Bunting [ Passerina amoena ]), and 8 showed no trend. The negative trend for Lazuli Bunting is consistent with information on poor reproductive success and with Breeding Bird Survey results. There was no apparent guild association common to species with increasing trends. Nine species were increasing on revegetated and remnant plots, four were increasing on revegetated plots only, three were increasing on remnant plots only, the Lazuli Bunting was decreasing on both, and three species were stable on both. Although many species were increasing at a faster rate on revegetated plots, their abundance did not reach that of the remnant plots. For revegetated plots, "year since planting" was a strong predictor of abundance trends for 13 species: positive for 12, negative for 1. Our study shows that restoration activities along the Sacramento River are successfully providing habitat for a diverse community of landbirds and that results from bird monitoring provide a meaningful way to evaluate restoration success.