Who are we?

RESTECOL Group (Ecological Restoration Research Group) was founded in 2007 and in 2019 was recognized as a reference research group by the Government of Aragon. Its main objective is to provide the essential scientific evidence to support the sustainable management of natural resources and the restoration of ecosystems by integrating their social, economic and ecological values. The common nexus of its lines of research and its ultimate goal is supporting the management of the natural environment, providing solutions based on scientific evidence.

RESTECOL Group is a multidisciplinary team formed by 12 researchers and four support technicians belonging to three institutions: the Pyrenean Institute of Ecology, the Experimental Station Aula Dei -both centers belonging to the Spanish National Research Council State Agency (CSIC)- and the University of Zaragoza, in addition to various collaborators. Its members work together in several multi-disciplinary research lines, and specifically in the period 2023-2025 their work is articulated in nine fields of action.

Ecosystem restoration is a global priority, as reflected in the ambitious targets set by various organizations for the year 2030, such as the restoration of 15% of degraded ecosystems in Spain according to the Strategic Plan for Natural Heritage and Biodiversity; 20% in the case of Europe according to the European Green Deal; and 30% internationally according to the recent global biodiversity framework of Kunming-Montreal.

In this context, RESTECOL is exceptionally positioned given its long experience in the study and restoration of various types of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and its work includes notable milestones such as the restoration of the water connectivity of the Ebro river floodplain (Español et al. 2014, Cabezas et al. 2010), the geomorphological restoration of mining operations (Martín-Duque et al. 2021a), the development of guidelines for the restoration of agricultural watersheds (Life-CREAMAGUA project, Comín et al. 2014), the recovery of amphibian habitats in the lower Ter (Life-EMYSTER project) or the development of methods to identify priority areas for restoration (Comín et al. 2018), among others.