Biodiversity monitoring for habitat restoration

Scotland is experiencing a biodiversity crisis driven in large part by habitat degradation. Woodlands and peatland ecosystems are key habitats that are necessary to protect and restore in order to combat this biodiversity loss and such work is being increasingly undertaken across the country. However, outcomes of restoration must too be investigated to ensure intervention is delivering the desired effects and to inform on future strategies.

In this project, monitoring indicators suitable for assessing short- and long-term biodiversity changes in Scottish woodlands and peatlands undergoing restoration will be developed.  With a combination of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding and remote sensing techniques we will assess data at multiple scales and determine how these distinct techniques can be unified into a complementary monitoring methodology for implementation by land managers. The research is conducted on a range of sites across Scotland, made possible through the University of Edinburgh Forest and Peatland Programme (FPP) and their partnerships.

The central research questions for this project are as follows:

1. What spatial and temporal scales require sampling to monitor biodiversity in peatlands and woodlands?
2. How can we effectively combine eDNA and remote sensing techniques to monitor biodiversity indicators?
3. Which indicators are most suitable for monitoring biodiversity and ecosystem health at the peatland restoration and woodland creation sites?

Over summer & autumn 2025, we began field sampling efforts to obtain a pre-restoration baseline set of soil cores for eDNA metabarcoding. We have also obtained structural and spectral data of the sites through drone-captured LiDAR and multispectral imagery. These datasets allow for the assessment of biodiversity changes in microbial, invertebrate, and plant communities which is now ongoing.

This is an interdisciplinary project conducted between the Conservation Genetics group and the School of Geosciences Centre for Sustainable Forests and Landscapes. The project is funded by the University of Edinburgh through the Forest & Peatland Programme.

For more information, please contact Tilda Tarrant or Prof Rob Ogden

Read more about the University of Edinburgh Forest and Peatland Programme:

Forest and Peatland Programme