Scientific publications

Scientific publications about ecosystem restoration with biodegradable materials.

This page contains scientific publications of ecosystem restoration. In particular, wetlands and bio-based, biodegradable materials, such as our BESE-elements. The articles are grouped per ecosystem type.

At the bottom you can find some scientific handbooks and articles on ecosystem restoration principles.

Publications about shellfish and reef restoration

    • Attraction versus production in restoration: spatial and habitat effects of shellfish reefs for fish in coastal seascapes
      Gilby et al. 2021 Restoration Ecology
    • Biodegradable Material for Oyster Reef Restoration: First-Year Performance and Biogeochemical Considerations in a Coastal Lagoon
      Nitsch et al. 2021 Sustainability
    • Life cycle informed restoration: Engineering settlement substrate material characteristics and structural complexity for reef formation
      Temmink et al. 2021 Journal of applied ecology
    • Can we enhance ecosystem-based coastal defense by connecting oysters to marsh edges? Analyzing the limits of oyster reef establishment
      Fivash et al. 2021 Ecological engineering
    • On the use of large-scale biodegradable artificial reefs for intertidal foreshore stabilization
      Diaz et al. 2021 Ecological Engineering
    • Contemporary Oyster Reef Restoration: Responding to a Changing World
      Howie & Bishop 2021 Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
    • Initiating and upscaling mussel reef establishment with life cycle informed restoration: Successes and future challenges
      Temmink et al. 2022 Ecological Engineering
    • Biodegradable artificial reefs enhance food web complexity and biodiversity in an intertidal soft-sediment ecosystem
      Nauta et al. 2022 Journal of Applied Ecology
    • Evaluating biodegradable alternatives to plastic mesh for small-scale oyster reef restoration
      Comba et al. 2022 Restoration Ecology
    • The Use of Non-Plastic Materials for Oyster Reef and Shoreline Restoration: Understanding What Is Needed and Where the Field Is Headed
      Walters et al. 2022 Sustainability
    • Biodegradable artificial reefs enhance food web complexity and biodiversity in an intertidal soft‐sediment ecosystem
      Nauta et al. 2023 Journal of Applied Ecology
    • REEFOREST. REstoring the European Flat Oyster Reefs & their Ecosystem Services on the French coast
      Pouvreau et al. 2024 ARCHIMER
    • Enhancing ecological complexity in soft-bottom coastal ecosystems: the impact of introducing hard substrates
      Witte et al. 2024 Restoration Ecology
    • Monitoring Faunal Responses to Biodegradable Oyster Reef Restoration Materials with Camera Traps
      Blanchard. 2024 Thesis University of Central Florida
    • Oyster restoration to recover ecosystem services.
      Smith & Pruett 2024 Annual Review of Marine Science
    • Patterns of oyster recruitment and habitat provision across tidal elevation gradients are dependent on predator mitigation methods
      Esquivel-Muelbert et al. 2025 Journal of Applied Ecology
    • Novel settlement substrates for European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) restoration
      Kamermans et al. 2025 Ecological Engineering
    • Introduced substrates trigger colonization by reef-associated fish in a degraded coastal system.
      Watson et al. 2025 PLoS ONE
    • Monitoring faunal responses to biodegradable oyster reef restoration materials with camera traps in a subtropical estuary.
      Blanchard et al. 2025 Restoration Ecology
    • Rethinking artificial reefs to accelerate and upscale marine biodiversity recovery.
      Zhao et al. 2026 Environmental Science & Technology
    • Plastic-Free Alternatives for Oyster Reef Restoration: Laboratory and Field Trials to Determine Efficacy and Environmental Impacts of Novel Restoration Materials.
      Womacks et al. 2026 Environment

 

Publications about salt marsh restoration

  • Mimicry of emergent traits amplifies coastal restoration success
    Temmink et al. 2020 Nature Communications
  • Restoration of biogeomorphic systems by creating windows ofopportunity to support natural establishment processes
    Fivash et al. 2021 Ecological Applications
  • Overcoming establishment thresholds for peat mosses in human-made bog pools
    Temmink et al. 2021 Ecological Applicatons
  • Elevated micro-topography boosts growth rates in Salicornia procumbens by amplifying a tidally driven oxygen pump: implications for natural recruitment and restoration
    Fivash et al. 2019 Aquatic Botany
  • Preliminary results of salt marsh transplants in rewilded coastal wetlands
    Carneiro et al. 2023 EGU General Assembly 2023
  • Evaluating the success of vegetation restoration in rewilded salt marshes
    Carneiro et al. 2024 Science of The Total Environment

Publications about seagrass restoration

  • Mimicry of emergent traits amplifies coastal restoration success
    Temmink et al. 2020 Nature Communications
  • Incorporating facilitative interactions into small-scale eelgrass restoration—challenges and opportunities
    Gagnon et al. 2021 Restoration Ecology
  • Evaluating a novel biodegradable lattice structure for subtropical seagrass restoration 
    Mac Donnell et al. 2021 Aquatic Botany
  • Coastal restoration success via emergent trait-mimicry is context dependent
    Van der Heide et al. 2021 Biological Conservation
  • Reintroduction of self-facilitating feedbacks could advance subtidal eelgrass (Zostera marina) restoration in the Dutch Wadden Sea
    Rehlmeyer et al. 2024     Frontiers in Marine Science
  • Assisting recolonization of near-shore seagrasses
    Torres-Conde et al. 2025 Restoration Ecology
  • Effects of European green crabs (Carcinus maenas) on transplanted Eelgrass (Zostera marina): potential protective measures.
    Petersen et al. 2025 Restoration Ecology
  • Comparative assessment of transplantation methods and donor sources for the restoration of Posidonia oceanica meadows.
    Boulenger et al. 2025 Science of the Total Environment
  • Microbiome matters: how transplantation methods and donor origins shape the successful restoration of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica.
    Boulenger et al. 2025 Environmental Microbiome
  • Seagrass Restoration Review: Spatial Analysis of Potential Habitats, Innovative Restoration Methods, and Predictive Modeling for Monitoring.
    Nurhasanah et al. 2025 J. Ilmu dan Teknologi Kelautan Tropis
  • Physiological and biochemical indicators of Posidonia oceanica transplantation success
    Boulenger et al. 2026 Marine Pollution Bulletin

Publications about submerged Aquatic vegetation restoration

  • Growth forms and life-history strategies predict the occurrence of aquatic macrophytes in relation to environmental factors in a shallow peat lake complex
    Temmink et al. 2021 Springer Nature

Publications about mangrove restoration

Publications about ecosystem restoration principles

Publications about materials and biodegradability

  • Microplastic and biogeochemical releases from plastic, metal, cement, and fiber coastal restoration material.
    Chambers et al. 2026 Marine Pollution Bulletin

This page is regularly updated with more scientific publications about ecosystem restoration with bio-based and biodegradable materials and scientific publications of the principles of ecosystem restoration.

Nature Restoration Regulation implementation
Biodegradable Hexagon Structures for Ecosystem Restoration
BESE-products solutions in offshore wind farms
Scientific publications
BESE-reef paste how it is made
Alternative for plastic mesh for oyster reef restoration