Large-scale Restoration Projects Research Articles

Large-Scale Re-Implantation Efforts for Posidonia oceanica Restoration in the Ligurian Sea: Progress and Challenges

The Ligurian Sea (NW Mediterranean) has been a focal point for numerous interventions aimed at restoring Posidonia oceanica meadows. The success of pioneer restoration actions in France during the 1970s stimulated similar initiatives across the Mediterranean Sea. Early attempts in the Ligurian Sea were implemented in 1993 and 1996 on limited seabed areas (i.e., tens of square meters) at the two coastal sites of Sori and Rapallo (Liguria, NW Italy). No further initiatives have been reported for the Ligurian Sea until 2022. In that year, a large-scale restoration project, which uses biodegradable mats coupled with metal mesh, began in Liguria. Different levels of anthropogenic pressure and wave exposure characterize the three investigated locations: (1) Portofino, on the eastern Liguria and on the border with the Portofino Marine Protected Area; (2) Bergeggi in the central Liguria and within the Isola di Bergeggi Marine Protected Area; and (3) Sanremo in the western Liguria, without any formal protection. Despite recent setbacks caused by severe storms in late 2023, which particularly damaged the Portofino site, ongoing monitoring revealed promising survival rates. Most notably, the site in Bergeggi displayed a 90% survival rate in September 2023. Although challenges to restore P. oceanica beds persist, such as mitigating damages caused by unpredictable events, this extensive re-implantation initiative offers the opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of new basin-scale restoration strategies. This approach marks an important step in the conservation of Posidonia oceanica habitat.

ВТРАЧЕНІ ЕЛЕМЕНТИ АРХІТЕКТУРНИХ ПАМ’ЯТОК КИЄВА УКРАЇНСЬКОГО БАРОКО

The article is dedicated to the research of the loss of important architectural and compositional elements in Kyiv architectural monuments of the Ukrainian Baroque of the XVIIth – XVIIIth centuries. The author analyzes the architectural development of such Kyiv buildings as the Onufriivska Tower and the Church of Conception of Ann of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the Resurrection Church, the st. Illia Church, the Temple of Nikolas, the Intercession Church, the Old Building of the Kyiv-Mohyla academy, cookhouse and Church of the Holy Spirit of the Brotherly Epiphany Monastery, St. Sophia Cathedral, Church of the Ascension of the Phlor’s Monastery. All these objects have common destiny because of loss of their important Baroque details during XVIII–XIX centuries. Instead, they gained the forms of other styles, which did not detract from the national signs of these monuments. Such changes were made for various reasons: changes in fashion and styles in architecture, functional and utilitarian needs. However, such transformations were often anti-Ukrainian in nature, and they even ended up replacing Ukrainian symbols with Moscow ones. Let us highlight this very incident with the butt of the story: the reconstruction of the St. Sophia Cathedral in 1882. This unique monument and shrine was adorned with characteristic elements of the Ukrainian Baroque – sloping pediments on western and eastern façades. In fact, the temple was redecorated with elements of Byzantine and Russian architecture. During the Soviet time, the practice of replacing Ukrainian architectural symbols with Russian ones continued. Let us illustrate this with the example of the Ascension Cathedral of the Phlor’s Monastery in Podil. For a long time, researches did not pay attention on such a facts, but now it is time to restore justice to our national symbols. In the author’s opinion, today it is necessary to carry out in-depth research on historical monuments with a view to developing a concept and developing large-scale restoration projects that would restore their original beauty and completeness.

Assessment of the restoration potential for ecological sustainability in the Xijiang River basin, Southwest China: A comparative analysis of karst and non-karst areas

Vegetation restoration is an eco-friendly strategy for countering land degradation and biodiversity loss. Since 2000–2001, large-scale restoration projects have been performed in Southwest China, with the net primary productivity (NPP) increasing over the past two decades. However, negative ecohydrological impacts, including streamflow decline and soil moisture deficit, have been reported following afforestation. Current understanding of the permissible NPP capacity (NPPcap) and NPP potential (NPPpot) under karst and non-karst areas or planted and natural vegetations constrained by environmental factors remains unclear. Here multiple environmental drivers characterizing the heterogeneous landscape in the Xijiang River Basin (Southwest China) were employed to predict the NPPcap using a random forest model. Results showed that 85% of the area exhibited an increasing trend in NPPcap during 2001–2018. Overall, 3.50% of the area has exceeded the NPPcap, implying an excessive plantation and potential water deficit in these areas. Excluding agriculture activities, urban areas, and water bodies, we found there is room for an average extra 22.85% of NPP enhancement. The NPPpot was spatially imbalanced, with high NPPpot located in the northeast, indicating these areas as a target area for future vegetation restoration. Moreover, the NPPpot reduction in karst areas (1.12 g C m−2 a−1) was more pronounced than in non-karst areas (0.26 g C m−2 a−1), highlighting a stronger negative impact on NPPpot in karst areas. Furthermore, significant NPPpot differences were found between planted vegetation and natural vegetation for both karst and non-karst areas. According to the findings, we identified four separate restoration sub-zones and proposed tailored strategies to guide the implementation of future restoration efforts. Our study highlights restoration potential and where land is available for reforestation but also the urgent need for future restoration activities towards ecosystem sustainability.

Lessons learned from 30-years of operation of the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion, Louisiana USA

Wetland loss is a worldwide issue with estimates of loss ranging from 50% to 71% in the 20th century. Louisiana's coastal zone lost approximately 4,830 km2, or 25% of the land area between 1932 and 2016 due to a variety of natural and anthropogenic forces that both erode and prevent the growth or maintenance of existing land. Freshwater diversions were constructed along the Mississippi River to convey freshwater, nutrients, and sediment from the Mississippi River to Louisiana's coastal basins to combat saltwater intrusion, nourish the marshes, and stimulate fisheries. The Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion (CFD) was authorized by the Flood Control Acts of 1928 and 1965, the 1974 Water Resources Development Act, and a 1984 Environmental Impact Statement, with construction completed and operations started in 1991. The CFD has been largely successful from the standpoint of the project's authorized goals. Early on in the project, the CFD helped combat saltwater intrusion in a 2,730 km2 basin and re-established the gradient from fresh to salt marsh, by creating conditions favorable to fresh marsh species. Although not a specific project goal, the CFD also built more than 700 acres of new emergent wetland between 1991 and 2016. By critically assessing 30 years of CFD governance, operations, monitoring, and adaptive management, lessons learned are developed that provide valuable information for making the operations and governance of current and future diversions more effective, transparent, adaptive, and trusted by the basin communities. Louisiana's Coastal Master Plan pivots to the use of river diversions to focus on land building and large-scale ecosystem restoration by mimicking natural processes that originally built the Louisiana deltaic landscape, rather than the more common small-scale restoration that has occurred over the past decades. However, large-scale restoration projects, by their nature, impact a wide variety of stakeholders and tend to cross political boundaries. Lessons learned from the CDF highlight the need for flexibility in the long-term and specificity in the short term in governing the operations of a large-scale coastal project. Recommendations developed for modernizing project implementation into the future given changing estuaries and climate will help increase effective implementation of larger-capacity river sediment diversions and other ecosystem-scale projects. It is time for big and bold action to restore south Louisiana and other coastal environments worldwide, and critical to success is using results from numerous past studies, applying lessons learned from existing projects like the CFD, and projections of future conditions.

Testate amoebae response and vegetation composition after plantation removal on a former raised bog

Extensive drainage of peatlands in north-west Europe for the purposes of afforestation for timber production and harvesting has altered the carbon balance and biodiversity value. Large-scale restoration projects aim to reinstate hydrological conditions to keep carbon locked up in the peat and to restart active peat growth. Testate amoebae are an informal grouping of well-studied protists in peatland environments and as microbial consumers play an important role in nutrient and carbon cycling. Using a space for time substitution approach, this study investigated the response of testate amoebae assemblages and vegetation composition after tree removal on a drained raised bog. There was a clear difference in microbial assemblages between open and a chronosequenceof restoration areas. Results suggest microbial recovery after rewetting is a slow process with plant composition showing a faster response than the microbial assemblage. Mixotrophic testate amoebae had not recovered seventeen years following plantation removal and the establishment of Sphagnum mosses in the wetter microforms. These results suggest that vegetation composition and Testate amoeba assemblages respond differently to environmental drivers at forest-to-bog restoration areas. Local physicochemical peat properties were a stronger driver of the testate assemblage compared with vegetation. Complete recovery of microbial assemblages may take place over decadal timescales.

Seed Provision Efficacy of Detached Reproductive Shoots in Restoration Projects for Degraded Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) Meadows

Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) is a dominant seagrass species in the temperate waters of the northern hemisphere and is experiencing global declines. The use of eelgrass seeds is increasingly being recognized as a viable option for large-scale restoration projects. Eelgrass reproductive shoots are often collected to obtain seeds or to broadcast seeds in restoration projects. Here, a new method to accurately evaluate the seed provision efficacy of detached eelgrass reproductive is proposed. Viable seeds of detached eelgrass reproductive shoots were collected using in situ net cages at Swan Lake, China. The seed yield and quality of detached eelgrass reproductive shoots under five different treatments (with or without rhizomes and roots, vegetative shoots, and sediment) were compared to select the optimal treatment for this method. The results showed that each detached eelgrass reproductive shoot produced approximately 50 viable seeds on average and the potential seed yield overestimated the actual seed yields by around four times. Seed quality evaluated by size and weight was consistent with that of the natural eelgrass meadow in Swan Lake. Comparing the five different treatments, the simplest treatment (a single reproductive shoot) was convenient and robust for this method. The results indicate that this method is worth further extending to other populations to improve the efficiency of seed use and for effectiveness evaluation in restoration projects.

Perspectives from the Global South inform and affirm the contemporary river conservation paradigm: A commentary on Feio et al.

Perspectives from the Global South inform and affirm the contemporary river conservation paradigm: A commentary on Feio et al.

From military training area to National Park over 20 years: Indicators for outcome evaluation in a large-scale restoration project in alpine Norway

There is a need for large-scale demonstrations to address the challenges and possibilities for upscaling of ecosystem restoration, and for learning and sharing knowledge across professions and habitats. Large-scale and complex restoration projects need new perspectives on goal formulation, indicators for success, and evaluation to encompass both scientific approaches and the tacit knowledge held by practitioners. The objective of this paper is to use the restoration of a 165 km2 former military training area in alpine central Norway into National Park to demonstrate the challenges of upscaling and integration. Main tasks were to remove roads and technical infrastructure, prepare for natural recovery and remove undetonated ordnance. In total, 19 indicators were used to evaluate the restoration outcome, related to four overall restoration goals formulated by the Norwegian Parliament: nature protection, considerable nature benefit, safe civilian use, and restoration back to natural state. Despite an overall linear project cycle, a dynamic and adaptive process of planning, implementation and evaluation was performed at the individual site scale. A dynamic dialogue between all involved professions allowed for exchanging scientific and tacit knowledge, and continuous improvement of solutions. The study demonstrated the relevance of qualitative assessments combined with quantitative indicators – i.e., use of expert opinions and the continuous evaluation to feed back into planning and improving the implementation of restoration measures. A “Green training” procedure was developed, linking top-down formally defined settings of the project with bottom-up hand-on solutions. This procedure can be directly transferred to other large-scale mitigation and restoration projects. Demonstration sites like the one described here, are valuable to develop an expanded vision of restoration to meet the UN Sustainable Goals.

A novel monitoring protocol to evaluate large-scale forest restoration projects in the tropics

A novel monitoring protocol to evaluate large-scale forest restoration projects in the tropics

Nature‐based Solutions to tackle climate change and restore biodiversity

Nature‐based Solutions to tackle climate change and restore biodiversity

Impacts of large-scale landscape restoration on spatio-temporal dynamics of ecosystem services in the Chinese Loess Plateau

ContextFrom 1999 onwards, China has initiated a large-scale landscape restoration project in the Chinese Loess Plateau, which has had profound but variable impacts on the local ecosystem services supply. The dynamics of ecosystem services throughout the restoration process remain poorly understood.ObjectivesTo analyze the spatial and temporal dynamics in ecosystem services before and after the implementation of the land restoration project, and to understand trade-offs and synergies between multiple ecosystem services.MethodsWe used the InVEST model and statistical yearbook data to quantify the ecosystem services over the period 1990–2018 for the Yan’an area and applied the concept of ecosystem service bundles to understand the dynamics of 11 ecosystem services over its 13 constituent counties.ResultsA significant increase of fruit production, sediment retention, habitat quality, aesthetic landscape value, and learning and inspiration value was found over time in the Yan’an area, while a decrease of timber production and water yield was also observed. The majority of the county-level ecosystem service bundles were transformed from having a focus on timber production to aesthetic landscape value. The dynamics of ecosystem services change induced by land restoration was discovered to start with increasing regulating services at the expense of provisioning services, while cultural services exceeded regulating services and occupied the main proportion subsequently.ConclusionBoth trade-offs and synergies were found between provisioning, regulating and cultural services. Implementation of the large-scale restoration project is recognized as a key driving force inducing change of ecosystem services, starting with an improvement of regulating services followed by a gradually evolving prominence of cultural services.

Habitat restoration for brown trout (Salmo trutta) has limited effects on macroinvertebrate communities in a historically metal-contaminated stream.

Quantifying the success of stream remediation or restoration projects that are designed to improve water quality or habitat, respectively, is often challenging because of insufficient posttreatment monitoring, poorly defined restoration goals, and failure to consider fundamental aspects of ecological theory. We measured the effects of habitat restoration on aquatic and terrestrial prey resources in a system recovering from the long-term effects of mining pollution. The study was conducted in the Upper Arkansas River, a Rocky Mountain stream located in central Colorado, USA. Remediation of California Gulch, a United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Superfund Site that discharged metals from past mining operations into the stream, was completed in 2000, resulting in significant improvements in water quality, benthic macroinvertebrate communities, and brown trout (Salmo trutta) populations. A large-scale restoration project designed to improve habitat and increase the density and biomass of brown trout was completed in 2014. To assess the effectiveness of these habitat improvements on invertebrate communities in this system, we sampled sites for 9 years before (2010-2014) and after (2015-2018) restoration was completed. In contrast to our expectations, we observed few changes in the abundance of aquatic or terrestrial invertebrates after restoration. The most common response was an overall reduction in abundance resulting from significant instream disturbances during and immediately after restoration, followed by a gradual return to pretreatment conditions. Despite reductions in prey abundance, the number of prey items in the diet of brown trout increased significantly after restoration. We discuss several explanations for these responses, including the effects of residual metals, increased predation by brown trout, and the recalcitrance of novel communities dominated by metal-tolerant species. Our results suggest that the effectiveness of remediation and restoration differed between macroinvertebrates and fish. Benthic macroinvertebrates were more dependent on water quality improvements at the watershed scale, whereas brown trout populations responded to both improvements in water quality and reach-scale improvements in habitat.Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;18:1047-1055. © 2021 SETAC.

A decision-making tool for restoring lowland grasslands in Europe

Species-rich grasslands suffer from significant loss and degradation all over the world. In particular in lowland Europe, the vast majority of these habitats are in an unfavourable conservation status which requires urgent restoration measures. A significant amount of information on the results of previous restorations exists thanks to the implementation of numerous projects and the publication of action plans, technical notes and scientific articles. This information is however very scattered, which does not facilitate the work of practitioners. We therefore propose here a decision support tool using a step-wise framework informed by the successes and failures obtained in two large-scale restoration projects supplemented by scientific and grey literature. This decision tree addresses different restoration techniques depending on the local context, e.g. the intensity of habitat degradation, the richness of soil nutrients, and the presence in the vicinity of a habitat in a good conservation status. Depending on the type of grassland, our tool then suggests various recurrent management techniques to be applied after restoration. This synthetic work is presented step by step according to a dichotomous key which is intended to help practitioners make the right choices in their restoration process.

Ecosystem restoration as a boundary object, demonstrated in a large-scale landscape restoration project in the Dovre Mountains, Norway

Coordinating and implementing ecosystem restoration projects can be challenging when the professions involved have differing perceptions of ecological restoration and implementation in practice. To overcome these barriers in complex restoration projects, we suggest analysing ecosystem restoration as a boundary object, a concept drawn from the field of science and technology studies. We use a large scale restoration project in the Dovre Mountains of Norway to demonstrate the validity of using the boundary object concept in this context. The restoration involves a former military training area where the goal of the project was to protect and restore the environment and allow for civilian use. We examine how the different professions developed sufficient mutual understanding to make the project work. In particular, we explore the extent to which the perceptions of different professions overlap, the diversity of the perceptions in the project and how this might influence the outcome of the restoration. The boundary object concept offers potential to help improve restoration quality and reduce conflicts.

Using Multiple Ecological Models to Inform Environmental Decision-Making

Coastal ecosystems are experiencing degradation from compound impacts of climate change and multiple anthropogenic disturbances. These pressures often act synergistically and complicate designing effective conservation measures; consequently, large-scale coastal restoration actions become a wicked problem. The purpose of this study was to use two different food web models in a coordinated manner to inform resource managers in their assessment of the ecological effects of a large-scale marsh restoration project. A team was formed that included the model developers and outside scientists, who were asked to use available model results of the calibrated simulations of an Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) model and a Comprehensive Aquatic Systems Model (CASM), both designed to describe the structure and energetics of the Barataria Bay, Louisiana, United States food web. Both models offer somewhat different depictions of the predator-prey and competitive interactions of species within the food web, and how environmental conditions affect the species biomass pools and energetics. Collectively, the team evaluated the strengths of each model and derived a common set of indicator variables from model outputs that provided information on the structure and energy flow of the simulated food web. Considering the different modeling structures and calibration approaches, indicators were interpreted within and between models. Use of both models enabled a robust determination that: (1) Detritus plays a vital role in the energetics of the system; (2) The food web responds to spring high flow seasons by increasing productivity through specific, dominant pathways; (3) The trophic pyramid is truncated; (4) Compared to other estuaries, this system has redundant pathways for energy transfer. These findings indicate that the food web appears to be resilient to disturbance because of a detritus energy reserve, most consumer biomass consists of low trophic level, high turnover species, and redundant energy pathways exist. This information provides context to decision-makers for assessing possible basin-scale impacts on fish and shellfish resources of a proposed large-scale restoration project. The use of multiple models in a coordinated but not overly constrained way, as demonstrated here, provides a significant step toward co-production of knowledge for use in resource management decisions.

Consumer control and abiotic stresses constrain coastal saltmarsh restoration

Die-off of coastal wetlands has been reported worldwide. Planting habitat-forming species is an important strategy to reverse the decline of coastal wetlands. However, how abiotic environmental stresses and consumers affect the establishment of the planted vegetation species is unclear. We reported a large-scale restoration project in the Liaohe estuary, China, where native pioneer plant Suaeda salsa was planted. We evaluated the growth performance of the planted S. salsa, and identified the constraints on the establishment of planted S. salsa. Results showed that the growth performance (density, coverage and survival rate) of planted S. salsa was better in the low restored marsh than that in the high restored marsh. The death of planted S. salsa was primarily driven by crab herbivory, followed by abiotic stresses (low soil moisture and high salinity) in the high restored marsh, whereas plant death was only driven by crab herbivory in the low restored marsh. Herbivory strength in the high marsh was significantly higher than that in the low marsh. Our findings challenge the bottom-up paradigm used as the foundation for coastal restoration, and highlight the overlooked role of consumers. Therefore, protection measures against consumer pressure, especially in physically harsh conditions, should be considered to enhance the success of coastal wetland restoration.

Participatory selection of soil quality indicators for monitoring the impacts of regenerative agriculture on ecosystem services

Improving the understanding and fostering large-scale adoption of regenerative agriculture (RA) requires soil quality monitoring systems that integrate farmers’ and researchers’ knowledge. This is especially relevant for participatory impact assessment in semiarid areas prone to land degradation that typically respond slowly to management changes, often resulting in low RA adoption rates. We developed a framework for the identification and selection of local and technical soil quality indicators and for the development of a visual soil assessment tool, to participatory monitor the impacts of RA by farmers and researchers. We applied this framework in a large-scale restoration project in southeast Spain together with almond farmers implementing RA. Local indicators selected by farmers focused mostly on water regulation, erosion control, soil fertility, crop performance and main supporting, regulating and provisioning ecosystem services. Technical indicators selected by researchers focused mostly on soil properties including aggregate stability, soil nutrients, microbial biomass and activity, and leaf nutrients, covering crucial supporting services. The combination of indicators provided complementary information, improving the feasibility of RA impact assessment. This integrated soil quality monitoring system offers a practical tool to enhance knowledge exchange and mutual learning to support the implementation of RA and optimize the delivery of ecosystem services.

A low-cost and effective seeding technique using protective core for restoration of Zostera marina habitats

In this study, a protective seed core method for planting seeds of the common eelgrass Zostera marina was developed and evaluated through laboratory and field experiments. We studied the suitable desiccation period of the protective seed cores, and their effect on seed germination and seedling establishment in a laboratory experiment. New patches established by seeds planted with the protective seed cores were evaluated through an 11-month-seed-sowing field experiment. Observations of the stability of the protective seed cores and the change in viability of Z. marina seeds placed in the protective seed cores demonstrated that the optimum desiccation period was 2 days. Seed germination and seedling establishment of Z. marina were promoted by the protective seed cores during the 90-day laboratory experiment. The field experiment showed that the seedling establishment of Z. marina seeds was significantly enhanced by the protective cores, ranging from 12% to 64%, with an average of 30%, 6 months after seeding. New patches were successfully established by protective seed cores with a maximum shoot density of 367 shoots m−2 11 months after planting. The average planting cost per Z. marina seed was $0.03; thus, $14,820 would be incurred for planting 1 ha of Z. marina beds using this method. These results indicate that the protective seed core method is an efficient and cost-effective restoration technique with a potential in facilitating large-scale restoration projects.

Restoring barrier habitat in Louisiana to compensate for natural resource injuries: Shell Island and Chenier Ronquille Barrier Restoration Projects

Coastal Louisiana received significant funds tied to BP penalties as a result of the Deepwater Horizon incident. As it is widely considered that the State of Louisiana sustained most of the damage due to this incident, there has been a firm push to waste no time in implementing habitat restoration projects. Sustaining the land on the coast of Louisiana is vital to our nation’s economy, as several of the nation’s largest ports are located on the Gulf coast in Louisiana. In addition, the ecosystems making up the Louisiana coast are important to sustain some of the largest and most valuable fisheries in the nation. Funded by BP Phase 3 Early Restoration, the goals of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Outer Coast Restoration Project are to restore beach, dune, and marsh habitats to help compensate spill-related injuries to habitats and species, specifically brown pelicans, terns, skimmers, and gulls. Four island components in Louisiana were funded under this project; Shell Island Barrier Restoration, Chenier Ronquille Barrier Island Restoration, Caillou Lake Headlands Barrier Island Restoration, and North Breton Island Restoration (https://www. gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/louisiana-outer-coast-restoration, NOAA 2018). Shell Island and Chenier Ronquille are critical pieces of barrier shoreline within the Barataria Basin in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. These large-scale restoration projects were completed in the years following the Deepwater Horizon incident, creating new habitat and reinforcing Louisiana’s Gulf of Mexico shoreline. The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) finished construction of the Shell Island NRDA Restoration Project in 2017, which restored two barrier islands in Plaquemines Parish utilizing sand hydraulically dredged from the Mississippi River and pumped via pipeline over 20 miles over levees and through towns, marinas, and marshes to the coastline. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) also completed the Plaquemines Parish barrier island restoration at Chenier Ronquille in 2017 utilizing nearshore Gulf of Mexico sediment, restoring wetland, coastal, and nearshore habitat in the Barataria Basin. A design and construction overview is provided herein.

Assessing the suitability of FROM-GLC10 data for understanding agricultural ecosystems in China: Beijing as a case study

ABSTRACTThe first 10 m resolution global land-cover map, FROM-GLC10 was released in early March 2019. Due to its high spatial resolution and reliable global accuracy, we evaluated the suitability of FROM-GLC10 data for understanding agricultural ecosystems in Beijing using a comparable vector data set, Google Earth images and field survey data. The overall accuracy (OA) for FROM-GLC10 based on three data sets was 71.08%, 79.63% and 80.36%, respectively. Meanwhile, there were notable misclassifications between cropland, grassland and forest. The limited accuracy for these vegetation types might be attributed to the spatially mixed vegetation structures, seasonal variations of vegetation and the temporal inconsistence between Landsat and Sentinel data set. Due to its satisfactory OA, FROM-GLC10 data have the potential to be widely employed for evaluating the progress of large-scale ecological restoration projects. On the other hand, the data producers, who can pre-set and classify some customized land-cover types, consider time-series analysis and big data fusion methods and conduct large-scale verification, and data users, who can integrate different data sources, should work together to enhance the suitability and reliability of FROM-GLC10 data for understanding agricultural ecosystems in China.