Restoring Forest Landscape Connectivity: Why, Where, and How?

Abstract As global challenges like forest degradation, biodiversity loss, and fragmentation intensify, conservation and restoration of forest ecosystems have become important challenges of our time. Sustainable restoration efforts extend beyond tree planting. However, they require clear objectives aligned with consideration of ecological and social resilience. Forest restoration planning benefits from the integration of spatial tools and connectivity measures, ensuring ecosystem stability, species mobility, and adaptability to climate change. Forest landscape restoration is a framework of diverse planned interventions to support biodiversity and the resilience of the forest ecosystem, taking integration into a wider landscape into account. In shifting the focus from a small-scale stand-specific to a landscape-wide perspective, the role of ecological connectivity becomes pivotal. This chapter therefore integrates landscape ecology measures for connectivity in restoration ecology and discusses four questions influencing the planning of a restoration action, including connectivity considerations: (1) What is to be restored (defining the restoration objectives)? (2) Where should the restoration activities be focused (determining spatial and connectivity measures)? (3) How can the restoration best be implemented (applying restoration methods)? (4) How successful is the restoration (determining monitoring measures)? The choice of suitable connectivity measures and restoration methods depends strongly on the landscape and the ecological, economic, and social framework conditions. Challenges for restoring connectivity span technical, financial, biophysical, and social aspects that require collaborative stakeholder engagement and adaptive management to overcome. They also encompass species-specific restoration, invasive species management, and international cooperation for restoring or conserving connected forest ecosystems.