Ecological Restoration

The EU’s general introduction lays out the conceptual foundations for ecological rehabilitation and restoration, as well as the resilience of ecosystems and aquatic environments.
The concepts of ecological and hydrological continuity, river morphology, and hydrogeomorphology are explained and illustrated.
A field trip provides an opportunity to analyze the challenges, formulate hypotheses about how systems function, and assess impacts.
The course’s practical exercises are preferably directly linked to fieldwork.
The main tools and techniques for species reintroduction are presented and accompanied by illustrative practical exercises:
- Animal model practical exercise: reintroduction of a vulture population
- Plant model practical exercise: transplantation.
- Riparian forest practical exercise: and the concept of the “turquoise grid”
The main impacts of soil sealing and interventions on aquatic environments (maintenance and development) and methods for assessing these impacts, accompanied by illustrative practical exercises:
- Practical exercise on the Water Act: assessing the impacts of soil sealing and hydrological compensation.
- Hydrogeomorphological practical exercise: analysis of historical and current hydraulic connectivity.
Finally, the course offers students the opportunity to integrate ecological and hydrological connectivity and to explore options for optimized restoration.

- Understand the concepts and challenges of ecological and hydrological continuity and restoration.
- Be familiar with the main techniques for analyzing ecological and hydrological continuity and restoration.
- Apply expertise in species reintroduction, impact assessment on continuity, and cross-analysis of stream morphology and ecological continuity.
- Identify, in the field, the specific characteristics of the terrain that lead to ecological and hydrological discontinuities and malfunctions at various scales
- Adopt a multidisciplinary perspective on the environment
- Identify sources of documentation related to these issues and diagnostic methods.

The fundamentals of ecology and hydrology (as covered in the “Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems” course, for example).