Actions to conserve biodiversity
We have summarised evidence from the scientific literature about the effects of actions to conserve wildlife and ecosystems.
Review the evidence from the studies
Not sure what Actions are? Read a brief description.
122 Actions found
Refine
Hide
122 Actions found
Download Actions
Order results by:
Action | Effectiveness | Studies | Category | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Use thinning followed by prescribed fire Action Link | Unlikely to be beneficial | 7 | ![]() | |
Mechanically/manually remove invasive plants Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 4 | ![]() | |
Use herbicides to control invasive plant species Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 1 | ![]() | |
Use wire fencing to exclude large native herbivores Action Link | Likely to be beneficial | 13 | ![]() | |
Use electric fencing to exclude large native herbivores Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 1 | ![]() | |
Control rodents Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 1 | ![]() | |
Legal protection of forests Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 3 | ![]() | |
Thin trees after wildfire Action Link | Trade-off between benefit and harms | 6 | ![]() | |
Plant trees after wildfire Action Link | No evidence found (no assessment) | 0 | ![]() | |
Sow tree seeds after wildfire Action Link | Likely to be ineffective or harmful | 3 | ![]() | |
Remove burned trees Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 2 | ![]() | |
Use selective thinning after restoration planting Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 1 | ![]() | |
Cover the ground with plastic mats after restoration planting Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 1 | ![]() | |
Cover the ground using techniques other than plastic mats after restoration planting Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 1 | ![]() | |
Apply herbicides after restoration planting Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 1 | ![]() | |
Water plants to preserve dry tropical forest species Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 1 | ![]() | |
Plant a mixture of tree species to enhance diversity Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 2 | ![]() | |
Sow tree seeds Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 1 | ![]() | |
Build bird-perches to enhance natural seed dispersal Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 1 | ![]() | |
Remove or disturb leaf litter to enhance germination Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 2 | ![]() | |
Use fertilizer Action Link | Trade-off between benefit and harms | 8 | ![]() | |
Add lime to the soil to increase fertility Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 1 | ![]() | |
Add organic matter Action Link | Trade-off between benefit and harms | 4 | ![]() | |
Use soil scarification or ploughing to enhance germination Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 9 | ![]() | |
Use soil disturbance to enhance germination (excluding scarification or ploughing) Action Link | Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence) | 2 | ![]() |
Download Actions

Forest Conservation - Published 2016
Forest synopsis
Watch this search
If you are familiar with RSS feeds, please click the button below to retrieve the feed URL:
RSS feed for this searchIf you are unfamiliar with RSS feeds, we would suggest reading this BBC article.
Unfortunately, due to the number of feeds we have available, we cannot provide e-mail updates. However, you could use tools such as Feed My Inbox to do this for you.
What are 'Individual studies' and 'Actions'?
Individual studies
An individual study is a summary of a specific scientific study, usually taken from a scientific journal, but also from other resources such as reports. It tells you the background context, the action(s) taken and their consequences.
If you want more detail please look at the original reference.
Actions
Each action page focuses on a particular action you could take to benefit wildlife or ecosystems.
It contains brief (150-200 word) descriptions of relevant studies (context, action(s) taken and their consequences) and one or more key messages.
Key messages show the extent and main conclusions of the available evidence. Using links within key messages, you can look at the paragraphs describing each study to get more detail. Each paragraph allows you to assess the quality of the evidence and how relevant it is to your situation.
Where we found no evidence, we have been unable to assess whether or not an intervention is effective or has any harmful impacts.