Symbios Research and Restoration

Ecological Restoration

Many ecosystems need repair or remediation after industrial activities. Restorative practices range from basic forest regeneration or soil amelioration to the re-establishment of native plant communities or old-growth forest structure.

Selected Projects:

District of Kitimat (Kitimat, B.C.) 2021. "Preparation of revegetation guidelines for the Coghlin Park viewpoint."

Lazzarin Svisdahl Landscape Architects (Prince George, B.C.) 2021. "Native plant recommendations for Mills Memorial Hospital landscape planning."

BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Skeena Region (Smithers, B.C.) 2014-2016. "Assessing and Promoting Ecosystem Recovery After Placer Mining in the Atlin Area."

Royal BC Museum / University of Victoria (Victoria, B.C.). 2014-15. "Restoration With Native Grass Species in Northern British Columbia."

BC Hydro (Burnaby, B.C.), 2010, “Revegetation Strategy for Dust Control at Williston Lake Reservoir”

Forestry Innovation Investment Ltd. (Vancouver, B.C.), 2003-2004, “Continued Monitoring of Native Plant Seed Production and Revegetation Trials”

B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, Biodiversity Branch (Victoria, B.C.), 2003, “Draft Standards for Using Native Plant Seed for Terrestrial Restoration”

B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, B.C. Parks, Terrace Field Office (Terrace, B.C.), 2002, "Restoration of Degraded Subalpine Meadows in Seven Sisters Provincial Park:  Implementing Alternative Treatments and a Monitoring Program

Terrestrial Ecosystem Restoration Program (TERP), Forest Renewal B.C. (Victoria, B.C.), 2001-2002, "Production of Native Plant Seed for the Northern Interior"

B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, B.C. Parks, Terrace Field Office (Terrace, B.C.), 2001, "Phase II Restoration Prescriptions for Exchamsiks River Provincial Park”

B.C. Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, B.C. Parks, Terrace Field Office (Terrace, B.C.), 2001, "A Restoration Plan for Degraded Subalpine Meadows in Seven Sisters Provincial Park"

Community Futures Development Corporation of Nadina (Houston, B.C.), 2000-2001, "Pilot Riparian Rehabilitation and Management Projects in the Upper Bulkley Drainage"

B.C. Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Terrace Field Office (Terrace, B.C.), 2000, "Phase I Restoration Prescriptions for Exchamsiks River Provincial Park”

B.C. Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Terrace Field Office (Terrace, B.C.), 1999-2000, "Exchamsiks River Provincial Park Campground Impact Assessment”

Gitsegukla Band Council (Gitsegukla, B.C.), 1998, "Landing Rehabilitation and Road Deactivation Training Workshop"

Inland Timber Management Ltd. (Williams Lake, B.C.), 1998, "Native Plant Seed Mix for Mt. Polley Mine Reclamation"

Science Council of B.C./Forest Renewal B.C. (Burnaby, B.C.), 1996-2001, "Development and Testing of Native Grasses and Legumes for Seeding in the B.C. Interior"

B.C. Ministry of Forests, Kamloops Forest Region (Kamloops, B.C.), 1995-1996, "Cover Crop Effects on Native Grasses"

Selected Reports & Publications:

Shackelford, N., ... C.M. Burton, P.J. Burton, et al. 2021. Drivers of seedling establishment success in dryland restoration efforts. Nature Ecology and Evolution 5: 1283-1290. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-021-01510-3.

Mansuy, N., P.J. Burton, J. Stanturf, J., C. Beatty, C. Mooney, P. Besseau, D. Dehenhardt, K. MacAfee, and R. Lapointe. 2020. Scaling up forest landscape restoration in Canada in an era of cumulative effects and climate change. Forest Policy and Economics 116(7): 102177. 10 p. DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2020.102177.

Carson, A.W., P.M. Rutherford, and P.J. Burton. 2014. Desulphurized tailings serve as a useful soil supplement for mine reclamation. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 94: 529-541. DOI: 10.4141/cjss2013-116 [cover story]

Burton, P.J. 2014. Considerations for monitoring and evaluating forest restoration. Journal of  Sustainable Forestry 33(S1): S149-S160. DOI: 10.1080/10549811.2014.884001

Carson, A., D. Polster, and P. Burton. 2011. Agronomic grasses and legumes: do they help or hinder recovery? Canadian Reclamation 20(2):34-37.

Burton, C.M., P.J. Burton, R. Hebda, and N.J. Turner.  2006.  Determining the optimal sowing density for a mixture of native plants used for revegetation and ecosystem restoration.  Restoration Ecology 14(3):379-390.

Burton, C.M., and P.J. Burton.  2004.  Long-term effects of seeding densities and fertilization treatments using seed from herbaceous species native to the northern interior of British Columbia.  In R. Seaton, editor. Proceedings on CD-ROM of the 16th Annual Society for Ecological Restoration Conference.  B.C. Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration, Victoria, B.C.  10 p.

Burton, C.M., and P.J. Burton.  2003.  A Manual for Growing and Using Seed from Several Herbaceous Plants Native to the Northern Interior of British Columbia. Symbios Research & Restoration, Smithers, B.C. 168 p.

Burton, P.J., and C.M. Burton.  2002.  Maintaining genetic diversity in the production of large quantities of native plant seed.  Ecological Restoration 20(2):116-122.

Burton, P.J., editor.  2002.  Garry Oak Ecosystem Restoration: Progress and Prognosis.  Proceedings of the Third Annual Meeting of the B.C. Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration, April 27-28, 2002, University of Victoria.  B.C. Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration, Victoria, British Columbia.  109 p.

Burton, P.J., and D. Eastman.  2002.  The challenges and opportunities in undertaking effective Garry oak ecosystem restoration.  Pages 1 to 2 in P.J. Burton, editor.  Garry Oak Ecosystem Restoration: Progress and Prognosis.  Proceedings of the Third Annual Meeting of the B.C. Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration, April 27-28, 2002, University of Victoria. B.C. Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration, Victoria, British Columbia.

Burton, C.M., and P.J. Burton.  2001.  Fertilization can reduce the amount of seed needed to revegetate degraded soils (British Columbia).  Ecological Restoration 19(1):57-58. Poster version, presented at the Twelfth Annual International Conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration, Sept. 4-7, 2000, Liverpool, U.K.

Burton, P.  2000.  Ecological restoration gaining momentum as dominant paradigm for land management.  Ecoforestry 15(1):33-34.

Burton, C., and P. Burton. 1998. Making native plant seed available for mainstream land management. Menziesia 3(1):8-10. (Newsletter of the NPSBC, Native Plant Society of British Columbia)