Protocol for installing and monitoring a RestoreNet restoration field trial network site

RestoreNet is an ecological restoration experiment that is networked across multiple sites, spanning dryland ecosystems in the southwestern United States. The experiment is organized and led by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS). This protocol functions to provide guidance to additional partners on how to set up a RestoreNet site and expand the network to new locations. This protocol contains information for site selection, materials acquisition, experiment installation, data collection and monitoring, and data curation. Information includes protocols for the RestoreNet seeded experiment and an additional optional experiment using installed container seedlings initially propagated in a greenhouse. Participation in RestoreNet contributes to a growing body of knowledge on cutting edge ecological restoration methods for use in the southwestern United States to benefit land managers, landowners, and restoration practitioners.