Title: Use of restoration planning to determine different restoration measures

The report is on the use of restoration planning of degraded landscape of the Dagverðarnes situated in South Iceland. This was a farm which was abandoned 150 to 200 years ago because of many reasons including land degradation. The restoration planning was done with the information collected by Soil Conservation Service of Iceland staff in 2016. Information was gathered using SPOT imagery supplemented by photographs. The vegetation, soil and erosion maps were developed which categorised the area into different classes based on the level of degradation experienced. The causes of degradation were revealed by history as well as assessment of the site constraints and problems. The thresholds crossed by each category were discussed and classified according to a conceptual framework model that shows transitions between undegraded and degraded ecosystem states and the presence of biotic and abiotic thresholds. The different measures or modifications were suggested considering the rate of degradation of each area. The implementation plan was done, prioritizing the highly degraded areas. The restoration measures proposed are based on the conditions and experiences from other projects in Iceland. Monitoring and budget were developed for the project as well. I recommend restoration planning because it provides the preliminary evaluation of the limitations and difficulties influencing the ecosystem and examines potential effects on restoration possibilities. An appropriate plan is tailored for the precise situation, according to the extent and amount of degradation, the resilience and the actions required for restoring such an ecosystem. This is important because focus will be on the causes of degradation rather than the symptoms. It will help with achieving the restoration goals, which is relevant to the current problem in the specific site. Based on this study, when I get back to Lesotho I will utilize restoration planning skills in different landscapes and to determine different restoration measures for the different disturbances encountered.