# Monitoring & data quality

Last updated: 2026-10-19

How to track planting and survival, choose monitoring tools, and test whether your restoration numbers hold up for funders.

Part of the [Restoration Scope blog](https://restorationscope.com/blog.md).

## Posts

- [Best Biodiversity Monitoring Software in 2026: The Buyer's Shortlist](https://restorationscope.com/blog/best-biodiversity-monitoring-software.md): The best biodiversity monitoring software for restoration and carbon projects in 2026, by method: survey forms, camera traps, sound, eDNA and insects.
- [What Four Basic Data Questions Reveal in Planting Data](https://restorationscope.com/blog/five-question-planting-data-audit.md): Where, what happened, when, and what is true now? In planting operations, quantities and species need to connect to a place, a date, and current evidence.
- [A Spreadsheet Can Look Full and Still Be Missing What Matters](https://restorationscope.com/blog/four-lenses-restoration-data-quality.md): A full spreadsheet can still miss what matters. Four ordered tests (exhaustive, complete, correct, current) find data gaps while you can still act.
- [A Hierarchy of Data Needs for Nature Restoration Projects](https://restorationscope.com/blog/hierarchy-of-data.md): Five levels of restoration data, from “we planted 100,000 trees” to a living record across seasons. Where you sit determines what you can prove.
- [Nature Data is Gold - The Foundation of Successful Restoration Projects](https://restorationscope.com/blog/raw-data-is-gold.md): Discover why properly collected and georeferenced data is the most valuable asset for nature restoration projects.
- [Audit Your Own Restoration Data with AI, a Free Skill to Copy](https://restorationscope.com/blog/restoration-data-audit-skill.md): A free AI skill that audits your planting, monitoring and land data the way we do, with four questions and four tests, and tells you what to fix first.
- [How to Build Restoration Monitoring That Funders and Carbon Investors Trust](https://restorationscope.com/blog/restoration-monitoring-system-funders.md): Funders and carbon investors trust monitoring they can trace. Define indicators early, tie numbers to plots and evidence, and report from the same records.
- [Restoration Monitoring Tools Compared and How to Choose](https://restorationscope.com/blog/restoration-monitoring-tools.md): Compare restoration monitoring tools, from FERM, Restor and TerraMatch to KoboToolbox, QField and Collect Earth, by what they track and who runs them.
- [How to Track Tree Planting and Survival Across Many Sites](https://restorationscope.com/blog/track-tree-planting-survival.md): Track planting and survival across many sites by tying every count to a site, date and species, then revisiting the same trees or plots each season.