Restoration of Ecosystems - Bridging Nature and Humans

Restoration of Ecosystems - Bridging Nature and Humans
Author: Stefan Zerbe
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023
Genre:
ISBN: 9783662656594

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Bridging the natural and social sciences, this cross-disciplinary textbook comprehensively presents both the scientific basis of restoration ecology and practical aspects of ecosystem restoration. In doing so, it highlights the diversity of land-use types with a focus on Central Europe and presents case studies of practical restoration projects. The textbook provides a profound and up-to-date, but also critical overview of the state of knowledge for students dealing with the environment, scientists as well as practitioners. This book opens up the broad spectrum of degraded ecosystems of Central European natural and cultural landscapes. In further chapters, marine ecosystems and their restoration as well as development potentials but also limitations of ecosystem restoration are discussed in more detail. The ecological basics are extended by an interdisciplinary perspective taking into account environmental ethics, sociology, anthropology and economics. In addition to providing an up-to-date overview of the various fields and areas of activity in restoration ecology and ecosystem restoration, this textbook offers a valuable foundation for science, study and practice. Readers will also receive guidance on literature searches and critical fact analysis, and instructors on teaching in Higher Education and interdisciplinary approaches to discussions in restoration ecology. The author Stefan Zerbe is a landscape ecologist and teacher and researcher at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano in South Tyrol (Italy). He is particularly interested in restoration ecology and building interdisciplinary bridges between the natural and social sciences. Against this background, he was in charge of developing and managing two international master's programs. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent intense human revision was done primarily in terms of scientific terms, style and content so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation. Springer Nature works continuously to further the development of tools for the production of books and on the related technologies to support the authors.

Restoration of Ecosystems – Bridging Nature and Humans

Restoration of Ecosystems – Bridging Nature and Humans
Author: Stefan Zerbe
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 727
Release: 2023-02-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3662656582

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In this interdisciplinary textbook, which bridges the gap between the natural and social sciences both, the scientific principles of restoration ecology and practical aspects of ecosystem restoration are comprehensively presented. The diversity of land-use types with a focus on Central Europe is highlighted and case studies of practical restoration projects are presented. The textbook offers students who deal with the environment as well as scientists and practitioners a profound and up-to-date, but also critical overview of the state of knowledge. This book opens up the broad spectrum of degraded ecosystems of Central European natural and cultural landscapes. In further chapters, marine ecosystems and their restoration as well as development potentials and the limits of restoration are discussed in more detail. The ecological fundamentals are expanded through an interdisciplinary perspective taking into account environmental ethics, sociology, anthropology, and economics. In addition to an up-to-date overview of the various areas and fields of activity in restoration ecology and ecosystem restoration, the textbook provides a valuable basis for studies, science, and practice. The students also receive assistance in searching for literature and critical fact analysis, and the lecturers on teaching formats and interdisciplinary approaches to discussion in restoration ecology.

Assembly Rules and Restoration Ecology

Assembly Rules and Restoration Ecology
Author: Vicky M. Temperton
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 465
Release: 2013-04-10
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 159726590X

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Understanding how ecosystems are assembled -- how the species that make up a particular biological community arrive in an area, survive, and interact with other species -- is key to successfully restoring degraded ecosystems. Yet little attention has been paid to the idea of assembly rules in ecological restoration, in both the scientific literature and in on-the-ground restoration efforts. Assembly Rules and Restoration Ecology, edited by Vicky M. Temperton, Richard J. Hobbs, Tim Nuttle, and Stefan Halle, addresses that shortcoming, offering an introduction, overview, and synthesis of the potential role of assembly rules theory in restoration ecology. It brings together information and ideas relating to ecosystem assembly in a restoration context, and includes material from a wide geographic range and a variety of perspectives. Assembly Rules and Restoration Ecology contributes new knowledge and ideas to the subjects of assembly rules and restoration ecology and represents an important summary of the current status of an emerging field. It combines theoretical and practical aspects of restoration, making it a vital compendium of information and ideas for restoration ecologists, professionals, and practitioners.

Primer of Ecological Restoration

Primer of Ecological Restoration
Author: Karen Holl
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2020-03-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1610919726

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The pace, intensity, and scale at which humans have altered our planet in recent decades is unprecedented. We have dramatically transformed landscapes and waterways through agriculture, logging, mining, and fire suppression, with drastic impacts on public health and human well-being. What can we do to counteract and even reverse the worst of these effects? Restore damaged ecosystems. The Primer of Ecological Restoration is a succinct introduction to the theory and practice of ecological restoration as a strategy to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems. In twelve brief chapters, the book introduces readers to the basics of restoration project planning, monitoring, and adaptive management. It explains abiotic factors such as landforms, soil, and hydrology that are the building blocks to successfully recovering microorganism, plant, and animal communities. Additional chapters cover topics such as invasive species and legal and financial considerations. Each chapter concludes with recommended reading and reference lists, and the book can be paired with online resources for teaching. Perfect for introductory classes in ecological restoration or for practitioners seeking constructive guidance for real-world projects, Primer of Ecological Restoration offers accessible, practical information on recent trends in the field.

Making Nature Whole

Making Nature Whole
Author: William R. Jordan
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2011-07-26
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1610910427

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Making Nature Whole is a seminal volume that presents an in-depth history of the field of ecological restoration as it has developed in the United States over the last three decades. The authors draw from both published and unpublished sources, including archival materials and oral histories from early practitioners, to explore the development of the field and its importance to environmental management as well as to the larger environmental movement and our understanding of the world. Considering antecedents as varied as monastic gardens, the Scientific Revolution, and the emerging nature-awareness of nineteenth-century Romantics and Transcendentalists, Jordan and Lubick offer unique insight into the field's philosophical and theoretical underpinnings. They examine specifically the more recent history, including the story of those who first attempted to recreate natural ecosystems early in the 20th century, as well as those who over the past few decades have realized the value of this approach not only as a critical element in conservation but also as a context for negotiating the ever-changing relationship between humans and the natural environment. Making Nature Whole is a landmark contribution, providing context and history regarding a distinctive form of land management and giving readers a fascinating overview of the development of the field. It is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding where ecological restoration came from or where it might be going.

Nature by Design

Nature by Design
Author: Eric Higgs
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2003-04-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780262582261

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Ecological restoration is the process of repairing human damage to ecosystems. It involves reintroducing missing plants and animals, rebuilding soils, eliminating hazardous substances, ripping up roads, and returning natural processes such as fire and flooding to places that thrive on their regular occurrence. Thousands of restoration projects take place in North America every year. In Nature by Design, Eric Higgs argues that profound philosophical and cultural shifts accompany these projects. He explores the ethical and philosophical bases of restoration and the question of what constitutes good ecological restoration. Higgs explains how and why the restoration movement came about, where it fits into the array of approaches to human relationships with the land, and how it might be used to secure a sustainable future. Some environmental philosophers and activists worry that restoration will dilute preservation and conservation efforts and lead to an even deeper technological attitude toward nature. They ask whether even well-conceived restoration projects are in fact just expressions of human will. Higgs prefaces his responses to such concerns by distinguishing among several types of ecological restoration. He also describes a growing gulf between professionals and amateurs. Higgs finds much merit in criticism about technological restoration projects, which can cause more damage than they undo. These projects often ignore the fact that changing one thing in a complex system can change the whole system. For restoration projects to be successful, Higgs argues, people at the community level must be engaged. These focal restorations bring communities together, helping volunteers develop a dedication to place and encouraging democracy.

Wild by Design

Wild by Design
Author: Laura J. Martin
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2022-05-17
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0674275837

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An environmental historian delves into the history, science, and philosophy of a paradoxical pursuit: the century-old quest to design natural places and create wild species. Environmental restoration is a global pursuit and a major political concern. Governments, nonprofits, private corporations, and other institutions spend billions of dollars each year to remove invasive species, build wetlands, and reintroduce species driven from their habitats. But restoration has not always been so intensively practiced. It began as the pastime of a few wildflower enthusiasts and the first practitioners of the new scientific discipline of ecology. Restoration has been a touchstone of US environmentalism since the beginning of the twentieth century. Diverging from popular ideas about preservation, which romanticized nature as an Eden to be left untouched by human hands, and conservation, the managed use of natural resources, restoration emerged as a “third way.” Restorationists grappled with the deepest puzzles of human care for life on earth: How to intervene in nature for nature’s own sake? What are the natural baselines that humans should aim to restore? Is it possible to design nature without destroying wildness? Laura J. Martin shows how, over time, amateur and professional ecologists, interest groups, and government agencies coalesced around a mode of environmental management that sought to respect the world-making, and even the decision-making, of other species. At the same time, restoration science reshaped material environments in ways that powerfully influenced what we understand the wild to be. In Wild by Design, restoration’s past provides vital knowledge for climate change policy. But Martin also offers something more—a meditation on what it means to be wild and a call for ecological restoration that is socially just.

Restoring Natural Capital

Restoring Natural Capital
Author: James Aronson
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2012-09-26
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1597267791

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How can environmental degradation be stopped? How can it be reversed? And how can the damage already done be repaired? The authors of this volume argue that a two-pronged approach is needed: reducing demand for ecosystem goods and services and better management of them, coupled with an increase in supply through environmental restoration. Restoring Natural Capital brings together economists and ecologists, theoreticians, practitioners, policy makers, and scientists from the developed and developing worlds to consider the costs and benefits of repairing ecosystem goods and services in natural and socioecological systems. It examines the business and practice of restoring natural capital, and seeks to establish common ground between economists and ecologists with respect to the restoration of degraded ecosystems and landscapes and the still broader task of restoring natural capital. The book focuses on developing strategies that can achieve the best outcomes in the shortest amount of time as it: • considers conceptual and theoretical issues from both an economic and ecological perspective • examines specific strategies to foster the restoration of natural capital and offers a synthesis and a vision of the way forward Nineteen case studies from around the world illustrate challenges and achievements in setting targets, refining approaches to finding and implementing restoration projects, and using restoration of natural capital as an economic opportunity. Throughout, contributors make the case that the restoration of natural capital requires close collaboration among scientists from across disciplines as well as local people, and when successfully executed represents a practical, realistic, and essential tool for achieving lasting sustainable development.

Restoring Nature

Restoring Nature
Author:
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 336
Release:
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781597263382

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Using a recent controversy over ecological restoration efforts in Chicago as a touchstone for discussion, Restoring Nature explores the difficult questions that arise during the planning and implementation of restoration projects in urban and wildland settings.

Intelligent Tinkering

Intelligent Tinkering
Author: Robert Jonathan Cabin
Publisher: Island Press
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2011-08-03
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1610910400

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Robert J. Cabin uses the restoration of tropical dry forestland in Hawaii as an in-depth case study to investigate the scientific, practical, and philosophical issues associated with performing ecological restoration in the messy real world. Interweaving entertaining narratives of his own on-the-ground experiences as a practicing restorationist with reflections about his scientific training and background, Cabin explores the relationship between science and practice in ecological restoration. He observes that because restoration can be complex and value-driven, its implementation often turns out to be as much interdisciplinary art as hard science. Despite the often distinct cultures and methodologies of scientists and practitioners, Cabin shows how each has a vital role in effective restoration and offers suggestions for improving working relationships. One approach he advocates is what he calls "intelligent tinkering," after the work of Aldo Leopold. In this model, practitioners employ the same kind of careful but informal trial-and-error strategy followed by such groups as indigenous peoples and hobbyist mechanics. Cabin illustrates the power of intelligent tinkering using examples from his own work and other restoration projects. The gap between science and practice is not unique to ecological restoration; it is a widespread problem across all fields of applied science. Written in a clear and engaging style, Intelligent Tinkering offers an insightful look at the underlying causes of the problem, along with invaluable suggestions for addressing it.