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Restoration Is Preparation for the Future

Formally Refereed

Abstract

Returning a site or landscape to some historical condition is a long-standing objective in restoration ecology, but restoration ecology is by no means limited solely to the goal of returning an ecosystem to a prior condition. Restoration, done properly, can increase biodiversity, restore structure and connectivity, and enhance a variety of ecosystem services that may better position ecosystems to adapt to climate change, even where the primary intent of restoration may have had little to do with climate adaptation. In this discussion, we address how ecological restoration maintains biodiversity, structure, and function that prepare forests for an uncertain future, and we show how there is no inherent incompatibility between restoration and management for global change. Better education is needed about what restoration is and how it should be practiced. Some changes in the way that restoration is envisaged and implemented in an age of rapid global change are warranted, but calls for the replacement of ecological restoration by another paradigm are misguided.

Citation

Hanberry, Brice B.; Noss, Reed F.; Safford, Hugh D.; Allison, Stuart K.; Dey, Daniel C. 2015. Restoration Is Preparation for the Future. Journal of Forestry. 113(4): 425-429. https://doi.org/10.5849/jof.15-014.
Citations
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/61634