Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
2.1
INTRODUCTION
It is hands on, and is, by defi nition, applied at the level
of whole ecosystems.
The corresponding fi eld of science called restoration
ecology can take various approaches to the task of pro-
viding knowledge that will help put ecosystem recov-
ery in motion. New theories and syntheses, predictive
models and the testing of hypotheses through experi-
ments and careful monitoring and evaluation of
ongoing projects are the primary means to achieve
that end. Additionally, outreach and collaboration
with people from other academic disciplines, in both
the natural sciences (e.g. conservation biology and
landscape ecology) and the social sciences, including
economics, as well with nonscientists and profession-
als, is essential. That will require engaging in the
' entire restoration process ' (Cairns & Heckman 1996 ).
In this chapter, then, we focus on the major unifying
concepts relevant to both fundamental and applied
ecology, but start with the notions of inter- and
transdisciplinarity.
Restoration ecology
is an applied natural science
that lies at the intersection with the social sciences, but
can also help us leap from that broad platform into the
realm of transdisciplinary science and problem solving,
which we will discuss below. Restoration ecology is
thus truly a 'new frontier', as fi rst noted by one of the
most notable and prolifi c pioneers in the fi eld, in the
introduction to the topic he edited (Cairns 1988),
which was one of the very fi rst topics to appear on
this topic.
In this topic, we focus on the ecological foundations
of restoration ecology. We feel strongly that restoration
efforts must aim to restore entire ecosystems, and not
just focus on parts of them, or other derivative goals.
Increasingly, we hear and read about the need to
' restore '
biodiversity
, or
ecosystem services
, but
these goals are ultimately vain if we do not succeed in
restoring living, dynamic ecosystems, and fi guring out
how to help them be self-sustaining. It is diffi cult or
impossible to ' restore ' or rather
reintroduce
species
populations in a given site, without 'restoring' the
abiotic environment necessary for the persistence and
reproduction of those species, including the networks
of interactions with many other species that occur in
a well - functioning
ecosystem
. Conversely,
biotic
communities
strongly infl uence the abiotic environ-
ment, and without a full complement of native species,
autogenic or self-sustaining ecosystems - the ultimate
goal of ecological restoration - will not be attained
(MacMahon & Holl 2001). Thus, we endorse the defi ni-
tion given in the
SER Primer for Ecological Restoration
we cited already, namely, that
ecological restoration
is 'the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem
that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed' (SER
2004 ).
Note the emphasis in that defi nition on the idea of
assisting the recovery of an ecosystem, and not just a
species. The defi nition explicitly assumes that some-
thing has been lost, or gone wrong at the level of a
system, and, secondly, it implies that we can and should
try to understand how ecosystems respond to interven-
tions of all sorts, including efforts to help them recover.
Ecological restoration is interventionist and systems-
oriented by nature, as opposed to traditional conserva-
tion, that was about reducing human pressure or
'keeping our hands off ' certain areas of land or wetland
set aside for protection of one or an assembly of species.
2.2 INTER- AND
TRANSDISCIPLINARITY
Restoration ecology draws knowledge, ideas and data
from disciplines as diverse as landscape ecology (includ-
ing geomorphology and hydrology), community
ecology along with soil and water physics, and chem-
istry at the ecosystem scale, as well as physiology and
genetics at the level of organisms and populations.
But as mentioned, to address and engage the 'entire
restoration process', we must incorporate the socio-
economic sciences (e.g. Mascia
et al
. 2003 ). This
implies cross - or
interdisciplinarity
, which is what
happens when concepts, models, methods and fi ndings
of different scientifi c disciplines are merged together
and integrated to address an idea, or to solve a societal
problem (Schoot Uiterkamp & Vlek 2007 ).
Scientists need to cross traditional lines and work
together in the essential arena of environmental amel-
ioration and management. The word ' transversal ' -
which means cross-cutting - is rarely used in English
as an adjective, and yet it beautifully describes what is
needed: not just a summing of skills, but also an actual
breaking of new ground, thanks to original or 'lateral'
thinking, resulting from a new juxtaposition and com-
bination of approaches. In order to help
stakehold-
ers
, and society as a whole, in the urgent task of
