Ecological Restoration: A Global Challenge (review)

This volume, edited by Francisco Comín, consists of 13 chapters that were contributed by various authors. At least eight chapters are based on papers presented at the highly successful World Conference on Ecological Restoration in Zaragoza, Spain, on 12–18 September 2005, for which Francisco Comín served as conference chairman.

Like many edited volumes, this one reads more like an issue of a journal than it does a single-author book. The chapters are widely divergent in scope and depth of analysis. These inconsistencies are reminiscent of the entire field of ecological restoration, which continues to search for socioeconomic legitimacy, technical standards, and particularly its outer boundaries as a discipline. A virtue of this book is that it reflects with fidelity the youthful and untidy state of our discipline as well as our lofty aspirations.

The book begins with a firm foundation. The forward by George Gann is strong testament to the promise of ecological restoration. The preface and first chapter were authored by Francisco Comín, who lays down an especially clear and carefully crafted characterization of ecological restoration that nicely elaborates on principles developed in the SER Primer on Ecological Restoration (SER 2004).

Most of the other contributing authors assume more liberal interpretations of what activities qualify as ecological restoration—interpretations that sometimes stretch well beyond credulity. Because of these heterogeneous conceptions of restoration, someone unfamiliar with our field who perused this book would be hard-pressed to figure out what we were all about as a discipline. All chapters had something important to say, however, some with grace and inspiration and two or three others with the charm of old, warmed-over lecture notes.

Comín emphasizes in the preface that this volume attempts to convey two ideas—both of them commendable. One is the need to develop ecological restoration practice on a global scale. The other is the integration of global ecological restoration with socioeconomic development. Most authors contributed perspectives on these two objectives, at least incidentally.

David Lamb contributes a wonderful chapter on tropical forest restoration in which he advocates a coordinated landscape approach. This chapter, more than any other, portrays an ecologically sensitive future, whereby land tenders and public agency personnel work in concert to develop sustainable forests that benefit people and protect biodiversity. Lamb does not distinguish between ecological restoration and sustainable forestry—two allied disciplines that share commonality. It is obvious that Lamb's vision for the future is accessible through sustainable forestry rather than restoration. This pattern, whereby most authors nibble around the edges rather than addressing ecological restoration squarely, is repeated throughout the book.

Two chapters provide economic perspectives. Johannes Ebeling and coauthors advocate carbon markets for financing forest restoration; Robert Costanza succinctly describes natural capital. A chapter by Dario Papale and Riccardo Valentini brilliantly describes the global carbon cycle. This chapter provides scientific background for understanding environmental concerns that could eventually be resolved by ecological restoration. Bojie Fu and colleagues contribute a well-written description of land degradation in China and its restoration, which consists of centrally planned, top-down ecological engineering with emphasis on agricultural production. Bill Mitsch discusses wetland losses and their restoration in a workmanlike manner from a global perspective. Francisco Comín and coauthors describe global coastal zone degradation and outline general approaches to recovery. Sven Erik Jørgensen discusses ways that mathematical modeling might be applied to restoration issues.

Who would benefit from reading this volume? Ecologists are the most likely audience, and they will find a wealth of reference material among its chapters. Restoration practitioners, though, may have difficulty locating much information that matches their interests; however, many will find the chapters by Eric Higgs, Richard Forman, and Amos Brandeis to be germane. Higgs reiterates his well-placed advocacy for focal restoration. Foreman juxtaposes regional planning in Boston with that in Barcelona as he develops engaging perspectives on urban landscape ecology. Brandeis describes how Palestinian and Israeli stakeholders united to restore the...