Restoration ecology applies ecological principles in an effort to return degraded ecosystems to conditions as
similar as possible to their natural, predegraded state.
Ecosystem restoration – Recently constructed wetland regeneration in Australia, on a site previously
used for agriculture.
Can we repair some of the damage humans have done to ecosystems and bio–diversity? Ecological restoration seeks to do just that, and restoration ecology is the science that underpins it.
Ecological restoration aims to recreate, initiate, or accelerate the recovery of an ecosystem that has been disturbed. Disturbances are environmental changes that alter ecosystem structure and function. Common disturbances include logging, damming rivers, intense grazing, hurricanes, floods, and fires. Restoration activities may be designed to replicate a pre–disturbance ecosystem or to create a new ecosystem where it had not previously occurred. Restoration ecology is the scientific study of repairing disturbed ecosystems through human intervention.
Restoration ecology applies ecological principles in an effort to return degraded ecosystems to conditions as similar as possible to their natural, predegraded state. Where conservation biology is often focused on preventing ongoing degradation, restoration ecology seeks to actively reverse such degradation.