The Myths of Restoration Ecology

Humanity’s ever-increasing ability to effect environmental change on a number of spatial and temporal scales requires tough decisions about how we view, value, and manage ecosystems. For example, advances in agriculture that support vastly more people per unit area than hunting and gathering are clearly a positive outcome for society. However, many beneficial land-use practices, including agriculture, may ultimately degrade ecosystems. To function as a society, some amount of ecosystem alteration must occur to support the human population, but we are ultimately dependent on ecosystem services. Our actions both intentionally and unwittingly alter the goods and services of many ecosystems on which we rely, and by entering into this relationship of altering ecosystems, we incur responsibility to our neighbors and to future generations. However, the difficult decisions have largely been avoided by the expectations and confidence in conservation and, in particular, ecological restoration.