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Grappling with the social dimensions of novel ecosystems
Author(s) -
Backstrom Anna C,
Garrard Georgia E,
Hobbs Richard J,
Bekessy Sarah A
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
frontiers in ecology and the environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.918
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1540-9309
pISSN - 1540-9295
DOI - 10.1002/fee.1769
Subject(s) - abandonment (legal) , ecosystem , environmental resource management , context (archaeology) , ecosystem management , flexibility (engineering) , novel ecosystem , ecosystem services , environmental planning , business , ecology , environmental science , geography , political science , economics , biology , management , archaeology , law
The novel ecosystem concept has emerged in response to the increasing prevalence of modified ecosystems. Traditional conservation and restoration strategies have been deemed inadequate to guide the management of ecosystems that are the product of anthropogenic environmental change and have no “natural” analogs. Opinions about novel ecosystems are currently divided between those who embrace the flexibility offered by the concept and those who see it as a shift toward the abandonment of traditional strategies. However, the debate is missing a key element: recognition that all conservation decisions are socially constructed and that the concept of novel ecosystems is most practicable within a decision or management context. Management of novel ecosystems should be framed in such a context, and the concept evaluated for its capacity to meet social, ecological, and economic objectives.