Ecological Restoration: A Global Challenge

1030 Journal of Environmental Quality • Volume 40 • May–June 2011 ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION: A GLOBAL CHALLENGE is an edited compilation consisting of 13 chapters in two parts and assembled by Franciso Comín. Th e 23 contributing authors represent a broad and impressive global cross-section of investigators in ecosystem restoration. Part 1: Global Perspectives for Ecological Restoration, includes six chapters that frame the challenges for restoration ecology in the context of global issues. Part 2: Toward the Practice of Ecological Restoration on a Global Scale, includes seven chapters that illustrate specifi c challenges and strategies for ecological restoration. Th e fi eld of restoration ecology has been mired in defi nitional and operational debate for over 30 years, hindering the development of this critical science and practice. Comín has crafted a book that revitalizes the vision for ecological restoration (Chapter 1). Th e authors each provide their perspective and vision for how the discipline has and should be applied to address Earth’s most pressing ecological concerns. Discussions of the role of forest restoration in support of carbon credits (Dario Papale and Riccardo Valentine in Chapter 2 and Johannes Ebeling, MalikaVirah-Sawmy, and Pedro Costa in Chapter 3) highlight the need for a more defi ned protocol for forest restoration in humid climates (addressed in Chapter 7). Robert Costanza describes how ecosystem services valuation could motivate ecological restoration (Chapter 4). Costanza’s framing of future scenarios as “business as usual” versus “restored Earth” is useful in linking the science of restoration ecology with the philosophy of sustainable design. Th roughout the book, authors attempt to link ecological restoration to cultural values and sustainability. Eric Higgs in Chapter 4 calls this linked approach “focal restoration.” Although I do not think the terminology will catch on, the Ecological Restoration: A Global Challenge