Ecological Restoration and Other Conservation Practices: The Difference

Abstract

The differences between ecological restoration and other conservation and landscape management practices can be subtle or dramatic. I examine the basic tenets of ecological restoration and discuss ways that other practices could begin to achieve the goals of an ecological restoration project—the use of native species in an ecological community setting; recontouring of land to original site conditions; an emulation of historic reference sites; the use of local, natural materials for hardscaping; and many others. I also strongly encourage the use of the Society for Ecological Restoration International’s Primer on Ecological Restoration and their Guidelines for Constructing and Managing Ecological Restoration Projects. Finally, I point out that there are numerous situations in which ecological restoration is impossible and should not be attempted. The best thing to do in these cases is to accept that fact, do the best job you can, and describe the project for whatever it is—just don’t call it ecological restoration.