Ecological restoration
Subtitle: a global challenge
By: [edited by] Francisco A. Comin.
Contributors: Comín, F. A.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Cambridge; New York
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9780521877114
Subjects: Restoration ecology
Description: "Ecological restoration projects seek to recover the natural functioning of degraded ecosystems, most often areas disturbed by human large scale projects such as agriculture developments, road building, mining and urban sprawl. While scientists focus on the ecological basis of habitat repair, practitioners, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and local people, tend to worry about social, economic, cultural and political aspects. The value of ecological restoration is discussed here with examples including tropical forests in Vietnam and Australia; degraded environments in China as a paradigm of global issues; the restoration of wetlands and the coastal zone and how to proceed with urban developments. The author also uniquely assesses how ecological restoration can be used against the impacts of climate change. In addition to strategies for extending ecological restoration at global scale, it provides useful ideas and tools for the everyday work of professionals,researchers and students"--Provided by publisher.

"The rapid growth of the global economy during the last century, coupled with a tripling of the world's population, has taken a heavy toll on the natural environment. Although it is difficult to quantify the current extent of degraded land globally, some estimate this to include around one third of the total global land area (Eswaran et al., 2001C03-018). It is clear that land degradation has been occurring at a scale which makes it one of the most pressing environmental problems of our time"--Provided by publisher.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Part I. Global Perspectives for Ecological Restoration: 1. The challenges of humanity in the twenty-first century and the role of ecological restoration Francisco A. Comin; 2. The global carbon cycle: current research and uncertainties in the sources and sinks of carbon Dario Papale and Riccardo Valentini; 3. Using international carbon markets to finance forest restoration Johannes Ebeling, Malika Virah-Sawmy and Pedro Moura Costa; 4. The value of a restored earth and its contribution to a sustainable and desirable future Robert Costanza; 5. Focal restoration Eric Higgs; 6. Ethical dimensions of ecological restoration Rebecca L. Vidra and Theodore H. Shear; Part II. Towards the Practice of Ecological Restoration at Global Scale: 7. Undertaking forest restoration on a landscape scale in the humid tropics: matching theory and practice in developed and developing countries David Lamb; 8. Land degradation and ecological restoration in China Bojie Fu, Dong Niu, Yihe Lu, Guohua Liu and Wenwu Zhao; 9. Conservation, restoration and creation of wetlands: a global perspective William J. Mitsch; 10. Uses, abuses and restoration of the coastal zone Francisco A. Comin, Jordi Serra and Jorge A. Herrera; 11. Spatial ecological solutions to mesh nature and people: Boston suburb, Barcelona region, and other urban regions Richard T. T. Forman; 12. The role of ecological modelling in ecosystem restoration Sven Erik Jørgensen; 13. Restoration as a bridge for cooperation and peace Amos Brandeis.