Ecological restoration: principles, values, and structure of an emerging profession.

The field of ecological restoration is a rapidly growing discipline that encompasses a wide range of activities and brings together practitioners and theoreticians from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives, ranging from volunteer backyard restorationists to highly trained academic scientists and professional consultants.
 
Ecological Restoration offers for the first time a unified vision of ecological restoration as a field of study, one that clearly states the discipline’s precepts and emphasizes issues of importance to those involved at all levels. In a lively, personal fashion, the authors discuss scientific and practical aspects of the field as well as the human needs and values that motivate practitioners. The book:

-identifies fundamental concepts upon which restoration is based
-considers the principles of restoration practice
-explores the diverse values that are fulfilled with the restoration of ecosystems
-reviews the structure of restoration practice, including the various contexts for restoration work, the professional development of its practitioners, and the relationships of restoration with allied fields and activities

A unique feature of the book is the inclusion of eight “virtual field trips,” short photo essays of project sites around the world that illustrate various points made in the book and are “led” by those who were intimately involved with the project described.
 
Throughout, ecological restoration is conceived as a holistic endeavor, one that addresses issues of ecological degradation, biodiversity loss, and sustainability science simultaneously, and draws upon cultural resources and local skills and knowledge in restoration work.

Andre F. Clewell taught botany at Florida State University in Tallahassee for 16 years before entering private practice as a restoration practitioner and plant ecologist. He served as president of the Society for Ecological Restoration and is co-coordinator of the RNC Alliance.

James Aronson is head of the Restoration Ecology group at the Center of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (CNRS), in Montpellier, France, and curator of restoration ecology at the Missouri Botanical Garden. He is co-coordinator of the RNC Alliance.