Restoring Disturbed Landscapes: Putting Principles into Practice (The Science and Practice of Ecological Restoration Series)

Restoring Disturbed Landscapes is a hands-on guide for individuals and groups seeking to improve the functional capacity of landscapes. The book presents a five-step, adaptive procedure for restoring landscapes that is supported by proven principles and concepts of ecological science.

Written by restoration experts with a wealth of experience teaching restoration principles and techniques to practitioners and would-be practitioners from a variety of backgrounds, the book offers:

• an outline of a science-based, ecologically sound approach to restoration
• discussion of the conceptual framework and rigorous principles that underlie the approach
• case studies of two types of restoration projects (restoring mined landscapes and restoring damaged rangelands) that illustrate how the approach, framework, and four key principles for restoring landscapes have been implemented
• a variety of scenarios that represent typical restoration problems and how those problems can be handled
• indicators for monitoring and how landscape function can be tracked and analyzed as part of a comprehensive monitoring program.

Abundantly illustrated with photos and figures that clearly explain concepts outlined in the book, Restoring Disturbed Landscapes is an engaging and accessible work designed specifically for restoration practitioners with limited training or experience in the field. It tells restorationists where to start, what information they need to acquire, and how to apply this information to their specific situations.

David Tongway is a soil scientist and landscape ecologist who worked for Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) for 38 years. He is an Honorary Fellow at CSIRO’s Gungahlin Laboratory in the Australian Capital Territory.

John Ludwig is a plant and landscape ecologist who worked in the Biology Department, New Mexico State University, in Las Cruces,1969–1985 and for CSIRO, 1985–2007. He is currently an Honorary Fellow at CSIRO’s laboratory in Atherton, Queensland.