Ecological restoration and rewilding: two approaches with complementary goals?

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) highlights the need for large-scale ecosystem recovery.
• Rewilding has gained prominence, prompting scientific debate on its distinction from ecological restoration.
• Numerous conceptual papers explore the nuances of these conservation approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare and clarify the distinct positions of ecological restoration and rewilding.
• To identify commonalities and differences between the two fields.
• To explore the potential for synergy between ecological restoration and rewilding.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of conceptual scientific papers.
• Comparative analysis of ecological restoration and rewilding approaches.
• Synthesis of current scientific understanding and debates.

Main Results:

• Ecological restoration often employs a top-down, taxonomic approach aiming for a defined historical target ecosystem.
• Rewilding typically uses a bottom-up, functional approach focused on recovering natural processes without a fixed endpoint.
• Both fields address anthropogenic ecosystem degradation, indicating a shared fundamental scope.

Conclusions:

• Ecological restoration and rewilding exhibit complementarity in both temporal and spatial dimensions.
• Reconciliation and synergy between these fields can enhance overall nature conservation efforts.
• Further research is needed to understand potential paradigm shifts between ecological restoration and rewilding.