A Review of Ecological Restoration Research in the Global South and North to Promote Knowledge Dialogue

Christopherb Anderson,Sebastiána Ballari,Erikl Nielsen,Catherine Roulier,Jcristóbal Pizarro

doi:10.4103/cs.cs_19_91

Abstract

To determine global trends in ecological restoration (ER) research, we conducted a geographically-explicit English-language literature review. We assessed a representative sample (n=603) of publications that use the ER concept (n=8,678). Only 19.2% (n=118) were explicit ER studies, and these were evaluated to determine geographic location, research framework, ER paradigm, journal disciplinary orientation, article type, disturbance factor studied, and ER-response measurements. The Global North produced 2x more studies than the South, and ecological research frameworks predominated overall. However, significantly more Southern studies operated under a postmodern paradigm (i.e., addressing ecosystem processes, functions and health) than in the North, where more studies sought to reconstitute pre-disturbance biotic assemblages (i.e., classical paradigm). Both regions published mostly in natural science journals, but significantly more in the North; in the South, there were significantly more publications in engineering journals. An incipient socio-ecological research framework was detected in the North (23.1%) and South (32.5%), but social science studies were only found in the North (11.5%). Plus, the North had significantly more conceptual publications. Opportunities exist in both regions to enhance a holistic ER perspective. Southern scientists and practitioners could pay attention to context-specific concepts and approaches. Understanding global and regional ER research trends can contribute to improving theoretical, practical and ethical outcomes.

Highlights

Environmental problems, including ecological degradation, climate change, and biological invasions, have long been recognised as occurring from local to global scales (Vitousek et al 1997; Hobbs et al 2006), but it is becoming increasingly clear that managing these challenges depends on determining the human and natural drivers, consequences, and dynamics of what are ostensibly social-ecological systems (SES) (Carpenter et al 2009; Díaz et al 2015)
There were no significant differences between regions regarding the types of habitats studied, and in both we see a clear emphasis towards studies conducted in terrestrial habitats (Figure 1b)
ecological restoration (ER) efforts have long considered the recuperation of historical ecosystems, but given the emergent and novel ecosystems inherent in the Anthropocene, it is important to take into account issues like ecological goods and services, social expectations of nature by different stakeholders, and the equitable distribution of ecological costs and benefits (Jackson and Hobbs 2009; Paschke et al 2019)

Summary

Introduction

Environmental problems, including ecological degradation, climate change, and biological invasions, have long been recognised as occurring from local to global scales (Vitousek et al 1997; Hobbs et al 2006), but it is becoming increasingly clear that managing these challenges depends on determining the human and natural drivers, consequences, and dynamics of what are ostensibly social-ecological systems (SES) (Carpenter et al 2009; Díaz et al 2015). SES knowledge, is required to implement effective and just sustainability policies and institutional frameworks, but has yet to be fully incorporated into decisions regarding environmental research or policy (Horan et al 2011; Anderson et al 2019). In this context, environmental management strategies, including ecological restoration (ER), climate change mitigation efforts (e.g., REDD+) or invasive species management, are simultaneously fields of scientific inquiry and communities of practice with their underlying processes of knowledge production, power equity and policy applications (Lawson et al 2017). Billions of US dollars are invested in ER (BenDor et al 2015), and numerous countries have taken on major commitments to restore millions of hectares of land as part of meeting global obligations to biodiversity loss, sustainability and climate change (e.g., New York Declaration of Forests, Bonn Challenge: http://www. bonnchallenge.org/commitments, UN Decade on Ecological Restoration 2021-2030: https://www.decadeonrestoration. org/, and the Convention for Biological Diversity’s Aichi Biodiversity Targets -Target 15: https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/ rationale/target-15/)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion