Rewilding forestry

Abstract

Rewilding has become highly popular amongst conservationists, ecologists, geographers and others, but interest is considerably less obvious amongst foresters. Whilst overall the amount of research focused on rewilding continues to grow rapidly, very few papers published within core forestry journals engage with the concept. In this commentary, we offer some potential explanations for this lack of engagement which include rewilding's early focus on animals (especially carnivores), its conceptual overlap with restoration, and the potentially profound implications for forestry practice and policy consequent to embracing the approach. Despite these issues and barriers, we argue for greater research attention to be given to rewilding by forest scientists. Increased interaction has the potential for significant mutual benefits. Foresters can bring a range of established insights to the debate that would inform key aspects of contemporary rewilding policy and practice, such as ecological succession dynamics and silvicultural approaches to transition. In response, rewilding has considerable potential for refreshing and reframing aspects of forestry policy and practice, including approaches to resilience.