RESTORATION ECOLOGY - THE STATE OF AN EMERGING FIELD

The field of restoration ecology represents an emerging synthesis of e cological theory and concern about human impact on the natural world. Restoration ecology can be viewed as the study of how to repair anthro pogenic damage to the integrity of ecological systems. However, attemp ts to repair ecological damage should not diminish protection of exist ing healthy ecosystems. Restoration ecology allows for the testing of ecological theories; however, restoration ecology is not limited to, n or is it a subdiscipline of, the field of ecology. Restoration ecology requires approaches that integrate ecology and environmental sciences , economics, sociology, and politics. This review illustrates these po ints by providing a conceptual map of the origin, present practices, a nd future directions of the field.