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A reference ecosystem, also known as an ecological reference, is a "community of organisms able to act as a model or benchmark for restoration." Reference ecosystems usually include remnant natural areas that have not been degraded by human activities such as agriculture, logging, development, fire suppression, or non-native species invasion. Reference ecosystems are ideally complete with natural flora, fauna, abiotic elements, ecological functions, processes, and successional states. Multiple reference ecosystems may be pieced together to form the model upon which an ecological restoration project may be based.
A remnant natural area, also known as remnant habitat, is an ecological community containing native flora and fauna that has not been significantly disturbed by destructive activities such as agriculture, logging, pollution, development, fire suppression, or non-native species invasion. The more disturbed an area has been, the less characteristic it becomes of remnant habitat. Remnant areas are also described as "biologically intact" or "ecologically intact."
Julia Carabias Lillo is a Mexican ecologist and Environmental Conservationist. She is a professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and served as the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources under President Ernesto Zedillo from 1994 to 2000.
Wild by Design: The Rise of Ecological Restoration is a 2022 book by Laura J. Martin, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at Williams College. The book explains how ecological restoration became a global pursuit. Martin defines restoration as "an attempt to co-design nature with non-human collaborators." Wild by Design calls for the unification of ecological restoration and social justice.
References
- 1 2 "About SER". www.ser.org. Society for Ecological Restoration. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ↑ "SER 2017-2020 Strategic Plan (August 2017)" (PDF). Society for Ecological Restoration. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- ↑ Society for Ecological Restoration International Science & Policy Working Group (2004) The SER international primer on ecological restoration. Society for Ecological Restoration International, Tucson, Arizona.
- ↑ McDonald T, Gann GD, Jonson J, Dixon KW (2016a) International standards for the practice of ecological restoration – including principles and key concepts. Society for Ecological Restoration, Washington D.C. http://www.ser.org/?page=SERStandards
- ↑ Higgs, Eric; Harris, Jim; Murphy, Stephen; Bowers, Keith; Hobbs, Richard; Jenkins, Willis; Kidwell, Jeremy; Lopoukhine, Nikita; Sollereder, Bethany; Suding, Katherine; Thompson, Allen; Whisenant, Steven (May 2018). "On principles and standards in ecological restoration". Restoration Ecology. 26 (3): 399–403. doi: 10.1111/rec.12691 . hdl:1826/13291.
- ↑ Gann, George D.; McDonald, Tein; Aronson, James; Dixon, Kingsley W.; Walder, Bethanie; Hallett, James G.; Decleer, Kris; Falk, Donald A.; Gonzales, Emily K.; Murcia, Carolina; Nelson, Cara R.; Unwin, Alan J. (May 2018). "The SER Standards: a globally relevant and inclusive tool for improving restoration practice-a reply to Higgs et al". Restoration Ecology. 26 (3): 426–430. doi:10.1111/rec.12819. S2CID 90909160.
- ↑ "Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner Program". www.ser.org. Society for Ecological Restoration. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
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