Ecological Restoration

Francisco A. Comin is an ecologist with background experience on ecosystem analysis and development of management tools. He has been Professor of Ecology at University of Barcelona (Spain) for 25 years and visiting professor of CINVESTAV-IPN (Merida, Yucatan, Mexico) for 15 years. Books published include Global Climate. Current research and uncertainties in the Climate System, with X. Rodo (Springer, 2003); Saline Lakes. Developments in Hydrobiology 59, with T. Northcote (Springer, 1990); and Limnology and Aquatic Birds. Monitoring, Modelling and Management, with J. A. Herrera and J. Ramirez (Univ. Autonoma del Yucatan Publ., 2000). He has been performing research on practical works on ecological restoration for twenty years. The integration of scientific-technical, economic and social aspects is a guide for his work on ecological restoration. Topics in the frontier between different sciences are a special subject of interest as is shown in this book. He is a member of SER International, Intecol and RIACRE.

This book combines theory and practice plus ideas and case studies on ecological restoration from local to global scales.

Part I. Global Perspectives for Ecological Restoration: 1. The challenges of humanity in the twenty-first century and the role of ecological restoration Francisco A. Comín; 2. The global carbon cycle: current research and uncertainties in the sources and sinks of carbon Dario Papale and Riccardo Valentini; 3. Using international carbon markets to finance forest restoration Johannes Ebeling, Malika Virah-Sawmy and Pedro Moura Costa; 4. The value of a restored earth and its contribution to a sustainable and desirable future Robert Costanza; 5. Focal restoration Eric Higgs; 6. Ethical dimensions of ecological restoration Rebecca L. Vidra and Theodore H. Shear; Part II. Towards the Practice of Ecological Restoration at Global Scale: 7. Undertaking forest restoration on a landscape scale in the humid tropics: matching theory and practice in developed and developing countries David Lamb; 8. Land degradation and ecological restoration in China Bojie Fu, Dong Niu, Yihe Lu, Guohua Liu and Wenwu Zhao; 9. Conservation, restoration and creation of wetlands: a global perspective William J. Mitsch; 10. Uses, abuses and restoration of the coastal zone Francisco A. Comín, Jordi Serra and Jorge A. Herrera; 11. Spatial ecological solutions to mesh nature and people: Boston suburb, Barcelona region, and other urban regions Richard T. T. Forman; 12. The role of ecological modelling in ecosystem restoration Sven Erik Jørgensen; 13. Restoration as a bridge for cooperation and peace Amos Brandeis.