Restoration Ecology: The NewFrontier2nd edition, Edited by J. Van Andel and J. Aronson,Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, 2012. xvii + 381 pp.($175 Hardback). Price AUD $88.00. ISBN9781444336368).

The first edition of this book was published in 2006. In theforward to that book, the chair of the Society for Ecologi-cal Restoration (Europe) remarked, ‘I expect this book tobecome a landmark in the literature on restoration ecologyfor many years to come’. Well, for seven years, at least. It isa testament to the rapid development of restoration ecol-ogy that a thoroughly revised edition has now beenpublished.

The first edition of this textbook was written entirely byEuropeans and focussed on issues relevant to that conti-nent. In the second edition, contributors are also drawnfrom the USA, Australia and South Africa, to broaden thescope and appeal of the book. The text now includeschapters on tropical forests, American temperate forestsand arid lands; topics not covered in the first edition.

Nevertheless, the book retains a predominantly Euro-pean focus and ‘feel’, by which I mean the editorial mate-rial and many of the chapters emphasise the humandimensions of restoration. Given the long history of inten-sive human modification of European landscapes, thisemphasis is not surprising. Indeed, the first edition ofthe book stated bluntly that ‘cultural landscapes can andoften should provide the best reference for actual restora-tion or rehabilitation projects’.

By contrast, in the new world, restoration ecology stilltends to be concerned with returning disturbed sitestowards ‘the natural condition’. Other, lesser goals maybe appropriate in some circumstances, due to costs orthe difficulty of recovery, but such projects would gener-ally be deemed rehabilitation or reclamation, not restora-tion per se. Again, this reflects the broader ecologicalcontext: in Australia and the Americas, one can still findmany examples of relatively natural reference sites, at leastin terms of modification by Europeans. However, as ecol-ogists come to recognise the impacts of indigenous man-agement (e.g. fire) on new world landscapes, it seemsthat restoration may well converge on socio-ecologicalobjectives in all but true ‘wilderness’ areas.

A related issue, raised towards the conclusion of thefirst edition but a dominant theme in the revised textbook,is that humans have changed and will continue to changethe fundamental drivers of ecosystems so comprehen-sively that the notion of restoration, in terms of ‘returningto the past’, is no longer a useful concept. What is the

point, for example, of scrupulously sourcing local geneticmaterial for a restoration project, when the site one isrestoring will soon become subject to environmentalconditions not experienced locally for millennia?

Instead, the catchphrase of the revised edition is ‘restor-ing to the future’, an Orwellian slogan which does, how-ever, perform the useful function of allowing restorationecologists to maintain a positive attitude in the face of per-vasive global change. If the past no longer provides thetemplate for restoration, then the practice of ‘restoration’becomes a very open endeavour, albeit a form of garden-ing. Thus, for example, in the brave new world of ‘novel’and ‘emerging’ ecosystems, there is increasing acceptanceof the use of exotic plants in restoration, not only as a tem-porary measure but as an end in itself (although this viewis contested). In this regard, the major contributions byEuropean ecologists to this book are one of its strengths,because as human populations and their impacts continueto grow, there are many lessons to be learnt from Europe.Indeed, the book provides numerous examples of whatrestoration can mean in the anthropocene.

As a textbook, the volume is well organised, with intro-ductory chapters on the scope and key concepts of resto-ration ecology, followed by chapters on its ecologicalfoundations – landscape, ecosystem and population ecol-ogy, genetics and reintroductions – all part of the intellec-tual ‘toolkit’ of restoration ecology. These are followed by11 chapters providing examples of restoration in differentbiomes, from the tropics to the arctic. While the scope ofthis section is broader than the first edition, many chaptersretain a European focus, with somewhat token referencesto related ecosystems elsewhere on the planet. The bookconcludes with chapters on the future of restoration ecol-ogy, including an integration of invasion ecology and res-toration ecology, a chapter on how restoration shouldaccount for evolutionary ecology in the face of a rapidlychanging environment and a chapter linking restorationecology to the broader ambitions of ecological sustainabil-ity. The book includes a useful glossary, a detailedreference list and indices of authors and topics.

As well as being a useful text for university students, thebook – particularly those chapters summarising recentthinking on ecological topics relevant to restoration ecol-ogy – will be valuable to those already in the field. Forexample, I found the chapter on population geneticsbrought new insights to projects I am currently involvedin: apparently, ‘genetic rescue’ is now a greater concernthan maintaining genetic integrity in many restorationprojects. Twenty years can be a long time in ecology.

Review by John Kanowski , Australian Wildlife Conser-vancy, Wondecla, Qld, 4887, Australia, E-mail: john.kanowski@australianwildlife.org

ª 2014 Ecological Society of Australia ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT & RESTORATION VOL 15 NO 1 JANUARY 2014 e1

doi: 10.1111/emr.12078

B O O KR E V I E W

EcologicalSociety of Australia