Restoration of Animal, Plant, and Microbial Diversity

Abstract

Conservation of biodiversity is the central goal of most restoration efforts and ranges from reintroductions of individual species of rare plants and animals to efforts to reintroduce a high diversity of species. Restoration may be defined as the manipulation of organisms and ecological processes to create self-organizing, sustainable, native ecosystems as integral parts of the landscape, as much as possible as they existed before disruptive human disturbances. In this article, we will examine the possibilities and the limits to restoration of biodiversity.