Looking through the lens of Mace's conservation philosophy: framing paleoecology for better ecosystem restoration

Abstract

In the late Professor G. Mace's iconic work entitled “Whose conservation?” she laid out the four movements through which U.K. conservation has progressed in the last 70 years. These are key concepts in understanding the motivations and perspectives behind conservation practice and continue to provide a useful framework through which to examine the contributions of related disciplines to habitat management and ecological restoration. Paleoecology, whilst well established as a field of research, is still finding its place as an applied science that is fully integrated into conservation practice. To facilitate the closing of this research-implementation gap, the paper presents a reflection of the current and potential contributions of paleoecology through the lens of Mace's four conservation philosophies. The key message that emerges is that the integration and application of paleoecology in conservation is essential to holistically address the ongoing biodiversity crisis.