Final answer:
Ecological restoration is a process aimed at helping degraded ecosystems recover, influenced by the complexities of environmental, economic, and social factors. Large-scale efforts like rewilding enhance ecosystem resilience and biodiversity. The emerging financial viability of habitat restoration is supported by ecosystem services and innovative conservation approaches.
Step-by-step explanation:
Ecological restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed. The primary objective is to return the natural dynamic processes of the ecosystem. Restoration ecology, the scientific study underpinning restoration efforts, provides the tools to assess damaged ecosystems and outlines methodologies for promoting recovery.
Classic papers by Hobbs and Harris (2001), and others in the field, highlight the complexity of restoration projects, acknowledging the interplay of ecological, socio-economic, and political factors. Authors like Dobson et al. (1997) have provided optimism by discussing the future potential of restoration ecology in conservation biology.
Large-scale restoration initiatives, like those suggested by Foreman (2004), involve rewilding efforts that focus on improving ecosystem resilience and biodiversity by reconnecting fragmented habitats. The increasing interest in ecosystem services, such as carbon markets for climate change mitigation as explained by Laurance (2008), further supports the financial viability of habitat restoration. Ultimately, combining biodiversity sustainability with human land uses may lead to the emergence of new conservation approaches such as "countryside biogeography" (Daily et al. 2001) or "reconciliation ecology" (Rosenzweig 2003).