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Primer of Ecological Restoration
The pace, intensity, and scale at which humans have altered our planet in recent decades is unprecedented. We have dramatically transformed landscapes and waterways through agriculture, logging, mining, and fire suppression, with drastic impacts on public health and human well-being. What can we do to counteract and even reverse the worst of these effects? Restore damaged ecosystems.
The Primer of Ecological Restoration is a succinct introduction to the theory and practice of ecological restoration as a strategy to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems. In twelve brief chapters, the book introduces readers to the basics of restoration project planning, monitoring, and adaptive management. It explains abiotic factors such as landforms, soil, and hydrology that are the building blocks to successfully recovering microorganism, plant, and animal communities. Additional chapters cover topics such as invasive species and legal and financial considerations. Each chapter concludes with recommended reading and reference lists, and the book can be paired with online resources for teaching.
Perfect for introductory classes in ecological restoration or for practitioners seeking constructive guidance for real-world projects, Primer of Ecological Restoration offers accessible, practical information on recent trends in the field.
The Primer of Ecological Restoration is a succinct introduction to the theory and practice of ecological restoration as a strategy to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems. In twelve brief chapters, the book introduces readers to the basics of restoration project planning, monitoring, and adaptive management. It explains abiotic factors such as landforms, soil, and hydrology that are the building blocks to successfully recovering microorganism, plant, and animal communities. Additional chapters cover topics such as invasive species and legal and financial considerations. Each chapter concludes with recommended reading and reference lists, and the book can be paired with online resources for teaching.
Perfect for introductory classes in ecological restoration or for practitioners seeking constructive guidance for real-world projects, Primer of Ecological Restoration offers accessible, practical information on recent trends in the field.
224 pages, Paperback
First published March 3, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 28, 2020
The most commonly used definition of ecological restoration was developed by the Society for Ecological Restoration International: ecological restoration “is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed.” Given the broad range of ecosystems that have been affected by human and natural disturbances, and the similarly broad range of strategies that are used in restoration projects, the definition is understandably general and inclusive. Simply put, restoration requires restorationists to understand the natural successional processes specific to a given ecosystem, and then to enhance those processes to nudge the ecosystem onto a trajectory of recovery.
Karen Holl’s Primer is an excellent review of the discipline. It is concise without cutting corners, comprehensive in its treatment of the subject, and honest in its description of what constitutes good restoration practice. I planned, supervised, and conducted forest restoration in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States for 30 years. I also taught ecological and landscape restoration at both the undergraduate and graduate levels for nearly as long. Holl’s presentation of the ethical, conceptual, and practical aspects of restoration mirrors perfectly my own understanding of the discipline developed over three decades of hands-on field work and teaching. This book would serve as an excellent text for an ecological restoration course; I wish it had been available when I was teaching. It would also provide valuable guidance to a layperson who would like to heal a damaged landscape.
Over the course of 12 chapters, Holl reviews every aspect of ecological restoration. She begins with an exploration of motives for restoring ecosystems ranging from statutory obligations to altruistic desires to preserve the biosphere. She then goes on to refine the definition of ecological restoration and differentiate it from similar, related pursuits such as reclamation and mitigation.
With this foundation, Holl proceeds to review the critical importance of advance planning and, equally important, of monitoring outcomes and anticipating the need for adaptive management. It is unlikely that any restoration project will proceed exactly as planned. Countless variables beyond the practitioner’s control can affect projects in the field, so assessing results (i.e., monitoring) and making adjustments (i.e., adaptive management) will almost certainly be required. Monitoring and adaptive management are expensive, but they are absolutely critical to the success of every restoration project and, as Holl emphasizes repeatedly throughout the book, typically are given short-shrift in most projects. As a result of this cost-cutting, it is easy to understand why many restoration projects ultimately fall short of initial expectations or fail altogether.
Holl next devotes three chapters to discussing fundamental components of ecosystems undergoing restoration. She first reviews the natural successional processes that restorationists must rely upon to do the “heavy lifting” for recovery; Holl calls this applying ecological knowledge to restoration. She then concentrates on the importance of creating appropriate topography and hydrology, including incorporating soil and water quality that will support the recovering ecosystem. These site characteristics are critical to success, and skimping on any will at best delay and, at worst, doom a project. Following a discussion of the possible impacts of invasive species, Holl completes her examination of project fundamentals with discussions of revegetation strategies and the importance of including animals (or, at least anticipating their impacts) in restoration planning and execution.
The final two chapters briefly review legislation that affects restoration and sources of project funding. Because of the variations in international, national, and local regulations governing ecosystem management, this discussion is relatively general. However, Holl makes it clear that most restoration projects will be undertaken within the framework of some governmental regulation; practitioners should anticipate operating within these strictures. Like the myriad regulations governing restoration, financial sources for supporting restoration projects are similarly highly diverse, so the final chapter includes only broad guidelines for seeking funding.
Holl’s purpose in writing the Primer was to present an overview of the discipline that would be broadly applicable to nearly any ecosystem. As such, she wisely chose not to include specific restoration projects or ecosystem types in the text. Instead, she invites readers to explore the details of eight restoration projects around the world through a collection of case studies included in the book’s website hosted by the publisher. The case studies, presented as downloadable PDF documents ranging from five to nine pages in length, include project details, color maps and photographs, and reference materials. The studies cover projects in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, social and ecological aspects of riparian restoration along California’s Sacramento River, implications of restoring tortoises in the Galapagos Islands, the effects on endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax trailii extimus) nesting habitat of invasive tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) removal from southwestern United States’ riparian corridors, river and riparian restoration in Washington state and Florida, mangrove restoration in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, and coastal prairie and freshwater wetland restoration in California.
Overall, the Primer presents a thorough and uncompromising blueprint for developing and executing the best restoration. However, there is never enough money to address every single aspect of restoration perfectly, and the reality is that nearly all projects are underfunded. Holl recognizes and acknowledges these shortcomings, but I am concerned that readers who are interested in considering a restoration project might be discouraged or reluctant to start unless they can do the job perfectly. In most cases, some work to improve the condition of a damaged ecosystem likely is preferable to doing nothing, but practitioners should always strive to do their best within the limitations of their circumstances and financial situation while recognizing that their efforts may not achieve all of the requirements for the ideal or perfect restoration project.
Karen Holl’s Primer is an excellent review of the discipline. It is concise without cutting corners, comprehensive in its treatment of the subject, and honest in its description of what constitutes good restoration practice. I planned, supervised, and conducted forest restoration in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States for 30 years. I also taught ecological and landscape restoration at both the undergraduate and graduate levels for nearly as long. Holl’s presentation of the ethical, conceptual, and practical aspects of restoration mirrors perfectly my own understanding of the discipline developed over three decades of hands-on field work and teaching. This book would serve as an excellent text for an ecological restoration course; I wish it had been available when I was teaching. It would also provide valuable guidance to a layperson who would like to heal a damaged landscape.
Over the course of 12 chapters, Holl reviews every aspect of ecological restoration. She begins with an exploration of motives for restoring ecosystems ranging from statutory obligations to altruistic desires to preserve the biosphere. She then goes on to refine the definition of ecological restoration and differentiate it from similar, related pursuits such as reclamation and mitigation.
With this foundation, Holl proceeds to review the critical importance of advance planning and, equally important, of monitoring outcomes and anticipating the need for adaptive management. It is unlikely that any restoration project will proceed exactly as planned. Countless variables beyond the practitioner’s control can affect projects in the field, so assessing results (i.e., monitoring) and making adjustments (i.e., adaptive management) will almost certainly be required. Monitoring and adaptive management are expensive, but they are absolutely critical to the success of every restoration project and, as Holl emphasizes repeatedly throughout the book, typically are given short-shrift in most projects. As a result of this cost-cutting, it is easy to understand why many restoration projects ultimately fall short of initial expectations or fail altogether.
Holl next devotes three chapters to discussing fundamental components of ecosystems undergoing restoration. She first reviews the natural successional processes that restorationists must rely upon to do the “heavy lifting” for recovery; Holl calls this applying ecological knowledge to restoration. She then concentrates on the importance of creating appropriate topography and hydrology, including incorporating soil and water quality that will support the recovering ecosystem. These site characteristics are critical to success, and skimping on any will at best delay and, at worst, doom a project. Following a discussion of the possible impacts of invasive species, Holl completes her examination of project fundamentals with discussions of revegetation strategies and the importance of including animals (or, at least anticipating their impacts) in restoration planning and execution.
The final two chapters briefly review legislation that affects restoration and sources of project funding. Because of the variations in international, national, and local regulations governing ecosystem management, this discussion is relatively general. However, Holl makes it clear that most restoration projects will be undertaken within the framework of some governmental regulation; practitioners should anticipate operating within these strictures. Like the myriad regulations governing restoration, financial sources for supporting restoration projects are similarly highly diverse, so the final chapter includes only broad guidelines for seeking funding.
Holl’s purpose in writing the Primer was to present an overview of the discipline that would be broadly applicable to nearly any ecosystem. As such, she wisely chose not to include specific restoration projects or ecosystem types in the text. Instead, she invites readers to explore the details of eight restoration projects around the world through a collection of case studies included in the book’s website hosted by the publisher. The case studies, presented as downloadable PDF documents ranging from five to nine pages in length, include project details, color maps and photographs, and reference materials. The studies cover projects in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, social and ecological aspects of riparian restoration along California’s Sacramento River, implications of restoring tortoises in the Galapagos Islands, the effects on endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax trailii extimus) nesting habitat of invasive tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) removal from southwestern United States’ riparian corridors, river and riparian restoration in Washington state and Florida, mangrove restoration in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, and coastal prairie and freshwater wetland restoration in California.
Overall, the Primer presents a thorough and uncompromising blueprint for developing and executing the best restoration. However, there is never enough money to address every single aspect of restoration perfectly, and the reality is that nearly all projects are underfunded. Holl recognizes and acknowledges these shortcomings, but I am concerned that readers who are interested in considering a restoration project might be discouraged or reluctant to start unless they can do the job perfectly. In most cases, some work to improve the condition of a damaged ecosystem likely is preferable to doing nothing, but practitioners should always strive to do their best within the limitations of their circumstances and financial situation while recognizing that their efforts may not achieve all of the requirements for the ideal or perfect restoration project.
Read
April 14, 2023A good book for anyone interested in dipping their toes into the restoration game. If you are already familiar with restoration work, this will not provide depth to your understanding. However, this book does synthesize a wide range of topics related to restoration well. It gives a brief overview of several different types of ecosystem restorations and provides a lot of information on how to properly conduct restoration work from planning to post-project monitoring. The book was useful in giving me the context to better understand Satilla Riverkeeper’s Noyes Cut restoration.
September 18, 2023
This is a pretty thorough and concise book. However, at the end it gets a bit repetitive and the managerial advice is pretty true of any project management scenario.
The best content was content about potential adverse applications of mutualism, topological issues in restoration, and corridor interconnectivity issues in increasing diversity and decreasing inbreeding depression in local species.
Content on invasive species was all correct but not particularly anything super new; again it's only a primer so very useful in that way.
Appreciate that they emphasized that restoration costs money, and that not monitoring with a strategy can make things more costly as can just dropping the project later. Making things better always costs money and that people don't want to invest but want restoration is clear incompetence.
The best content was content about potential adverse applications of mutualism, topological issues in restoration, and corridor interconnectivity issues in increasing diversity and decreasing inbreeding depression in local species.
Content on invasive species was all correct but not particularly anything super new; again it's only a primer so very useful in that way.
Appreciate that they emphasized that restoration costs money, and that not monitoring with a strategy can make things more costly as can just dropping the project later. Making things better always costs money and that people don't want to invest but want restoration is clear incompetence.
April 27, 2024
Great review of many things that go into a successful restoration project. One of the more enjoyable books I read during my comprehensive exam studying.
August 10, 2025
Very useful t plan future lectures.
July 30, 2022
Environmental goals such as preserving ecosystems, protecting endangered species, and mitigating climate change are often viewed differently according to one’s political affiliation, but many do not seem to understand that the conservation of the human species is linked to these objectives. Despite the risk to our own survival, we continue actions that destroy the natural systems we rely on to sustain us. What can be done in the face of a continually degrading biosphere caused by relentless human impacts?
Many changes will be needed, but one strategy presented by Karen Holl in her book, Primer of Ecological Restoration, is to restore damaged ecosystems. Holl is a professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has over two decades of experience researching, teaching, and advising on ecological restoration. Her book provides a basic guide to restoring degraded ecosystems that she recommends for students, natural resources managers, and general audiences that want a concise introduction of this topic.
The book begins with the question, why restore ecosystems, which describes the problem of human impacts on ecosystems and the benefits to be gained from restoring them. The second chapter explains why defining restoration is challenging. Holl affirms that returning landscapes to a “pristine” state misses the fact that nature is not static and Native Americans have been affecting ecosystems for thousands of years in the Americas. Rather, project planning, the third chapter of the book, should focus on engaging with stakeholders and agreeing upon clearly defined goals that utilize our knowledge of past, present, and future conditions.
Holl emphasizes that “billions of dollars and millions of hours of paid and volunteer labor are spent to restore damaged ecosystems every year.” She has found that these resources often go to waste due to a lack of monitoring and poor planning. To avoid this, her book covers many common pitfalls to restoration and imparts useful guidance.
The rest of the chapters provide an overview of hydrology, landscape ecology, soil and water quality, invasive species, revegetation, fauna, and legislation. It includes examples from actual restoration projects and key insights, such as “plant-animal interactions strongly influence the success or failure of restoration efforts.” She makes it clear that gaps in our knowledge remain and “it is much easier to destroy an ecosystem than to put it back together again.”
The final chapter justifies the cost of restoring ecosystems, informing us that, “in most cases, restored ecosystems provide benefits to humans that far outweigh the costs of restoration.” In this chapter, Holl navigates through some of the challenges of attaining funding for restoration projects and stresses the importance of long-term funding for success. Summarizing, she states that “resolving the mismatch between the short political and budgetary timelines and the much longer time needed for ecosystems to recover will be an ongoing challenge.”
Holl is “committed to bridging the divide between academic and management communities so that scientific research is best designed to inform and improve on-the-ground restoration projects.” This shines through in her book, which is not only valuable as a succinct overview of important topics in restoration, but also as a guide to the reader, providing expert advice that lays the groundwork for success. I would highly recommend this book to anyone doing work related to ecological restoration or who is interested in the topic. The book achieved its goal of covering the basics while maintaining brevity. Additionally, annotated lists of books are provided at the end of each chapter to assist the reader in exploring specific topics.
As the human population increases and ecosystem services are lost, restoring degraded ecosystems will become increasingly essential to our survival. While it is reassuring that we have the knowledge and tools to assist in nature’s recovery, Holl reminds us that “the most effective approach to conserving ecosystems is to protect them in the first place.”
Many changes will be needed, but one strategy presented by Karen Holl in her book, Primer of Ecological Restoration, is to restore damaged ecosystems. Holl is a professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has over two decades of experience researching, teaching, and advising on ecological restoration. Her book provides a basic guide to restoring degraded ecosystems that she recommends for students, natural resources managers, and general audiences that want a concise introduction of this topic.
The book begins with the question, why restore ecosystems, which describes the problem of human impacts on ecosystems and the benefits to be gained from restoring them. The second chapter explains why defining restoration is challenging. Holl affirms that returning landscapes to a “pristine” state misses the fact that nature is not static and Native Americans have been affecting ecosystems for thousands of years in the Americas. Rather, project planning, the third chapter of the book, should focus on engaging with stakeholders and agreeing upon clearly defined goals that utilize our knowledge of past, present, and future conditions.
Holl emphasizes that “billions of dollars and millions of hours of paid and volunteer labor are spent to restore damaged ecosystems every year.” She has found that these resources often go to waste due to a lack of monitoring and poor planning. To avoid this, her book covers many common pitfalls to restoration and imparts useful guidance.
The rest of the chapters provide an overview of hydrology, landscape ecology, soil and water quality, invasive species, revegetation, fauna, and legislation. It includes examples from actual restoration projects and key insights, such as “plant-animal interactions strongly influence the success or failure of restoration efforts.” She makes it clear that gaps in our knowledge remain and “it is much easier to destroy an ecosystem than to put it back together again.”
The final chapter justifies the cost of restoring ecosystems, informing us that, “in most cases, restored ecosystems provide benefits to humans that far outweigh the costs of restoration.” In this chapter, Holl navigates through some of the challenges of attaining funding for restoration projects and stresses the importance of long-term funding for success. Summarizing, she states that “resolving the mismatch between the short political and budgetary timelines and the much longer time needed for ecosystems to recover will be an ongoing challenge.”
Holl is “committed to bridging the divide between academic and management communities so that scientific research is best designed to inform and improve on-the-ground restoration projects.” This shines through in her book, which is not only valuable as a succinct overview of important topics in restoration, but also as a guide to the reader, providing expert advice that lays the groundwork for success. I would highly recommend this book to anyone doing work related to ecological restoration or who is interested in the topic. The book achieved its goal of covering the basics while maintaining brevity. Additionally, annotated lists of books are provided at the end of each chapter to assist the reader in exploring specific topics.
As the human population increases and ecosystem services are lost, restoring degraded ecosystems will become increasingly essential to our survival. While it is reassuring that we have the knowledge and tools to assist in nature’s recovery, Holl reminds us that “the most effective approach to conserving ecosystems is to protect them in the first place.”
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews