Ecosystem functioning, services and biodiversity during the ecological restoration (With special attention to forest ecosystem)

As resource use and human populations grow, restoration of degraded ecosystems such as forest ecosystems is becoming one of the most important tools in conservation managers’toolboxes. Today deforestation and conversion of forests into agricultural lands and pastures is a common practice in the world. Such anthropogenic pressures lead to bio-diversity decline and loss of ecosystem processes and services. The alarming rate of ecosystem degradation has raised the need for ecological restoration throughout different biomes and continents. The functioningof an ecosystem incorporates processes such as decomposition of organic matter, fixation ofcarbon, nutrient and water cycling and degradation of toxic compounds. Ecological restoration isa relatively young science and involves assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed, typically as a result of human activities. A major goal of ecological restoration is the reestablishment of the characteristics of an ecosystem, such asbiodiversity and ecological function, that were prevalent before degradation. For this reason, it can now be seen as a top priority for society and a good investment in the current state of ecological overshoot. Furthermore, ecological restoration of forest ecosystems is increasinglybeing implemented in many parts of the world, as a response to widespread forest loss and degradation. Also, availability of quantitative information on growth increment, biomass accumulation and growth dynamics of fragmented and degraded forest ecosystems is a commonchallenge in restoration work. Ecological models of forest dynamics have the potential to provide a structure through which data, observations and assumptions can be combined and explored. However, understanding the history of disturbance and degradation processes inecosystems, in particular in forest ecosystems, is essential for successful restoration projects. Finally forest restoration is much more than restoring tree cover, although this is obviously the priority and the first step in completely deforested areas

Keywords:

Ecological restoration , Ecosystem functioning , Ecosystem services , Biodiversity , Forest ecosystem