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Reconciliation ecology


Reconciliation ecology is the branch of ecology which studies ways to encourage biodiversity in human-dominated ecosystems. Michael Rosenzweig first articulated the concept in his book Win-Win Ecology, based on the theory that there is not enough area for all of earth’s biodiversity to be saved within designated nature preserves. Therefore, humans should increase biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes. By managing for biodiversity in ways that do not decrease human utility of the system, it is a "win-win" situation for both human use and native biodiversity. The science is based in the ecological foundation of human land-use trends and species-area relationships. It has many benefits beyond protection of biodiversity, and there are numerous examples of it around the globe. Aspects of reconciliation ecology can already be found in management legislation, but there are challenges in both public acceptance and ecological success of reconciliation attempts.

Traditional conservation is based on "reservation and restoration"; reservation meaning setting pristine lands aside for the sole purpose of maintaining biodiversity, and restoration meaning returning human impacted ecosystems to their natural state. However, reconciliation ecologists argue that there is too great a proportion of land already impacted by humans for these techniques to succeed.

While it is difficult to measure exactly how much land has been transformed by human use, estimates range from 39 to 50%. This includes agricultural land, pastureland, urban areas, and heavily harvested forest systems. An estimated 50% of arable land is already under cultivation. Land transformation has increased rapidly over the last fifty years, and is likely to continue to increase. Beyond direct transformation of land area, humans have impacted the global biogeochemical cycles, leading to human caused change in even the most remote areas. These include addition of nutrients such nitrogen and phosphorus, acid rain, ocean acidification, redistribution of water resources, and increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Humans have also changed species compositions of many landscapes that they do not dominate directly by introducing new species or harvesting native species. This new assemblage of species has been compared to previous mass extinctions and speciation events caused by formation of land bridges and colliding of continents.


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