515
17.2 Scientific Background
The concept and principles of ecological restoration emerged in Europe and in the
United States of America at the beginning of the twentieth century, the goal being to
look after the “wounded landscape”. Thus, ecological restoration is a relatively new
concept that has undergone considerable development over the last 20 years both at
the theoretical level and at the level of concrete field applications. Additionally, in
the last 10 years, the science and practice of the discipline have progressed significantly, generating knowledge, creating and applying tools, designing procedures
and promoting networks worldwide. The first actions consisted of measures
designed to control mountain land erosion and forest environment degradation.
These actions have been extended and diversified to allow proper management of
multiple environmental degradation situations in various natural environments.
Certain systems may be restored directly according to the initial botanical composition theory; marshes or wetlands may thus be restored over a period of several years
under optimal conditions. For other ecosystems, the process that takes place between
the moment when they recover their self-regulating powers thanks to their restoration and the moment at which they achieve the environmental maturity stage of their
target system is lengthy (decades or centuries).
In most cases, the ecosystem that needs restoring has been degraded, damaged,
transformed or completely destroyed as a direct or indirect result of human actions.
The human being who used to destroy without considering the consequences of his
actions now wishes to repair the damage through the ecological restoration concept.
Ecological restoration is an action that initiates or enhances the self-repair mechanism of an ecosystem and at the same time observes its health, integrity and sustainable development (Bouzille 2007). Restoration is generally thought to allow an
ecosystem that has been degraded or destroyed by natural and/or human causes to
resume its prior condition. The faithful recreation of original habitats still generates
lively debate; many definitions of ecological restoration have been suggested, and
other related terms such as rehabilitation and reallocation are also often used.
Ecological restoration is one of the means used to maintain ecosystem services
and stop biodiversity loss. As a matter of fact, one of the objectives of the Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD) established during the Conference of the Parties held
in Nagoya in 2010 was the restoration of at least 15% of the degraded areas worldwide by 2020. The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) (2004) defines ecological restoration as “the process that could assist the regeneration of an ecosystem
which has been degraded, damaged or destroyed”. Ecological restoration is an
intentional activity designed to accelerate or restore a historic ecosystem in connection with the original resident species, the structure of communities, the functioning
of the environment, and the ability to shelter living organisms and connect them
with the surrounding environment (Aronson 2010). This supposes and requires
thorough knowledge of the functional and progressive ecology of the target ecosystems, of the history of the anthropogenic degradation of the ecosystem and, finally,
of the choice of a reference ecosystem meant to guide the planning, implementation,
17 Alteration and Remediation of Coastal Wetland Ecosystems in the Danube Delta…
17.2 Scientific Background
The concept and principles of ecological restoration emerged in Europe and in the
United States of America at the beginning of the twentieth century, the goal being to
look after the “wounded landscape”. Thus, ecological restoration is a relatively new
concept that has undergone considerable development over the last 20 years both at
the theoretical level and at the level of concrete field applications. Additionally, in
the last 10 years, the science and practice of the discipline have progressed significantly, generating knowledge, creating and applying tools, designing procedures
and promoting networks worldwide. The first actions consisted of measures
designed to control mountain land erosion and forest environment degradation.
These actions have been extended and diversified to allow proper management of
multiple environmental degradation situations in various natural environments.
Certain systems may be restored directly according to the initial botanical composition theory; marshes or wetlands may thus be restored over a period of several years
under optimal conditions. For other ecosystems, the process that takes place between
the moment when they recover their self-regulating powers thanks to their restoration and the moment at which they achieve the environmental maturity stage of their
target system is lengthy (decades or centuries).
In most cases, the ecosystem that needs restoring has been degraded, damaged,
transformed or completely destroyed as a direct or indirect result of human actions.
The human being who used to destroy without considering the consequences of his
actions now wishes to repair the damage through the ecological restoration concept.
Ecological restoration is an action that initiates or enhances the self-repair mechanism of an ecosystem and at the same time observes its health, integrity and sustainable development (Bouzille 2007). Restoration is generally thought to allow an
ecosystem that has been degraded or destroyed by natural and/or human causes to
resume its prior condition. The faithful recreation of original habitats still generates
lively debate; many definitions of ecological restoration have been suggested, and
other related terms such as rehabilitation and reallocation are also often used.
Ecological restoration is one of the means used to maintain ecosystem services
and stop biodiversity loss. As a matter of fact, one of the objectives of the Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD) established during the Conference of the Parties held
in Nagoya in 2010 was the restoration of at least 15% of the degraded areas worldwide by 2020. The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) (2004) defines ecological restoration as “the process that could assist the regeneration of an ecosystem
which has been degraded, damaged or destroyed”. Ecological restoration is an
intentional activity designed to accelerate or restore a historic ecosystem in connection with the original resident species, the structure of communities, the functioning
of the environment, and the ability to shelter living organisms and connect them
with the surrounding environment (Aronson 2010). This supposes and requires
thorough knowledge of the functional and progressive ecology of the target ecosystems, of the history of the anthropogenic degradation of the ecosystem and, finally,
of the choice of a reference ecosystem meant to guide the planning, implementation,
17 Alteration and Remediation of Coastal Wetland Ecosystems in the Danube Delta…