The challenges and opportunities of restoring ecosystems in urban-influenced areas: insights from northeastern Illinois

摘要

As the population of the United States increases and new development sprawls out across the landscape, ecosystems are greatly impacted. Sprawl and the competition for undeveloped land outside urban areas makes it especially important that we make the most effective use of the existing bank of reserved open space. Meeting goals of ecological health and connectivity at the same time that undeveloped lands are being converted to urban areas means that we have to pay closer attention to the integrity of natural areas within the urban system. Restoration is one of the best means that we have for accomplishing these important goals. The practices of "healing" degraded ecosystems through ecological restoration are becoming more effective with advances inscientific knowledge of how ecosystems function, as well as more practical experience in restoring ecosystems. Taking only biological and ecological factors into account, the means for restoration in the face of sprawl may be relatively simple--set aside more land, restore already preserved lands to more pristine conditions, and minimize human impacts. However, biological and ecological systems cannot be isolated from the human context in which they exist, which is why the restoration process is far from simple. As people and associated developments expand into the landscape, the ecosystems change, and so does the social context in which they exist. These physical, biological and social changes have important implications for the way that we plan andcarry out resource management. What has been happening with the restoration movement in northeastern Illinois is a good example of how the challenges of restoring ecosystems in urban influenced areas may be turned into opportunities for peaceful coexistence between large human populations and healthy ecosystems.