Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate Change, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, København, Denmark.
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA.
Curr Biol. 2016 Feb 8;26(3):R87-91. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.044.
Rewilding--the proposed restoration of ecosystems through the (re-)introduction of species--is seen by many as a way to stem the loss of biodiversity and the functions and services that biodiversity provides to humanity. In addition, rewilding might lead to increased public engagement and enthusiasm for biodiversity. But what exactly is rewilding, and is it based on sound ecological understanding? Here, we show that there is a worrying lack of consensus about what rewilding is and what it isn't, which jeopardizes a clearer account of rewilding's aims, benefits and potential consequences. We also point out that scientific support for the main ecological assumptions behind rewilding, such as top-down control of ecosystems, is limited. Moreover, ecological systems are dynamic and ever-evolving, which makes it challenging to predict the consequences of introducing novel species. We also present examples of introductions or re-introductions that have failed, provoking unexpected negative consequences, and highlight that the control and extirpation of individuals of failed translocations has been shown to be extremely challenging and economically costly. Some of rewilding's loudest proponents might argue that we are advocating doing nothing instead, but we are not; we are only advocating caution and an increased understanding and awareness of what is unknown about rewilding, and what its potential outputs, especially ecological consequences, might be.
重新引入物种以恢复生态系统的提议——重新野生化，被许多人视为阻止生物多样性丧失以及生物多样性为人类提供的功能和服务的一种方法。此外，重新野生化可能会导致公众对生物多样性的参与度和热情增加。但是，重新野生化到底是什么，它是否基于可靠的生态理解呢？在这里，我们表明，对于重新野生化是什么以及不是什么，人们缺乏共识，这危及了对重新野生化的目标、利益和潜在后果的更清晰的说明。我们还指出，对于重新野生化背后的主要生态假设的科学支持是有限的，例如生态系统的自上而下的控制。此外，生态系统是动态的，不断发展的，这使得预测引入新物种的后果具有挑战性。我们还提供了一些失败的引入或重新引入的例子，这些例子引发了意想不到的负面后果，并强调控制和根除失败的转移个体已被证明是极其具有挑战性和经济成本高昂的。重新野生化的一些最响亮的支持者可能会争辩说，我们主张什么都不做，但是我们不是；我们只是主张谨慎，并增加对重新野生化未知内容的理解和认识，以及它可能产生的潜在输出，特别是生态后果。
