User:Succulentpope
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Reconciliation ecology is the science of accommodating wild species within human-modified or -occupied landscapes. It holds that protecting wilderness, though necessary, is not enough to preserve biodiversity given the large area required for a diverse range of species to survive in the long term. It acknowledges the overwhelming impact anthropogenic change has had on most natural habitats, and seeks to modify human habitats to make them more hospitable to a wide variety of species, allowing humans and wild species to share the same ranges. [2] It takes steps to preserve species diversity in a rapidly-changing world facing a mass extinction the likes of which has rarely been seen in Earth's history [3]. Because the earth has already been modified so dramatically, reconciliation ecology seeks to re-modify the landscape in a manner designed to accommodate species and ecosystem conservation alongside other human needs [3]. It has applications for disappearing ecosystems (for example, by maintaining natural disturbance regimes and creating wetlands and backyard habitats), and for disappearing species (for example, by creating appropriate nestboxes for birds or ponds for toads). Furthermore, it suggests how management practices on landscapes primarily used for production or human habitation might be modified to better accommodate species and ecosystem needs (for example, in agriculture, encouraging a natural suite of pollinators, applying integrated pest management, and maintaining important resources for cattle and bird species). The concept has been popularized by the ecologist Michael Rosenzweig in his book Win-Win Ecology. [4]
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Western_Bluebird_leaving_nest_box.jpg/640px-Western_Bluebird_leaving_nest_box.jpg)