title: Enhancement of biodiversity and ecosystem services by ecological restoration: a meta-analysis.
abstract: Ecological restoration is widely used to reverse the environmental degradation caused by human activities. However, the effectiveness of restoration actions in increasing provision of both biodiversity and ecosystem services has not been evaluated systematically. A meta-analysis of 89 restoration assessments in a wide range of ecosystem types across the globe indicates that ecological restoration increased provision of biodiversity and ecosystem services by 44 and 25%, respectively. However, values of both remained lower in restored versus intact reference ecosystems. Increases in biodiversity and ecosystem service measures after restoration were positively correlated. Results indicate that restoration actions focused on enhancing biodiversity should support increased provision of ecosystem services, particularly in tropical terrestrial biomes.
authors: Ecology Department, Alcala University, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Spain. josem.rey@uah.es
authors: José M
authors: JM
authors: Rey Benayas
authors: Adrian C
authors: AC
authors: Newton
authors: Anita
authors: A
authors: Diaz
authors: James M
authors: JM
authors: Bullock
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D002980:Climate; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D010944:Plants; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric