This book explores the ecological concepts and ideas involved in the practice of habitat restoration by taking a theoretical approach that will appeal to ecologists concerned with the structure and dynamics of communities. The contributors examine aspects of this new realization and its implications for both ecology and the practice of habitat restoration. What emerges is the outline of a new paradigm for ecological research and the basis for a stronger relationship between theory and practice in this area.

Ecological restoration, the attempt to guide damaged ecosystems back to a previous, usually healthier or more natural, condition, is rapidly gaining recognition as one of the most promising approaches to conservation. In this book, William R. Jordan III, who coined the term "restoration ecology", and who is widely respected as an intellectual leader in the field, outlines a vision for a restoration-based environmentalism that has emerged from his work over twenty-five years. Drawing on a provocative range of thinkers, from anthropologists Victor Turner, Roy Rappaport, and Mary Douglas to literary critics Frederick Turner, Leo Marx, and R.W.B. Lewis, Jordan explores the promise of restoration, both as a way of reversing environmental damage and as a context for negotiating our relationship with nature. Exploring restoration not only as a technology but also as an experience and a performing art, Jordan claims that it is the indispensable key to conservation. At the same time, he argues, restoration is valuable because it provides a context for confronting the most troubling aspects of our relationship with nature. For this reason, it offers a way past the essentially sentimental idea of nature that environmental thinkers have taken for granted since the time of Emerson and Muir.

"Ecological restoration is one of today's most constructive, hopeful, and provocative environmental movements, and William Jordan III is its leading visionary."--Michael Pollan, author of "The Botany of Desire

"This profoundly provocative and challenging book proposes nothing less than to change the focus of the American and indeed global environmental movement from 'defense' to 'offense.' It offers a bold, positive replacement for the thinking that has underlain the conservation and preservation movements from their beginnings. In fact, it makes a convincing argument for an altogether new relation between human beings and the natural environment."--Ernest Callenbach, author of "Ecotopia

"In this remarkable book, Bill Jordan, the preeminent philosopher of ecological restoration, essays nothing less than mooting the distinction between nature and culture. An argument so brilliant that it's a work of art, The Sunflower Forest envisions evolution, ecosystems, and human action as integral, dynamic, and harmonious. Sage, erudite, and original, The Sunflower Forest is bound to provoke and inspire."--Stephanie Mills, author of I"n Service of the Wild: Restoring and Reinhabiting Damaged Land

"In a world where Nature is on the defensive and natural habitats shrink by the minute, ecological restoration offers the only hope for many species and ecosystems. As Bill Jordan explains in his wonderful new book, our taking the offensive to reclaim damaged lands, also restores our spirits."--Stuart Pimm, Doris Duke Chair of Conservation Ecology, Duke University

""The Sunflower Forest is a highly original, thoughtful, and provocative argument for restoration as a new environmental paradigm. Jordanis a serious intellectual. The book captivated me--it could be the 'must read' book of the year."--Max Oelschlaeger, Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University