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Derham, T.T.
In defence of 'rewilding' - a response to Hayward et al. (2019)
2019 Biological Conservation (236): 583-583
Hayward et al. (2019) voice frustration at the puzzling array of definitions for the term 'rewilding' and its subcategories (trophic rewilding etc.). They claim that rewilding definitions are unclear, vague and ambiguous, hindering scientific progress and communication. They further claim that the language of rewilding is redundant, since restoration ecology can handle all the concepts of rewilding. Hayward et al. conclude that we should drop 'rewilding' from the ecological lexicon. Their analysis is a welcome reminder that scientists should be precise and explicit in their discourse and that terminology and definitions matter to science communication. Contrary to their conclusion, I propose that the language of rewilding can continue to challenge, progress and extend restoration ecology.
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