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The San Joaquin Valley of California is an arid region with a Mediterranean climate that used to be rich in wildlife before being dramatically transformed by agricultural expansion. It is also a remarkable example of how rewilding can help restore habitats that seemed irreparably lost. This book is not a manual for rewilding or sustainable farming, but a collection of lessons learnt while rewilding the San Joaquin Valley. Its format makes it accessible to a large readership, although it will be useful mainly to conservation practitioners. The book is structured in three sections. The first focuses on the inevitable ecological challenges associated with the reintroduction of plants and animals; the second on principles of farmland rewilding; and the third, on the socioeconomic factors linked to land-use change. The chapter that discusses solutions for sustainable farming is particularly relevant because agriculture is the cause for the biodiversity decline in the region, as well as the high rates of air and water pollution that cause health problems to poor and vulnerable communities. Yet, it does it only from a theoretical point of view, and successful examples of sustainable farming from the valley are lacking. The book stresses the importance of meeting people’s needs and engaging the local community so that they can appreciate the role of the native species and contribute to supporting them. How much of this is applicable to other ecosystems or countries is difficult to say, as for every book on habitat restoration. These experiences show the challenges and opportunities of rewilding from a broad perspective. There are no magic bullets that will help us replicate a successful habitat restoration elsewhere, but stories like the one from the San Joaquin Valley can give us a good idea of what must be considered for such an indispensable endeavour.
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Ferrante, M. Scott H. Butterfield, Rodd T. Kelsley and Abigail K. Hart: Rewilding agricultural landscapes: a California study in rebalancing the needs of people and nature. COMMUNITY ECOLOGY 23, 407 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42974-022-00102-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42974-022-00102-w