Science
How to Rewild
We’ve collated some of the most important journal articles and books related to rewilding.
How to Use This Guide
Contents: Collapse the grey Contents bar by clicking on it or use the links in it to jump around the article.
Summary: Click on any grey bar marked ‘Summary’ to see more information about the content.
A Scientific Definition of Rewilding
“A dynamic and process-oriented approach, focusing on the adaptive capacity of ecosystems and the restoration of ecosystem processes promoting biodiversity, rather than aiming to maintain or restore particular ecosystem states characterized by predefined species compositions or particular bundles of ecosystem services.
Such approaches recognize ecosystems as dynamic systems whose future development cannot always be predicted.”
Perino et al, 2019
Contents
Books
Jepson & Blythe
2020
A primer for conservationists interested in the principles and classic case studies of rewilding. Also offers helpful advice and examples of how to roll out a project.
Macdonald
2019
Detailed analysis of ecosystem collapse in the UK, with case studies showing how rewilding projects are able to reverse this trend.
Journal Articles
1999: Shifting Mosaics in Grazed Woodlands Driven by the Alternation of Plant Facilitation and Competition
Authors: Olff, H., Vera, F. W., Bokdam, J., Bakker, E. S., Gleichman, J. M., De Maeyer, K., & Smit, R.
Published: 1999
Journal: Plant Biology
A seminal paper in rewilding which proposed the concept of cyclical patterns of regeneration, whereby thorny scrub acted as protection for tree saplings, allowing woodland to succeed on grassland. The findings have since been disputed in some research, but the concept is still very popular in the rewilding community as, while woodland is not often observed to be destroyed by modern mega-herbivores, trees do indeed appear to grow in thickets.
Authors: Kimball & Nolte
Published: 2006
Journal: Western Journal of Applied Forestry
Successful test of a cheap and easy to spray-on deer repellent based on an easy to acquire component of baby formula.
Authors: Vercauteren et al
Published: 2006
Journal: Wildlife Society Bulletin
Comparison of different types of deer fence and their efficacy, cost-efficiency and practicality.
Authors: Bartlett et al
Published: 2016
Journal: Ecography
Modelling the impact of humans versus climate on past megafauna extinctions to determine the importance of humans in causing these events.
2019: Rewilding Complex Ecosystems
Authors: Perino et al
Published: 2019
Journal: Science
A framework for understanding rewilding and applying it in projects, placing local communities at the heart of the planning process.
Other Content
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Chris D'Agorne MSc - Founder / How to Rewild
The Secrets of Urban Rewilding – A Clear and Simple Guide
A Guide to Urban Rewilding Written by Chris D’Agorne, in partnership with It’s obvious that bigger rewilding projects have a bigger impact on nature. But
Rewilding for Fungi
Guest Blog by David Satori MSc This guest blog was written by David Satori MSc, a mycological consultant who conducts surveys and monitoring for fungi
How to Buy Land for Rewilding
Part of our series on How to Rewild a Field. A clear and helpful guide which explains how to find land in the UK, what
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