New Natures and Old Science: Hands-on Practice and Academic Research in Ecological Restoration

Ecological restoration is a growing field in many parts of the world. Although it started as a field of practitioners in the Midwest of the USA, restoration is currently growing rapidly as an academic discipline. In this paper the development of ecological restoration is discussed by relating it to the propagated Mode 2 for the dynamics of science and research in contemporary societies, that is, the shift from traditional discipline-based research (Mode 1) to a problem-solving and transdisciplinary form of science (Mode 2). It is argued that ecological restoration as understood here at times includes the elements that have been claimed to indicate a Mode 2 form of science, but the historical extrapolation of the development of restoration discloses a social shifting of boundaries back-and-forth on an ongoing recursive loop between the two forms of science. This suggests a recursive interdependence between the two Modes, including phases of ‘re-traditionalization’ back to Mode 1, rather than a general replacement of discipline-based research.