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Science 31 July 2009:
Vol. 325. no. 5940, pp. 569 - 571
DOI: 10.1126/science.1172978
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Perspective

Species Invasions and the Limits to Restoration: Learning from the New Zealand Experience

David A. Norton

Species invasions impose key biotic thresholds limiting the success of ecological restoration projects. These thresholds may be difficult to reverse and will have long-term consequences for restoration because of invasion legacies such as extinctions; because most invasive species cannot be eliminated given current technology and resources; and because even when controlled to low levels, invasive species continue to exert substantial pressure on native biodiversity. Restoration outcomes in the face of biological invasions are likely to be novel and will require long-term resource commitment, as any letup in invasive species management will result in the loss of the conservation gains achieved.

Rural Ecology Research Group, School of Forestry, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand. E-mail: david.norton{at}canterbury.ac.nz

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)