What are the ecological consequences of ‘wilding’ as a long term conservation strategy?

Wilding – the conservation of sites using only, or largely, natural processes – has moved onto the conservation agenda in recent times. However, while there have been discussions of possibilities for large area conservation, re-introductions and so on, there has been little attempt to discuss the actual ecological implications of this approach. Will ecosystems recover to a previous, richer state, move forward to a new state or simply stagnate and lose some current features? How ‘wild’ can ‘wildling’ be, or will there need to be intervention in systems, at least in establishment phases?

Speakers confirmed to date: Frans Vera, Netherlands; David Hetherington, Cairngorm National Park. Peter Dennis CIRRE, IRS, Aberystwyth; Chris Thomas, CIRRE, IRS, Aberystwyth; Sarah Dalrymple, Aberdeen .