ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book argues that the achievement of conscious sustainable practices has only permeated a limited number of societies over time and that the majority have been in fact blinded by a type of anthropocentric chauvinism. More modern societies have exercised various levels of management and sustainable practices, but these have often been evaluated based on economic or political standards only. Furthermore, most practices and their associated datasets lack the temporal, spatial and even contextual scales needed to provide strong evidence to substantiate their claims. The survival of the fittest race is more complex than just species outcompeting each other. Ultimately this situation extends beyond the basic Darwinian view of natural selection. With the birth of “ecological community thinking” scientists have sought to understand the natural processes that govern forest dynamics.
