Society interacts with ecological restoration at three levels: the citizenry, the stakeholders, and the restoration community. Citizens often possess only a vague understanding of the importance of ecological restoration. The public is also often unaware of the challenges associated with restoration planning and implementation, and they may not understand the spectrum and magnitude of ecosystem-service tradeoffs that must be considered. Consequently, asking the general public to allocate scarce funds to restoration activities can be problematic. Rangeland ecosystems require intervention because a large percentage of the world's rangelands are degraded, thereby diminishing their delivery of ecosystem services. Self-perpetuating degradation processes, such as accelerated erosion or breakdown of water and nutrient cycling, increase the urgency of intervention. Rangeland productivity is typically erratic, so benefits may be small or slow to appear. Low human-population densities associated with rangelands also hinder investment in rangeland restoration.

• Range plant ecology