This concise yet comprehensive text provides a coherent and practical framework for the study and practice of land restoration and reclamation. It sets out the fundamental workings of the natural environment - terrestrial ecosystems, nutrient cycling and soil structure and gives an account of how these may be assessed, how they become degraded and the variety of processes available for reclamation and restoration; ranging from agro-forestry to the re-establishment of fully self-sustaining ecosystems.