Authors: Massenberg, Julian; Schiller, Johannes;Schröter-Schlaack, Christoph;

In recent years, rewilding has been attracting growing attention as novel, process-oriented concept supporting ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation. Rewilding aims to strengthen the adaptive capacity of ecosystems by restoring natural processes and withdrawing anthropogenic interventions. Yet, diverging understandings, conceptions and definitions of rewilding result in a somewhat fuzzy concept. So far, the scientific discussion focused primarily on biological and ecological effects and success factors of rewilding. However, it is argued that, particularly in Europe, which is characterised by densely populated areas and a long history of landscape cultivation, rewilding incorporates also a socio-economic and socio-cultural dimension which are important from both a theoretical and practical perspective. The aim of this paper is therefore to elaborate on the socio-economic and socio-cultural aspects relevant for rewilding. On the basis of a synthesis of current scientific publications, we identify research gaps and derive recommendations for future areas of research. The need for an inter- and transdisciplinary understanding of rewilding is emphasised in order to provide a holistic perspective on the topic and to support the uptake of rewilding in disciplines related to conservation sciences, decision-making and practice.