Sudbury, Ontario is one of the world's most polluted areas. A century of industrial activities has resulted in thousands of acidified lakes and vast areas of denuded land. This book describes, in a manner accessible to a wide audience, the damage and the efforts at environmental restoration at Sudbury which resulted in its winning a United Nations award in 1992 for land reclamation.
The book has been written by a distinguished group of contributors, ranging from experts in acid rain and land reclamation to environmental engineers and toxicologists.

Inhalt
Section A. History of Geology, Mineral Exploration, and Environmental Damage.- 1. Geological and Geographic Setting.- 2. Early History of Human Activities in the Sudbury Area and Ecological Damage to the Landscape.- 3. Reading the Records Stored in the Lake Sediments: A Method of Examining the History and Extent of Industrial Damage to Lakes.- Section B. Trends in Natural Recovery after Emission Reductions.- 4. Declining Industrial Emissions, Improving Air Quality, and Reduced Damage to Vegetation.- 5. Lake Water Quality Improvements and Recovering Aquatic Communities.- 6. Lichens: Sensitive Indicators of Improving Air Quality.- 7. Natural Recovery of Vascular Plant Communities on the Industrial Barrens of the Sudbury Area.- Section C. Goals of Restoration.- 8. Municipal Land Restoration Program: The Regreening Process.- 9. Revegetation of the Copper Cliff Tailings Area.- 10. Engineered Wetlands as a Tailings Rehabilitation Strategy.- 11. Preservation of Biodiversity: Aurora Trout.- 12. Partnerships for Wildlife Restoration: Peregrine Falcons.- Section D. Research Topics in Restoration Ecology.- 13. Dynamics of Plant Communities and Soils in Revegetated Ecosystems: A Sudbury Case Study.- 14. Lake Sediments: Sources or Sinks of Industrially Mobilized Elements?.- 15. Liming of Sudbury Lakes: Lessons for Recovery of Aquatic Biota from Acidification.- 16. Trends in Waterfowl Populations: Evidence of Recovery from Acidification.- 17. Acidification and Metal Contamination: Implications for the Soil Biota of Sudbury.- 18. Birch Coppice Woodlands near the Sudbury Smelters: Dynamics of a Forest Monoculture.- 19. Potential Role of Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) in Colonizing Metal-Contaminated Ecosystems.- 20. Urban Lakes: Integrators of Environmental Damage and Recovery.- Section E. Planning for the Future.- 21. Developments in Emission Control Technologies/Strategies: A Case Study.- 22. Integrated Management and Progressive Rehabilitation of Industrial Lands.- 23. Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems: Technologies for Mapping and Monitoring Environmental Health.- 24. Catchment Management in the Industrial Landscape.- 25. Planning for the Environmentally Friendly City.- 26. From Restoration to Sustainable Ecosystems.- A color insert follows page.