Holocene rewilding is a rewilding strategy that takes the early to late Holocene (after the emergence of agriculture and before the industrial revolution) as its historical baseline for ecosystems. Whereas Pleistocene rewilding is associated primarily with the reintroduction of large carnivores, Holocene rewilding emphasises the role of large herbivores such as (ancient) cattle and horse species in managing the landscape. Holocene rewilding revolves around the wood-pasture hypothesis by the Dutch conservation biologist Frans Vera, which states that after the last ice age, European lowlands will have developed into semi-open pastures dotted with large solitary trees and small patches of trees and shrubs, kept open by large herbivores. This hypothesis is contested.
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