The United Nations (UN) recently declared 2021 to 2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Against this background, we review recent social-ecological systems research and summarize key themes that could help to improve ecosystem restoration in dynamic social contexts. The themes relate to resilience and adaptability, ecosystem stewardship and navigation of change, relational values, the coevolution of human and ecological systems, long-range social-ecological connections, and leverage points for transformation. We recommend two cross-cutting new research foci; namely: (i) post hoc cross-sectional assessments of social-ecological restoration projects; and (ii) transdisciplinary social-ecological ‘living labs’ that accompany new restoration projects as they unfold. With global agendas increasingly taking a social-ecological perspective, the recasting of ecosystem restoration as a social-ecological endeavor offers exciting new opportunities for both research and practice.

联合国最近宣布2021年至2030年为生态系统恢复十年。在此背景下，我们回顾了最近的社会生态系统研究并总结了有助于在动态社会环境中改善生态系统恢复的关键主题。这些主题涉及复原力和适应性，生态系统管理和变化导航，关系价值，人类与生态系统的共同进化，长期的社会生态联系以及转化的杠杆点。我们推荐两个跨领域的新研究重点；即：（i）事后社会生态修复项目的横断面评估；（ii）随着新修复项目的开展，跨学科的社会生态“生活实验室”。随着全球议程越来越多地从社会生态的角度出发，将生态系统恢复重塑为一种社会生态的努力为研究和实践提供了令人兴奋的新机会。