1. To return an area of land or a road or track surface
to an original, proper and stable condition. This may involve reshaping,
spreading topsoil, construction of banks and revegetation.
http://www.privateforestry.org.au/glos_o-z.htm
2. Making the land useful again after a disturbance. It
involves the recovery of ecosystem functions and processes in a degraded
habitat. Rehabilitation does not necessarily reestablish the predisturbance
condition, but does involve establishing geological and hydrologically stable
landscapes that support the natural ecosystem mosaic.
http://www.oregonwri.org/basin-info/floodrpt.html
3. The process of making land "productive" again. An alternative ecosystem is created with different structure and function than the original ecosystem. It usually has low species diversity and includes introduced species. It requires maximal human input to exist. Land uses include parklands, croplands, and commercial forests. http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/soe/95/28.htm
4. (Forest) - A management strategy applied in degraded forest lands that aims at re-establishing site productivity and protective functions and many of the ecological services provided by a functional forest or woodland ecosystem. ITTO 2002. FAO. 2002. Draft Analytical Framework on Forest-Related Definitions.