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Xii PREFACE there is a special chapter on integrated aquatic ecosystem restoration (Chapter 7) that discusses the failings of a fragmented approach and speculates on the advantages to be derived from a more integrated approach to restoring aquatic ecosystems. The committee recognized the difficulty of producing a report of acceptable length while also providing a useful level of detail on the large number of restoration efforts that have been completed or are in progress. It was decided that a limited number of illustrative case studies would be selected for review and that the level of detail would include only the information necessary to communicate the unique attributes of each restoration effoxt. This report describes the status and functions of surface water ecosystems; the effectiveness of aquatic restoration efforts; the tech- nology associated with those efforts; and the research, policy, and institutional reorganization required to begin a national strategy for aquatic ecosystem restoration. Although ground water is an impor- tant natural resource in the United States and degradation of its qual- ity has an effect on surface water supplies, the committee chose not to review restoration of ground water. Despite increasing awareness that some of the ground water in the United States is contaminated, public policy toward ground water protection is still in the formative stages. Increased technology and expanded monitoring activities probably will detect the effects of past contamination and land uses on water quality. Conclusive answers to questions about the loca- tion, extent, and severity of ground water contamination, and about trends in ground water quality, must await further collection and analysis of data from the nation's aquifers.l The Water Science and Technology Board has in progress at this time a separate, special, detailed assessment of ground water remediation. The committee was much influenced by the strategy of the former NRC Committee on Applications of Ecological Theory to Environ- mental Problems.2 Our committee shares the 1986 NRC committee's perception that, whereas much about the functioning of ecological systems remains poorly understood, it is common to fail to use even available information when attempting to solve environmental prob- lems. Finally, our committee also decided to provide examples of the lU.S. Geological Survey. 1987. National Water Summary 1987. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2350. U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado. ZNational Research Council. 1986. Ecological Knowledge and Environmental Prob- lem-Solving. Commission on Life Sciences, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.