From myopia to clarity: sharpening the focus of ecosystem management through the lens of palaeoecology

•A temporal perspective is needed for the management and conservation of variable ecosystems; palaeoecology and environmental history, alongside satellite data and climate trajectories, can inform future scenario building.•Long-term data can be embedded into the adaptive management cycle.•Although there are a range of examples showing the use of palaeo-data for ecosystem management and restoration, palaeoecological databases need to be made user-friendly for conservation managers and other stakeholders.•Long-term data can be integrated into the wider socio-environmental policy arena, through linking with key concepts such as sustainability and ecosystem services. Maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services in a changing environment requires a temporal perspective that informs realistic restoration and management targets. Such targets need to be dynamic, adaptive, and responsive to changing boundary conditions. However, the application of long-term data from palaeoecology is often hindered as the management and policy implications are not made explicit, and because data sets are often not accessible or amenable to stakeholders. Focussing on this translation gap, we explore how a palaeoecological perspective can change the focus of biodiversity management and conservation policy. We embed a long-term perspective (decades to millennia) into current adaptive management and policy frameworks, with the aim of encouraging better integration between palaeoecology, conservation management, and mainstreaming viable provision of ecosystem services.