Burning a forest, grassland, or other terrestrial landscape leaves smoke and charred remains, but can revitalize an ecosystem. Humans use controlled burning to keep invasive species in check, to allowing fire-adapted seeds to germinate, and to return the amount of combustible vegetation to normal levels - especially where development or other disturbances have prevented natural fire regimes.
Restoring land includes many different aspects, from just initiating recovery and then leaving the land alone, to more physical efforts, such as revegetation, the removal of invasive species, or species reintroduction.