Handbook of Ecological and Ecosystem Engineering

Figure 1.1 Global systems and their interactions.

See colour plate section for colour representation of this figure.

Ecological engineering must not forget that natural systems are complex, interdependent, and full of nonlinear responses. It must keep in mind that interventions in complex systems do not necessarily need to be complicated and full of intricacies. Perhaps the primary challenges faced by ecological engineering lie in denying the idea that Nature should be controlled and in showing that heuristic actions can be more effective since are less opaque and, therefore, less unpredictable.

The aims of this chapter are to address issues associated with the aforementioned aspects, primarily the concepts of ecological engineering and ecosystem services, and present and discuss examples of qualitative and quantitative measurements of services supplied by specific ecosystems and practical examples applied in different contexts. The chapter reflects on the need to reframe our perspective and actions and reinvent the human‐Nature relationship.

The basic concepts of ecological engineering were elaborated in the mid‐twentieth century, primarily through the contribution of ecologist Howard Thomas Odum. He defined it as the science that analyzes matter and energy flow in ecosystems dominated by humans to show the dependence of human production systems on natural sources, based on quantitative indices. Subsequently, Mitsch and Jorgensen [9] and Mitsch [10] have expanded the concept and defined ecological engineering as the science that accounts for the design of ecosystems and human organization to benefit both, without taking into consideration quantitative indices as determinant factors.

Figure 1.2 Searches on the Scopus database using the term ecological engineering show the evolution (1948–2019) of the number of articles, reviews, and books published in international journals that used the term.

Source: Scopus, © 2020, Elsevier.

Although the initial concepts of ecological engineering were developed in the mid‐twentieth century, studies associated with this science only started to gain room in the 1990s, as shown in Figure 1.2. The primary reasons for the increased number of studies about ecological engineering lie in the expansion of international commissions, conferences, and meetings aimed at sustainable development, such as the World Commission on Environment and Development – which published the report “Our Common Future” ‐ [11] – and the Second United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (ECO‐92).

Figure 1.3 Searches on the Scopus database using the term ecological engineering show the evolution (1948–2019), by country or territory, of the number of articles, reviews, and books published in international journals that used that expression.

Source: Scopus, © 2020, Elsevier.

Figure 1.4 Searches on the Scopus database using the term ecological engineering and shows the evolution (1948–2019), by subarea of knowledge, of the number of articles, reviews, and books published in international journals that used the term.

Source: Scopus, © 2020, Elsevier.

From the 1990s to the present day, studies about ecological engineering have increased in number, gained global range, and reached new fields of knowledge. However, China, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Australia stand out in the number of published studies in this field, whereas environmental sciences, agriculture, engineering, earth sciences, and social sciences are the subfields mostly dedicated to developing and publishing studies on this topic ( Figures 1.3and 1.4).

Although studies about ecological engineering have expanded, the view that natural ecosystems must be controlled under the basic premise of meeting human needs remains. Mitsch and Jorgensen [9] have emphasized that true ecological engineering can only be practiced based on the belief that humanity exists on the premises of Nature, which is in contrast to the current attitude that sees natural ecosystems based on conditions of human society. Human actions must move toward Nature rather than against it.

The basic ecological principles of ecological engineering were formulated as 12 guidelines or commandments [9, 12] that must be considered when planning any activity that falls under the scope of ecological engineering. These principles are described in Table 1.1.

The effective implementation of these principles is challenging, primarily in developing countries, where research resources are scarce or insufficient. In addition, production systems designed to meet global demands and balance the trade balance of these countries – such as food and input production – do not respect the slower pace required by ecological engineering, which contributes to the expansion of degradation processes in ecosystems and in services provided by them.

Table 1.1 Basic ecological principles of ecological engineering.