Ecological engineering

thumb|River restoration to restore ecosystem services is one common application of ecological engineering

Ecological engineering uses ecology and engineering to predict, design, construct or restore, and manage ecosystems that integrate "human society with its natural environment for the benefit of both".

Origins, key concepts, definitions, and applications

Ecological engineering emerged as a new idea in the early 1960s, but its definition has taken several decades to refine. Its implementation is still undergoing adjustment, and its broader recognition as a new paradigm is relatively recent. Ecological engineering was introduced by Howard Odum and others as utilizing natural energy sources as the predominant input to manipulate and control environmental systems. The origins of ecological engineering are in Odum's work with ecological modeling and ecosystem simulation to capture holistic macro-patterns of energy and material flows affecting the efficient use of resources.

Mitsch and Jorgensen were the first to define ecological engineering as designing societal services such that they benefit society and nature, and later noted the design should be systems based, sustainable, and integrate society with its natural environment.

Bergen et al. defined ecological engineering as: 1) utilizing ecological science and theory; 2) applying to all types of ecosystems; 3) adapting engineering design methods; and 4) acknowledging a guiding value system.

Barrett (1999) offers a more literal definition of the term: "the design, construction, operation and management (that is, engineering) of landscape/aquatic structures and associated plant and animal communities (that is, ecosystems) to benefit humanity and, often, nature." Barrett continues: "other terms with equivalent or similar meanings include ecotechnology and two terms most often used in the erosion control field: soil bioengineering and biotechnical engineering. However, ecological engineering should not be confused with 'biotechnology' when describing genetic engineering at the cellular level, or 'bioengineering' meaning construction of artificial body parts."

The applications in ecological engineering can be classified into 3 spatial scales: 1) mesocosms (~0.1 to hundreds of meters); 2) ecosystems (~one to tens of km); and 3) regional systems (>tens of km). The complexity of the design likely increases with the spatial scale. Applications are increasing in breadth and depth, and likely impacting the field's definition, as more opportunities to design and use ecosystems as interfaces between society and nature are explored. Implementation of ecological engineering has focused on the creation or restoration of ecosystems, from degraded wetlands to multi-celled tubs and greenhouses that integrate microbial, fish, and plant services to process human wastewater into products such as fertilizers, flowers, and drinking water. Applications of ecological engineering in cities have emerged from collaboration with other fields such as landscape architecture, urban planning, and urban horticulture, and community reforestation through traditional ecological knowledge. Permaculture is an example of broader applications that have emerged as distinct disciplines from ecological engineering, where David Holmgren cites the influence of Howard Odum in development of permaculture.

Design guidelines, functional classes, and design principles

Ecological engineering design will combine systems ecology with the process of engineering design. Engineering design typically involves problem formulation (goal), problem analysis (constraints), alternative solutions search, decision among alternatives, and specification of a complete solution. A temporal design framework is provided by Matlock et al., stating the design solutions are considered in ecological time. In selecting between alternatives, the design should incorporate ecological economics in design evaluation This holistic model development and simulation defines the system of interest, identifies the system's boundary, and diagrams how energy and material moves into, within, and out of, a system in order to identify how to use renewable resources through ecosystem processes and increase sustainability. The system it describes is a collection (i.e., group) of components (i.e., parts), connected by some type of interaction or interrelationship, that collectively responds to some stimulus or demand and fulfills some specific purpose or function. By understanding systems ecology the ecological engineer can more efficiently design with ecosystem components and processes within the design, utilize renewable energy and resources, and increase sustainability.

Mitsch and Jorgensen Complementing this set of courses were prerequisites courses in physical, biological, and chemical subject areas, and integrated design experiences. According to Matlock et al., and using nutrient valuation for a dairy farm. With these principals in mind, the world's first B.S. Ecological Engineering program was formalized in 2009 at Oregon State University.

In 2024, the US Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (ABET) published criteria for accreditation of Ecological Engineering program for the first time. To be accredited, B.S. Ecological Engineering programs must include:

mathematics through differential equations, probability and statistics, calculus-based physics, and college-level chemistry;
earth science, fluid mechanics, hydraulics, and hydrology.
biological and advanced ecological sciences that focus on multi-organism self-sustaining systems at a range of scales, systems ecology, ecosystem services, and ecological modeling;
material and energy balances; fate and transport of substances in and between air, water, and soil; thermodynamics of living systems; and
applications of ecological principles to engineering design that include considerations of climate, species diversity, self-organization, uncertainty, sustainability, resilience, interactions between ecological and social systems, and system-scale impacts and benefits.

Literature

Howard T. Odum (1963), "Man and Ecosystem" Proceedings, Lockwood Conference on the Suburban Forest and Ecology, in: Bulletin Connecticut Agric. Station.
W.J. Mitsch (1993), Ecological engineering—"a cooperative role with the planetary life–support systems. Environmental Science & Technology 27:438-445.
H.D. van Bohemen (2004), Ecological Engineering and Civil Engineering works, Doctoral thesis TU Delft, The Netherlands.

References

External links

What is "ecological engineering"? Webtext, Ecological Engineering Group, 2007.
Ecological Engineering Student Society Website, EESS, Oregon State University, 2011.
Ecological Engineering webtext by Howard T. Odum Center for Wetlands at the University of Florida, 2007.

Organizations

American Ecological Engineering Society, homepage.
Ecological Engineering Student Society Website, EESS, Oregon State University, 2011.
American Society of Professional Wetland Engineers, homepage, wiki.
Ecological Engineering Group, homepage.
International Ecological Engineering Society homepage.

Scientific journals

Ecological Engineering since 1992, with a general description of the field.
Landscape and Ecological Engineering since 2005.
Journal of Ecological Engineering Design Officially launched in 2021, this journal offers a diamond open access format (free to the reader, free to the authors). This is the official journal of the American Ecological Engineering Society with production support from the University of Vermont Libraries.