Ecological engineering is a hybrid discipline developed for solving certain kinds of environmental problems. The conceptual basis is to engineer solutions that incorporate ecosystems that are fueled by natural energies such as sunlight into the design. The creation of ecologically engineered ecosystems includes both restoration of past systems for conservation and the design of new systems that address environmental problems. The goal is to create designs that are cost effective and that provide multiple benefits to society. Where applicable ecological engineered systems are intended to be alternatives to conventional technologies that rely on higher inputs of fossil fuel energies. As with other kinds of engineering, ecologically engineered systems require quantitative methods of design such as sizing, optimization, and input-output balances. However, because ecologically engineered systems utilize living ecosystems, they also allow for and often rely on self-design of the system itself through the self-organizing quality of species populations and abiotic components. It is the utilization of natural ecosystems and self-design that differentiates ecological engineering from traditional engineering disciplines. Because engineering is inherently based on complete knowledge of and control over designs, there has been some resistance to the concept of self-design from traditional engineering disciplines. In fact, ecological engineering is applicable to only a subset of problems but, where appropriate, it offers solutions that can be more effective and sustainable than conventional approaches. The challenge is to combine the strengths of ecology and engineering to create a new paradigm for environmental problem solving. Ecological engineering is both an academic field with curricula taught in universities and with a regularly published journal of peer-reviewed articles (Ecological Engineering by Elsevier) along with a practical field where systems are designed, built and operated by commercial companies for clients. Professional societies, such as the American Ecological Engineering Society, have arisen to try to better connect theory and practice in this emerging discipline through the use of certification programs and annual meetings of academics and practitioners.
Ecosystem Management and Ecological Modeling