Applied and Global Ecology
Applied and global ecology turns ecological understanding toward the problems people create and depend upon, from the conservation of biodiversity and the restoration of degraded systems to the planetary-scale consequences of human activity.
Definition
Applied and global ecology is the application of ecological knowledge to the conservation, management, and restoration of populations, communities, and ecosystems, and the study of human-driven environmental change at regional to global scales.
Scope
This area uses ecological principles to address environmental problems and human impacts at scales from sites to the whole biosphere: the conservation of species and habitats and the drivers of biodiversity loss, the ecology of biological invasions, the restoration and management of ecosystems, and the consequences of global change including climate warming, altered biogeochemical cycles, and land-use transformation. It connects ecology to environmental policy and the concept of ecosystem services.
Sub-topics
Core questions
- What drives the loss of biodiversity, and how can species and habitats be conserved?
- How do non-native species invade and affect ecosystems?
- How can degraded ecosystems be restored and sustainably managed?
- How is global change altering ecosystems and the services they provide?
Key theories
- Human domination of ecosystems
- Human activity now dominates Earth's major ecological processes, transforming land, altering biogeochemical cycles, redistributing species, and changing climate, so that few ecosystems remain unaffected by people.
- Ecosystem services and biodiversity-function links
- Ecosystems supply provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural services on which human well-being depends, and the loss of biodiversity can erode the functioning that underpins these services.
Clinical relevance
Applied and global ecology underpins conservation planning, ecosystem restoration, invasive-species management, climate-change adaptation, and environmental assessment and policy. This is educational context, not management prescription.
History
Applied ecology grew from early conservation and game-management traditions, notably Leopold's mid-twentieth-century work, and from Elton's 1958 study of invasions. Concern with global, human-driven change crystallised in the late twentieth century, articulated by Vitousek and colleagues in 1997 and synthesised in the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, which popularised the ecosystem-services framework.
Key figures
- Aldo Leopold
- Charles Elton
- Peter Vitousek
- Gretchen Daily
- Harold Mooney
Related topics
Seminal works
- vitousek1997
- millennium2005
- begon2006
Frequently asked questions
- What is applied ecology?
- Applied ecology is the use of ecological principles to address practical problems such as conserving species, managing resources, controlling invasions, and restoring damaged ecosystems.
- What are ecosystem services?
- Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems, including provisioning services like food and water, regulating services like climate and flood control, and supporting and cultural services.