Applied ecology

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| data4 = Applied uses ecological approaches to address problems of specific parts of the environment.{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Theoretical Ecology|last1=Hastings|first1=Dr Alan|last2=Gross|first2=Dr Louis|date=2012-05-31|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520269651|location=Berkeley, CA|pages=52}}

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Applied ecology is a sub-field within ecology that considers the application of the science of ecology to real-world (usually management) questions. It is also described as a scientific field that focuses on the application of concepts, theories, models, or methods of fundamental ecology to environmental problems.

Concept

Applied ecology is an integrated treatment of the ecological, social, and biotechnological aspects of natural resource conservation and management.{{Cite book|last1=Frouz|first1=Jan|last2=Frouzová|first2=Jaroslava|date=2022|title=Applied Ecology|url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-83225-4|language=en-gb|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-83225-4|isbn=978-3-030-83224-7 |s2cid=245009867 }} Applied ecology typically focuses on geomorphology, soils, and plant communities as the underpinnings for vegetation and wildlife (both game and non-game) management.

Applied ecology includes all disciplines that are related to human activities so that it does not only cover agriculture, forestry and fisheries{{Cite book|last1=Frouz|first1=Jan|last2=Frouzová|first2=Jaroslava|date=2022|title=Applied Ecology|url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-83225-4|language=en-gb|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-83225-4|isbn=978-3-030-83224-7 |s2cid=245009867 }} but also global change.{{Cite book|title=Plant Ecology|last1=Schulze|first1=Ernst-Detlef|last2=Beck|first2=Erwin|last3=Müller-Hohenstein|first3=Klaus|date=2005|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=354020833X|location=Berlin|pages=1}} It has two study categories. The first involves the outputs or those fields that address the use and management of the environment, particularly for its ecosystem services and exploitable resources. The second are the inputs or those that are concerned with the management strategies or human influences on the ecosystem or biodiversity.

The discipline is often linked to ecological management on the grounds that the effective management of natural ecosystems depends on ecological knowledge.{{Cite book|title=Applied Ecology and Natural Resource Management|last1=McPherson|first1=Guy R.|last2=DeStefano|first2=Stephen|date=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521009751|location=Cambridge, UK|pages=1}} It often uses an ecological approach to solve problems of specific parts of the environment, which can involve the comparison of plausible options (e.g. best management options).

The role of applied science in agricultural production has been brought into greater focus as fluctuations in global food production feed through into prices and availability to consumers.{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Applied Plant Sciences |date=2017 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-394808-3 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/referencework/9780123948083/encyclopedia-of-applied-plant-sciences }}{{pn|date=September 2021}}

Approaches

Applied ecologists often use one or more of the following approaches, namely, observation, experimentation, and modeling.{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Ecology|date=2014|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=9780444520333|location=Amsterdam|pages=230}} For example, a wildlife preservation project could involve: observational studies of the wildlife ecology; experiments to understand causal relationships; and the application of modeling to determine the information beyond the scope of experimentation.

The ecological approach used in applied ecology could include inputs from management strategies such as conservation biology, restoration ecology, global change, ecotoxicology, biomonitoring, biodiversity, environmental policies, and economics, among others. Restoration ecology is a particularly prominent strategy in the discipline since it applies the principles of restoring and repairing damaged ecological systems to their original state.{{Cite book|title=Law and Ecology: The Rise of the Ecosystem Regime|last1=Brooks|first1=Richard O.|last2=Jones|first2=Ross|date=2017-07-05|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9780754620389|location=Oxon|pages=21–22}}

Like those used in ecological theory, many areas of the discipline employ approaches that are based on simple statistical and analytic models (e.g. spatial models) as well as those with mathematical properties (e.g. matrix models).{{Cite book|title=Models in Ecosystem Science|last1=Canham|first1=Charles Draper William|last2=Cole|first2=Jonathan|last3=Lauenroth|first3=William K.|date=2003|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0691092885|location=Princeton, NJ|pages=63–64}} There is also the digital computer simulation modeling, which is designed to solve statistical ecology problems and to achieve bioeconomic goals such as the forecasting and the evaluation of consequences for specific activities.{{Cite book|title=Systems Analysis and Simulation in Ecology, Volume II|last=Patten|first=Bernard C.|date=1972|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=9781483262772|location=New York|pages=329|language=en}}

Applied ecology also requires human interest, particularly the exercise of judgments of relative values and goals.{{Cite book|title=Concepts of Applied Ecology|last=DeSanto|first=R. S.|date=2012-12-06|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9781461394341|location=New York|pages=124}}

Applications

Applied ecology can be applied to the economic development process. The discipline, for example, can be integrated into the national economic planning to comprehensively address environmental concerns since these problems are intersectoral and interdisciplinary in nature.{{Cite book|title=Race to Save the Tropics: Ecology And Economics For A Sustainable Future|last=Goodland|first=Robert|date=1990|publisher=Island Press|isbn=1559630396|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=12}}

Aspects of applied ecology include:

File:Yellow star thistle.jpg is an invasive species in Yosemite National Park.]]

Agro-ecosystem management
Biodiversity conservation
Biotechnology
Conservation biology
Disturbance management
Ecosystem restoration
Environmental engineering
Environmental technology
Habitat management
Invasive species management
Landscape use (including development planning)
Protected areas management
Rangeland management
Restoration ecology
Wildlife management (including game)

Major journals in the field include:

Journal of Applied Ecology
Ecological Applications
Applied Ecology and Environmental Research

Related organizations include:

Ecological Society of America (The Americas)
Society for Ecological Restoration (Global)
Institute for Applied Ecology (USA)
Kazakh Agency of Applied Ecology
Öko-Institut (Institute for Applied Ecology) (in Germany)

References

Bibliography

{{cite journal|last1=Skelly|first1=David K.|last2=Freidenburg|first2=L. Kealoha|title=Applied Ecology|journal=Ecology|date=23 May 2012|doi=10.1093/OBO/9780199830060-0039|isbn=978-0-19-983006-0 }}
{{cite journal|last1=Lubchenco|first1=J.|title=Entering the Century of the Environment: A New Social Contract for Science|journal=Science|date=23 January 1998|volume=279|issue=5350|pages=491–497|doi=10.1126/science.279.5350.491|bibcode=1998Sci...279..491L |url=http://polired.upm.es/index.php/anales_de_edificacion/article/view/3099|url-access=subscription}}
{{cite journal|last1=Caldwell|first1=Lynton K.|title=Problems of Applied Ecology: Perceptions, Institutions, Methods, and Operational Tools|journal=BioScience|date=August 1966|volume=16|issue=8|pages=524–527|doi=10.2307/1293702|jstor=1293702}}
{{cite journal|last1=Hobbs|first1=Richard J.|last2=Hallett|first2=Lauren M.|last3=Ehrlich|first3=Paul R.|last4=Mooney|first4=Harold A.|title=Intervention Ecology: Applying Ecological Science in the Twenty-first Century|journal=BioScience|date=June 2011|volume=61|issue=6|pages=442–450|doi=10.1525/bio.2011.61.6.6|s2cid=12367177|doi-access=free}}
{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Applied Plant Sciences|date=2017|publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-394808-3|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/referencework/9780123948083/encyclopedia-of-applied-plant-sciences}}
{{Cite book|last1=Frouz|first1=J|url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-83225-4|title=Applied Ecology|last2=Frouzová|first2=J|publisher=Springer International Publishing|year=2022|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-83225-4|isbn=978-3-030-83224-7|s2cid=245009867}}