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Ecological engineering

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Environmental Geology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Science ((EESS))

Combining ecosystem function with human needs is the emphasis of ecological engineering (or its synonym ecotechnology ), which is defined as ‘the design of human society with its natural environment for the benefit of both’ (Mitsch and Jørgensen, 1989; Mitsch, 1991). Ecotechnology involves several approaches or applications to the designing of landscapes, ranging from constructing new ecosystems to solving environmental problems to ecologically sound harvesting of existing ecosystems. Ecological engineering and ecotechnology combine basic and applied science for the restoration, design, and construction of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The goals of ecological engineering and ecotechnology are:

  • The restoration of ecosystems that have been substantially disturbed by human activities such as environmental pollution, climate change or land disturbance.

  • The development of new sustainable ecosystems that have human and ecological value.

  • The identification of the life support value of...

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© 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Mitsch, W.J. (1999). Ecological engineering. In: Environmental Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4494-1_90

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4494-1_90

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-412-74050-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4494-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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