3.1.2 Integrated Approaches: Developing and applying
ecological engineering and ecohydrology
‘Ecological engineering’ has been defined as the application of engineering and life-science prin-
ciples to the design of sustainable ecosystems integrating human society with its natural en-
vironment for the benefit of both (Mitsch and Jørgensen, 2004
11
). The goals of ecological
engineering are to: design and create new sustainable ecosystems with human and ecological
value and to restore ecosystems that have been substantially disturbed by human activities
(e.g. urban development, agriculture, forestry, or aquaculture).
Ecological engineering is based on the following principles (Mitsch and Jørgensen, 2004):
1. The self-designing capacity of ecosystems;
2. Reliance on system approaches, aimed at the study of the entire system rather than com-
ponents of the system in isolation from each other (Cairns, 1998 in Mitsch and Jørgensen,
2004);
3. Conservation of non-renewable energy sources; and
4. Conservation of biological resources.
By way of example, ecological engineering approaches are used to retain, or even to degrade,
certain pollutants and to reuse them as raw materials for fertilisers and industrial by-products.
Potential applications of ecological engineering in rural landscapes may include wetland treat-
ment, as well as hydromorphological restoration or sediment management. At the urban level,
potential applications of ecological engineering could be found by combining the expertise of
landscape architecture, urban planning and urban storm water management. Ecological engi-
neering deals with both fundamental ecological processes and engineering applications on scales
ranging from microscopic to watersheds and beyond. In turn, ecohydrology is an integrative
science, application-driven discipline aimed at providing a better understanding of the effects
of hydrological processes on biotic processes, and vice versa, in freshwater and coastal-zone
ecosystems from the molecular to the river basin scale (Zalewski, 2002;
12
Hannah et al.,
2004
13
). The ultimate goal of ecohydrology research is to enhance the carrying capacity of
ecosystems while ensuring water quality, biodiversity, ecosystem services and ecosystem re-
silience. Ecohydrology practice focuses on the use of the ecosystem’s properties and processes
to regulate the hydrological cycle as well as matter and energy fluxes. Potential applications of
ecohydrology in rural areas include the construction of biogeochemically reactive barriers in
land-water ecotones and in pollution hot-spots (Bednarek et al., 2010;
14
Izydorczyk et al.,
2013
15
) in order to intensify the degradation of nutrients and, therefore, protect water ecosys-
tems. In urban areas, blue-green networks of surface waters and ecosystems could be used to
deliver clear benefits to society such as reduction of pluvial flooding, reduction of urban heat–
island effects, and improved levels of air quality (Zalewski, 2012).
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