The role of ecologists in shaping large-scale green infrastructure

Background/Question/Methods

Cities implement large-scale green infrastructure projects to provide engineering and ecosystem services. The American River Parkway, for example, provides flood abatement, water for drinking and agriculture, storm water mitigation and anadromous fish passage. The efficacy of these projects at providing the multiple services is rarely evaluated and research programs to evaluate the trade-offs in these systems and inform adaptive management are uncommon. Embedding research into project design provides a mechanism for both evaluation and development of the ecological knowledge needed to improve infrastructure for services provision. As ecology undergoes a transformation from a field historically disengaged from the human built environment to one that can provide insight into the understanding, design, and management of urbanized land, it is essential to develop new relationships and improve credibility in order to catalyze action-oriented initiatives within the ecological disciplines. Ecologists must navigate the politics, economics, and social constraints of working in cities. We examine large-scale green infrastructure projects and define potential project roles for ecologists which could lead to hybrid ecological engineering projects with longer lasting and less costly solutions, that protect, restore, and reconstruct ecosystem services such as biodiversity and nutrient cycling and can improve human quality of life.

Results/Conclusions

As ecologists further understand coupled human natural systems, many are calling for cultural and methodological progression towards a stewardship role. Earth Stewardship argues that ecologists must ‘shape’ trajectories of socio-ecological change. It calls for a proactive strategy whereby ecological research is integrated with drivers that structure human environments. This symposium will present a role for ecologists engaged in the design and ecosystem-based management of green infrastructure projects and will illustrate ways for ecologists to: (1) operationalize Earth Stewardship and educate the next generation through a process of engagement that establishes a voice in the planning process and expands urban ecology to include shaping urban systems; (2) use case studies to illustrate ways of integrating hypothesis-driven experimental research and baseline monitoring with infrastructure design, implementation, and maintenance; and (3) recommend strategies that facilitate the inclusion of research ecologists in projects by enhancing the professional certification process, establishing research ecologists as consultants, and integrating ecology and design in graduate programs. This session will also complement an ecological design project to be launched at the Sacramento meeting, which will incorporate ecological science into landscape and urban design and will serve as a tool for positioning ecologists as active participants in shaping urban development.