Downloads
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47982/rius.7.133Keywords:
Environmental design, ecological design, Build with Nature, ecosystem approach, landscape architecture, ecological planningAbstract
Eugene Odum was an ecological pioneer, writing the discipline’s first textbook, Fundamentals of Ecology, in 1953. Although his work is almost 70 years old, it laid the groundwork for contemporary landscape systems thinking. Since Odum’s time, a lineage of ecological research and theory has helped to define concepts pertaining to ecology, ecosystems, and nature. With these terms in peril of becoming ambiguous, especially in the design arts, this chapter revisits the origins and development of ecologic thinking in order to construct a more critical understanding of nature, and the role of the designer for Building with Nature. One particular experiment by Odum is used as the foundation of concept development. A pond is his reference site and he ‘dissects’ it, using dark and light bottes to illustrate its nuances and the overall ecosystem idea. Three important principles can be derived. First, the ecologist, or the designer, should understand the ‘nature’ of the system, or site, where they are working. Second, nature is formed through functional interactions over extended periods of time. Lastly, through an ecosystem approach, it is shown that systems involve indirect effects. In ecological networks, sites are impacted by forces beyond their immediate boundaries, as well as through other social and cultural systems. Case studies located along the Florida Gulf Coast are used to explain Odum’s and others’ concepts. Florida has developed in parallel with human’s capacity to manipulate their environment. For this reason, it is a useful reference site, illustrating trajectories in ecological thinking.
How to Cite
Published
Issue
Section
References
Audubon Florida. (web, accessed May 4, 2020a) Kissimmee River restoration project 90 percent built and already a model for restoration. https://fl.audubon.org/news/kissimmee-river-restoration-project-90-percent-built-and-already-model-restoration
Audubon Florida. (web, accessed Feb. 9, 2020b) Sanctuary Islands. https://fl.audubon.org/conservation/sanctuary-islands
Benson, K. (2000). The emergence of ecology from natural history. Endeavour, 24(2), 59-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0160-9327(99)01260-0
Bersier, L. -F. (2007). A history of the study of ecological networks. Biological Networks: Complex Systems and Interdisciplinary Science: Volume 3. Edited by Kepes, F. Singapore: World Scientific. 365-421.
Brose, U., Berlow, E., & Martinez, N. (2005). Scaling up keystone effects from simple to complex ecological networks. Ecology Letters, 8(12). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2005.00838.x
Brown, R. D. & Corry, R. C. (2011). Evidence-based landscape architecture: the maturing of a profession. Landscape and Urban Planning, 100, 327-329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2011.01.017
Buber, M. (1996). I and Thou. (Kaufmann, W., trans.) Simon and Schuster. (Original work published 1937)
Carpenter, S., Folke, C., Scheffer, M., & Westley, F. (2009). Resilience: Accounting for the noncomputable. Ecology and Society, 14(1): 13. https://doi.org/10.5751/es-02819-140113
Clements, F. E. (1916). Plant succession: an analysis of the development of vegetation. Monograph published by Carnegie Institution. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.56234
Cook, R. (2000). Do landscapes learn? Ecology’s “new paradigm” and design in landscape architecture. Dumbarton Oaks Colloquium on the History of Landscape Architecture, Vol. 22, 115-132. http://www.responsivelandscapes.com/readings/ecology/COOK_DoLandscapesLearn.pdf
Corner, J. (1991). A discourse on theory II: three tyrannies of contemporary theory and the alternative of hermeneutics. Landscape Journal, 10(2), 115-133. https://doi.org/10.3368/lj.10.2.115
Corner, J. (1997). Ecology and landscape as agents of creativity. In G. Thompson, & F. Steiner (Eds.), Ecological design and planning. John Wiley & Sons.
Cowles, H. C. (1899). The ecological relations of the vegetation of the sand dunes of Lake Michigan. Botanical Gazette, 27(2), 95–117. https://doi.org/10.1086/327796
Cowles, H. C. (1911). The causes of vegetational cycles. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 1(1), 3–20. https://doi.org/10.2307/2560843
Craige, B. (2001). Eugene Odum: ecosystem ecologist and environmentalist. The University of Georgia Press.
Crutzen, P. J. (2006). The “Anthropocene”. In E. Ehlers, & T. Krafft (Eds.), Earth System Science in the Anthropocene. Springer.
Darwin, C. (1859). On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. John Murray.
Davis, J. (2017) The Gulf. Liveright Publishing Corporation.
Dial, R.S., & Deis, D.R. (1986) Mitigation options for fish and wildlife resources affected by port and other water-dependent developments in Tampa Bay, Florida. National Coastal Ecosystems Team: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Egerton, F. (2007). Understanding food chains and food webs, 1700-1970. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 88(1), 50-69. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9623(2007)88[50:ufcafw]2.0.co;2
Egerton, F. (2017). History of ecological sciences, part 59: niches, biomes, ecosystems, and systems. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 98(4), 298-337. https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.1337
Fletcher, D. (2008). Flood control freakology: Los Angeles River watershed. The infrastructural city: networked ecologies in Los Angeles. Actar. 36-51.
Folke, C., Hahn, T., Olsson, P., & Norberg, J. (2005). Adaptive governance of social-ecological systems. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 30(1), 441-473. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.energy.30.050504.144511
Gillis, C. (April 20, 2018). Restoration work north of Lake Okeechobee will help Fort Myers area. News-Press. https://www.news-press.com/story/news/local/2018/04/20/northern-everglades-restoration-projects-help-lake-okeechobee-coastal-estuaries-fort-myers/498914002/
Golley, F. (1993). A History of the ecosystem concept in ecology: more than the sum of the parts. Yale University Press.
Ives, A. & Carpenter, S. (2007). Stability and diversity of ecosystems. Science, 317(5834), 58-62. doi:10.1126/science.1133258
Jordan III, W. (1994). Sunflower forest: Ecological restoration as the basis for a new environmental paradigm. In: Beyond preservation: Restoring and inventing landscapes (17-34). University of Minnesota Press.
Henderson, L. (1913). The fitness of the environment. The MacMillan Company.
Holling, C.S. (1973). Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 4(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.04.110173.000245
Hutchinson, G. E. (1957). A treatise on limnology. Wiley.
Koebel Jr., J, & Bousquin, S. (2014). The Kissimmee River Restoration Project and Evaluation Program, Florida, U.S.A. Restoration Ecology, 22(3), 345-352.
Lister, N. –M. (2008) Bridging science and values: the challenge of biodiversity conservation. In D. Waltner-Toews, J. Kay, & N. –M. Lister (Eds.), The ecosystem approach: complexity, uncertainty, and managing for sustainability. Columbia University Press, 83-107
McHarg, I. (1969). Design with nature. The Natural History Press.
Odum, E. (1953). Fundamentals of ecology (1st Ed.). W.B. Saunders Company.
Odum, E. (1963). Ecology. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
Odum, E. (1971). Fundamentals of ecology (3rd Ed.). W.B. Saunders Company.
Parsons, V. (2015). Giving our bays “the finger”: digging up the dirt on the history of local dredging. Bay Soundings (Sept. 25). http://baysoundings.com/dredging/
Peterson, M. & Lowe, M. (2009). Implications of cumulative impacts to estuarine and marine habitat quality for fish and invertebrate resources. Reviews in Fisheries Science, 17(4), 505-523. https://doi.org/10.1080/10641260903171803
PBS&J (2010). Tampa Bay Estuary Program habitat master plan update: prepared for Tampa Bay Estuary Program. https://tbeptech.org/TBEP_TECH_PUBS/2009/TBEP_06_09_Habitat_Master_Plan_Update_Report_July_2010.pdf
Pyne, S. (2010). The ecology of fire. Nature Education Knowledge, 3(10): 30. https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/the-ecology-of-fire-13259892/
Reed, C., & Lister, N. -M. (2014). Ecology and design: Parallel genealogies. Places Journal (2014). https://doi.org/10.22269/140414
Riverwoods Field Lab. (web, accessed Feb. 9, 2020). The Kissimmee River Restoration History. http://www.ces.fau.edu/riverwoods/kissimmee.php
Seavey, J. R., Pine III, W. E., Frederick, P., Sturmer, L., & Berrigan, M. (2011). Decadal changes in oyster reefs in the Big Bend of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Ecosphere, 2(10):114. https://doi.org/10.1890/es11-00205.1
Shelford, V. (1913). Animal communities in temperate America, as illustrated in the Chicago region; a study in animal ecology. Publication for the Geographic Society of Chicago. University of Chicago Press
Smith, S. (2005). Florida Population Growth: Past, Present and Future. For the Bureau of Economic and Business Research, University of Florida. https://www.bebr.ufl.edu/sites/default/files/Research%20Reports/FloridaPop2005_0.pdf
South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). (2010). Kissimmee River Restoration Project: Fact and tour sheet. https://www.sfwmd.gov/sites/default/files/documents/krr_krrep_factstour_sheet.pdf
Spirn, A. W. (1998). The poetics of city and nature: Towards a new aesthetic for urban design. Landscape Journal, 7(2), 108-126. Retrieved from https://annewhistonspirn.com/pdf/LJ.pdf
Steinmeyer, E. (1999). Dredging up the Butler Act. Environmental & Land Use Law, 73(4), 69. https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/dredging-up-the-butler-act/
Tampa Bay Watch (web, accessed Feb. 9, 2020). Oyster shell bars. https://www.tampabaywatch.org/oyster-shell-bars.html
Tansley, A. (1935). The use and abuse of vegetational concepts and terms. Ecology, 16(3), 284-307. https://doi.org/10.2307/1930070
United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE). (web, accessed Feb. 9, 2020). Kissimmee River Restoration Project. https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental/Ecosystem-Restoration/Kissimmee-River-Restoration/
University of Florida (2018, April 10). Wildlife Ecology and Conservation: Oyster Project. https://wec.ifas.ufl.edu/oysterproject/
Weins, J. A. (1992). What is landscape ecology, really? Landscape Ecology, 7(3), 149-150. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00133306
Willis, A. (1997). The ecosystem: an evolving concept viewed historically. Functional Ecology, 11(2), 268-271. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2390328
