Ecological Science and Sustainability for the 21st Century

Authors

Margaret A. Palmer, University of Maryland - College Park
Emily S. Bernhardt, Duke University
Elizabeth A. Chornesky
Scott L. Collins, University of New Mexico
Andrew P. Dobson, Princeton University
Clifford S. Duke, Ecological Society of America
Barry D. Gold, David and Lucile Packard Foundation,
Robert B. Jacobson, US Geological Survey
Sharon E. Kingsland, Johns Hopkins University
Rhonda H. Kranz, Ecological Society of America
Michael J. Mappin, University of Calgary
M. Luisa Martinez, Instituto de EcologiaFollow
Florenza Micheli, Stanford University
Jennifer L. Morse, Portland State UniversityFollow
Michael L. Pace, Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Mercedes Pascual, The University Of Michigan
Stephen S. Palumbi, Stanford University
OJ Reichman, University of California - Santa Barbara
Alan R. Townsend, University of Colorado - Boulder
Monica G. Turner, University of Wisconsin

Published In

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2005

Subjects

Ecology -- Social aspects, Environmental sciences, Ecology -- Research, Ecosystem health, Ecosystem management, Sustainable development -- Research

Abstract

Ecological science has contributed greatly to our understanding of the natural world and the impact of humans on that world. Now, we need to refocus the discipline towards research that ensures a future in which natural systems and the humans they include coexist on a more sustainable planet. Acknowledging that managed ecosystems and intensive exploitation of resources define our future, ecologists must play a greatly expanded role in communicating their research and influencing policy and decisions that affect the environment. To accomplish this, they will have to forge partnerships at scales and in forms they have not traditionally used. These alliances must act within three visionary areas: enhancing the extent to which decisions are ecologically informed; advancing innovative ecological research directed at the sustainability of the planet; and stimulating cultural changes within the science itself, thereby building a forward-looking and international ecology. We recommend: (1) a research initiative to enhance research project development, facilitate large-scale experiments and data collection, and link science to solutions; (2) procedures that will improve interactions among researchers, managers, and decision makers; and (3) efforts to build public understanding of the links between ecosystem services and humans.

Rights

Copyright 2005 by the Ecological Society of America.

Description

This is the Publisher's PDF reproduced here with permissions.

DOI

10.1890/1540-9295(2005)003[0004:ESASFT]2.0.CO;2

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/11506

Citation Details

Palmer, M. A., Bernhardt, E. S., Chornesky, E. A., Collins, S. L., Dobson, A. P., Duke, C. S., ... & Turner, M. G. (2005). Ecological science and sustainability for the 21st century. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 3(1), 4-11.