Integrating ecological engineering and ecological intensification from management practices to ecosystem services into a generic framework: a review

Abstract

There are many management approaches proposed to link practices and ecosystem services. Their common aim is to improve the levels of specific ecosystem services by driving key ecosystem functions. However, an operational common grid of analysis is needed. Among these approaches, scientists have recently put forward ecological engineering and ecological intensification which provide relevant examples for building and testing a common grid. Here, we propose to integrate ecological engineering and ecological intensification into a generic framework from management practices to ecosystem services. The novelty of this framework is to consider management practices as gradients of inputs to ecosystems. Specifically, management actions are defined according to the type and level of inputs, characterized along a gradient from endogenous to exogenous inputs, and from biological to artificial inputs. Our framework highlights the importance of the interactions between management practices and natural capital properties. These interactions determine the ecosystem functions that will sustain target ecosystem services. We then show how ecological engineering and ecological intensification can be distinguished and unified within our framework. To illustrate this, we use four ecological engineering and ecological intensification case studies representing different types and levels of inputs. Our proposed framework should thus help (1) researchers to make improved assessments of the links between practices, ecosystem structure and functions, and ultimately services, and to foster improved meta-, cost-benefit- and life-cycle analyses and evaluations of ecosystem management approaches; (2) project designers by improving the adequacy of their action to the specified target; and (3) managers to establish the specifications of the ecosystem management adapted to their objective.