The Cardinale Lab uses principles of ecological design to improve the efficiency and sustainability of human engineered ecosystems.
In habitats that are dominated by people for generations to come, one of our few options for managing biodiversity and ecosystem services is to construct those habitats in a way that makes them less hostile to plants and animals.
Ecological design uses principles from ecology to design human-dominated systems like urban and agricultural ecosystems that meet human needs while minimizing their impact on biodiversity and ecosystem services. We use biodiversity as a tool to improve the efficiency and sustainability of human engineered ecosystems.
Example Projects
When it comes to energy, human society has acted like hunter-gatherers, running around poking holes in the ground hoping that oil or gas will spring up.
Soil erosion and sedimentation are massive environmental problems. Every year, poor land management causes 75 billion tons of top soil to erode from land, which then runs into streams, rivers, lakes and oceans where it smothers life.
Pollution is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services. The Cardinale lab has shown that the composition of species in biological communities can be manipulated to maximize the removal of pollutants from freshwater ecosystems to help clean-up water.
