A review of ecology in landscape architecture publications

Abstract

In landscape architecture publications, landscape designs that incorporate ecology vary in the degree of ecological functioning that is included. Sustainability is often not specifically differentiated from ecology and the term ecology is used very loosely to support, not just rich and complex ecological design, but designs that include any environmentally-friendly aspects. This can lead to some confusion in clearly representing the degree to which ecological functioning is occurring or intended to occur in the designed or managed environment. This paper is based on a review of article content relating to ecology in Landscape Architecture, which identified topics relating to ecology over the period from 1996 to 2010. Results show that while there is an acknowledgement that landscape architectural designs published in Landscape Architecture contribute toward a ‘greener’ environment, there is room for more ecological complexity to be acknowledged in the profession and for a distinction between complex and singular ecological functioning.