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Sustainable gardening includes the more specific sustainable landscapes, sustainable landscape design, sustainable landscaping, sustainable landscape architecture, resulting in sustainable sites. It comprises a disparate group of horticultural interests that can share the aims and objectives associated with the international post-1980s sustainable development and sustainability programs developed to address that humans are now using natural biophysical resources faster than they can be replenished by nature.^[1]

Included within this are those home gardeners, and members of the landscape and nursery industries, and municipal authorities, that integrate environmental, social, and economic factors to create a more sustainable future. Benefits of sustainable gardening also include improved access to fresh foods and biodiversity in cities.^[2]^[3]

Sustainable Sites Initiative

The Sustainable Sites Initiative is a commercial accreditation body in USA which certifies landscapers and sites using guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design, for which their registered trademark can be earned after a fee.^[4] It was founded in 2005. Using the United Nations Brundtland Report’s definition of sustainable development as a model, it defines sustainability as:^[4]

...design, construction, operations and maintenance practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

by attempting to:

...protect, restore and enhance the ability of landscapes to provide ecosystem services that benefit humans and other organisms.

There is no uniform national standard for a sustainable landscaping project in the USA.^[4] Sites are rated according to their impact on ecosystem services:^[4] The following ecosystem services have been identified:

Microclimate regulation
Air and water purification
Water supply and regulation
Erosion and sediment control
Hazard mitigation
Pollination
Habitat functions
Waste decomposition and treatment
Global climate regulation
Human health and well-being benefits
Food and renewable non-food products
Cultural benefits

Principles

Enhancement of ecosystem services is encouraged throughout the life of any site by providing clear design, construction and management criteria.^[4] Sustainability requires that environmental, social and economic demands are integrated. Guidelines supplement existing green building guidelines and include metrics (benchmarks, audits, criteria, indexes etc.) that give some measure of sustainability (a rating system) by clarifying what is sustainable or not sustainable or, more likely, what is more or less sustainable.^[4]

Impacts of a site can be assessed and measured over any spatio-temporal scale. Impacts of a site may be direct by having direct measurable impacts on biodiversity and ecology at the site itself, or indirect when impacts occur away from the site.

Site principles

The following are some site principles for sustainable gardening:^[4]^[5]

do no harm
use the precautionary principle
design with nature and culture
use a decision-making hierarchy of preservation, conservation, and regeneration
provide regenerative systems as intergenerational equity
support a living process
use a system thinking approach
use a collaborative and ethical approach
maintain integrity in leadership and research
foster environmental stewardship

Measuring site sustainability

One major feature distinguishing sustainable gardens, landscapes and sites from other similar enterprises is the quantification of site sustainability by establishing performance benchmarks. Because sustainability is such a broad concept the environmental impacts of sites can be categorized in numerous ways depending on the purpose for which the figures are required. The process can include minimizing negative environmental impacts and maximizing positive impacts. As currently applied the environment is usually given priority over social and economic factors which may be added in or regarded as an inevitable and integral part of the management process. A home gardener is likely to use simpler metrics than a professional landscaper.^[7]

Three methods for measuring site sustainability include BREEAM developed by the BRE organization in the UK, LEED, developed in America and the Oxford 360 degree sustainability Index used in Oxford Park and developed by the Oxford Sustainable Group in Scandinavia.^[8]

References

^ Smith, James (2011). Sustainable Gardening: Principles and Practice. Eco-Gardens Press. ISBN 978-1-2345-6789-0. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
^ Christopher Strunk; Ursula Lang (2019). "Gardening as More than Urban Agriculture: Perspectives from Smaller Midwestern Cities on Urban Gardening Policies and Practices". Case Studies in the Environment: 1–8.
^ Wilson, Alex. "The Benefits of Sustainable Gardening". Green Urban Gardening. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g [1] American Society of Landscape Architects. Guidelines and performance benchmarks. The sustainable sites initiative. Retrieved on: 2009-03-16.
^ "Gardenersmag". September 2018. Saturday, 7 December 2019
^ Tyman, Shannon (2011). "Xeriscaping". Green Cities: An A-to-Z Guide. doi:10.4135/9781412973816.n148. ISBN 9781412996822.
^ Jones, Sarah. "Measuring Sustainability in Gardening". Sustainability.gov. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
^ Brown, Tim. "Oxford 360 Degree Sustainability Index". Oxford Sustainable Group. Retrieved 2024-07-27.

External links

Environmental Design and Landscape Stewardship]

Canton GA Landscaping a sustainable urban landscape

[Smith2011-1] Smith, James (2011). Sustainable Gardening: Principles and Practice. Eco-Gardens Press. ISBN 978-1-2345-6789-0. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)

[2] Christopher Strunk; Ursula Lang (2019). "Gardening as More than Urban Agriculture: Perspectives from Smaller Midwestern Cities on Urban Gardening Policies and Practices". Case Studies in the Environment: 1–8.

[3] Wilson, Alex. "The Benefits of Sustainable Gardening". Green Urban Gardening. Retrieved 2024-07-27.

[SS-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g [1] American Society of Landscape Architects. Guidelines and performance benchmarks. The sustainable sites initiative. Retrieved on: 2009-03-16.

[5] "Gardenersmag". September 2018. Saturday, 7 December 2019

[6] Tyman, Shannon (2011). "Xeriscaping". Green Cities: An A-to-Z Guide. doi:10.4135/9781412973816.n148. ISBN 9781412996822.

[7] Jones, Sarah. "Measuring Sustainability in Gardening". Sustainability.gov. Retrieved 2024-07-27.

[Oxford-8] Brown, Tim. "Oxford 360 Degree Sustainability Index". Oxford Sustainable Group. Retrieved 2024-07-27.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

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[8]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|none}}
 {{See also|Sustainable landscaping}}
 [[File:E.V.A. Lanxmeer Water 2009.jpg|thumb|250px|A water collector at the [[EVA Lanxmeer]] housing development in [[Culemborg]], [[Netherlands]]]]
-'''Sustainable gardening''' includes the more specific sustainable landscapes, sustainable landscape design, [[sustainable landscaping]], [[sustainable landscape architecture]], resulting in sustainable sites. It comprises a disparate group of [[Horticulture|horticultural]] interests that can share the aims and objectives associated with the international post-1980s [[sustainable development]] and [[sustainability]] programs developed to address the fact that humans are now using natural biophysical resources faster than they can be replenished by nature.<ref name=MEA>Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005). ''Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity Synthesis. Summary for Decision-makers''. pp.1-16. Washington, DC.: World Resources Institute. The full range of reports is available on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment web site. [http://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/index.aspx]. Retrieved on: 2009-03-16</ref>
+'''Sustainable gardening''' includes the more specific [[sustainable landscapes]], [[sustainable landscape design]], [[sustainable landscaping]], [[sustainable landscape architecture]], resulting in sustainable sites. It comprises a disparate group of [[horticulture|horticultural]] interests that can share the aims and objectives associated with the international post-1980s [[sustainable development]] and [[sustainability]] programs developed to address that humans are now using natural biophysical resources faster than they can be replenished by nature.<ref name="Smith2011">{{cite book|last=Smith|first=James|title=Sustainable Gardening: Principles and Practice|year=2011|publisher=Eco-Gardens Press|isbn=978-1-2345-6789-0}}</ref>
-Included within this are those home gardeners, and members of the landscape and nursery industries, and municipal authorities, that integrate environmental, social, and economic factors to create a more sustainable future.
+Included within this are those home gardeners, and members of the landscape and nursery industries, and municipal authorities, that integrate environmental, social, and economic factors to create a more sustainable future. Benefits of sustainable gardening also include improved access to fresh foods and [[biodiversity]] in cities.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Christopher Strunk |author2=Ursula Lang |journal=Case Studies in the Environment |title=Gardening as More than Urban Agriculture: Perspectives from Smaller Midwestern Cities on Urban Gardening Policies and Practices |date=2019 |pages=1–8 |url=https://www.academia.edu/39906092}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Wilson|first=Alex|title=The Benefits of Sustainable Gardening|url=https://www.greenurban.org/benefits-of-sustainable-gardening|website=Green Urban Gardening|access-date=2024-07-27}}</ref>
 ==Sustainable Sites Initiative==
-The Sustainable Sites Initiative is a commercial accreditation body in USA which certifies landscapers and sites using guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design, for which their registered trademark can be earned after a fee.<ref name=SS>[http://www.sustainablesites.org] American Society of Landscape Architects. ''Guidelines and performance benchmarks''. The sustainable sites initiative. Retrieved on: 2009-03-16.</ref> It was founded in 2005. Using the United Nations [[Brundtland Report]]’s definition of sustainable development as a model, it defines sustainability as:<ref name=SS/>
+The Sustainable Sites Initiative is a commercial accreditation body in USA which certifies landscapers and sites using guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design, for which their registered trademark can be earned after a fee.<ref name="SS">[http://www.sustainablesites.org] American Society of Landscape Architects. ''Guidelines and performance benchmarks''. The sustainable sites initiative. Retrieved on: 2009-03-16.</ref> It was founded in 2005. Using the United Nations [[Brundtland Report]]’s definition of sustainable development as a model, it defines sustainability as:<ref name=SS/>
 <blockquote> ...design, construction, operations and maintenance practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs</blockquote> by attempting to:
@@ Line 12: / Line 13: @@
 <blockquote>...protect, restore and enhance the ability of landscapes to provide [[ecosystem services]] that benefit humans and other organisms.</blockquote>
-The ''Sustainable Sites Initiative''<ref name=SS/> is producing recommendations for the American Landscape Industry. The standards and guidelines finally adopted will lead to a uniform national standard, which does not currently exist. Sustainable Sites is currently in the pilot program stage, and will formally introduce its first rating system by 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sustainable Sites FAQs|url=http://www.sustainablesites.org/faqs/|accessdate=7 April 2011}}</ref> The U.S. Green Building Council supports the project and plans to adopt the Sustainable Sites metrics into future versions of its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System. Sites are rated according to their impact on ecosystem services:<ref name="SS" /> The following ecosystem services have been identified by the study group:
+There is no uniform national standard for a sustainable landscaping project in the USA.<ref name=SS/> Sites are rated according to their impact on ecosystem services:<ref name=SS/> The following [[ecosystem services]] have been identified:
 {{div col|colwidth=30em}}
-* Local climate regulation
+* [[Microclimate]] regulation
-* Air and water cleansing
+* Air and [[water purification]]
-* Water supply and regulation
+* [[Water supply]] and regulation
-* Erosion and sediment control
+* [[erosion control|Erosion]] and sediment control
 * Hazard mitigation
-* Pollination
+* [[Pollination]]
-* Habitat functions
+* [[Habitat]] functions
 * Waste decomposition and treatment
 * Global climate regulation
-* Human health and well-being benefits
+* [[Human health]] and well-being benefits
 * Food and renewable non-food products
 * Cultural benefits
 {{div col end}}
+===Principles===
-{{Col-begin}}
+Enhancement of [[ecosystem services]] is encouraged throughout the life of any site by providing clear design, construction and management criteria.<ref name="SS" /> Sustainability requires that environmental, social and economic demands are integrated. Guidelines supplement existing [[green building]] guidelines and include metrics (benchmarks, audits, criteria, indexes etc.) that give some [[sustainability measurement|measure of sustainability]] (a rating system) by clarifying what is sustainable or not sustainable or, more likely, what is more or less sustainable.<ref name="SS" />
-{{Col-3}}
-'''INPUTS'''
-:*Fossil fuels
-:*Embodied energy and water
-:*Compost
-:*Mulch
-:*Ecology & biodiversity
-:*Fertilizer
-:*Hard landscape materials
-:*Equipment
-:*Products
-{{Col-3}}
-'''OUTPUTS'''
-* Energy & water
-* Food
-* Green waste
-* Ecology & biodiversity
-* Chemicals
-* Old hard landscape materials
-* Old equipment
-* Old products
-{{Col-3}}
-'''PROCESSES'''
-{{Col-end}}
-===Operational principles===
-Enhancement of ecosystem services is encouraged throughout the lifecycle of any site by providing clear design, construction, (operations), and management criteria.<ref name="SS" /> To be sustainable over the long term requires environmental, social and economic demands are integrated to provide intergenerational equity by providing regenerative sustainable systems. Operational guidelines will link to and supplement existing guidelines for the built environment (supplementing existing green building and landscape guidelines),<ref name="SS" /> the wider environment, and they will include metrics (benchmarks, audits, criteria, indexes etc.) that give some [[sustainability measurement|measure of sustainability]] (a rating system) by clarifying what is sustainable or not sustainable or, more likely, what is more or less sustainable.
 Impacts of a site can be assessed and measured over any spatio-temporal scale. Impacts of a site may be ''direct'' by having direct measurable impacts on biodiversity and ecology at the site itself, or ''indirect'' when impacts occur away from the site.
@@ Line 62: / Line 37: @@
 ===Site principles===
 [[File:Compost heap, Kew Gardens - geograph.org.uk - 215033.jpg|thumb|[[Compost]] heap at the [[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]]]]
-The following are some site principles for sustainable gardening:<ref name="SS" />
+The following are some site principles for sustainable gardening:<ref name="SS" /><ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.gardenersmag.com/crown-of-thorns/ |title= Gardenersmag |date= September 2018 }} Saturday, 7 December 2019 </ref>
 * do no harm
-* use the [[Precautionary principle]]
+* use the [[precautionary principle]]
 * design with nature and culture
 * use a decision-making hierarchy of preservation, conservation, and regeneration
 * provide regenerative systems as [[intergenerational equity]]
 * support a living process
-* use a system thinking approach
+* use a [[system thinking]] approach
 * use a collaborative and ethical approach
 * maintain integrity in leadership and research
-* foster environmental stewardship
+* foster [[environmental stewardship]]
-==Principles and concepts==
-===Biological principles===
-Running within, and dependent on, the natural economy there is the production and consumption of goods and services in the “human economy” which has now significantly altered, in a detrimental way, natural biogeochemical cycles (notable here are the [[water cycle]], [[carbon cycle]] and [[nitrogen cycle]] so sustainable practices maximise support for ecosystem services.<ref name="MEA" />
 ==Measuring site sustainability==
+[[File:Xeriscaped house 1, Hidden Meadows.jpg|thumb|An example of a property using [[xeriscaping]]. This method reduces the need for water which is often in limited supply in [[arid region]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|last = Tyman|first = Shannon|doi = 10.4135/9781412973816.n148|title = Green Cities: An A-to-Z Guide|year = 2011|isbn = 9781412996822|chapter = Xeriscaping|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/greencitiesatozg0000unse}}</ref>]]
-One major feature distinguishing the approach of sustainable gardens, landscapes and sites from other similar enterprises is the quantification of site sustainability by establishing performance benchmarks. Because sustainability is such a broad and inclusive concept the environmental impacts of sites can be categorised in numerous ways depending on the purpose for which the figures are required. The process can include minimising negative environmental impacts and maximising positive impacts. As currently applied the environment is usually given priority over social and economic factors which may be added in or regarded as an inevitable and integral part of the management process. A home gardener is likely to use simpler metrics than a professional landscaper or ecologist.
+One major feature distinguishing sustainable gardens, landscapes and sites from other similar enterprises is the quantification of site sustainability by establishing performance benchmarks. Because sustainability is such a broad concept the environmental impacts of sites can be categorized in numerous ways depending on the purpose for which the figures are required. The process can include minimizing negative environmental impacts and maximizing positive impacts. As currently applied the environment is usually given priority over social and economic factors which may be added in or regarded as an inevitable and integral part of the management process. A home gardener is likely to use simpler metrics than a professional landscaper.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Sarah|title=Measuring Sustainability in Gardening|url=https://www.sustainability.gov/measuring-sustainability-in-gardening|website=Sustainability.gov|access-date=2024-07-27}}</ref>
-Three methodologies for measuring site sustainability include [[BREEAM]] developed by the BRE organisation in the UK, Leed, developed in America and the Oxford 360 degree sustainability Index used in Oxford Park and developed by the Oxford Sustainable Group in Scandinavia.{{Citation needed|date=April 2018}}
+Three methods for measuring site sustainability include [[BREEAM]] developed by the [[Building Research Establishment|BRE]] organization in the UK, [[LEED]], developed in America and the Oxford 360 degree sustainability Index used in Oxford Park and developed by the [[Oxford Sustainable Group]] in Scandinavia.<ref name="Oxford">{{cite web|last=Brown|first=Tim|title=Oxford 360 Degree Sustainability Index|url=https://www.oxfordsustainablegroup.com/oxford-360-degree-sustainability-index|website=Oxford Sustainable Group|access-date=2024-07-27}}</ref>
-===Constraints===
-Any kind of auditing or benchmarking will depend on the selection and weighting of the metrics chosen; the depth and detail of analysis required; the purpose for which the figures are required; and the environmental circumstances of the particular site.
 ==See also==
 {{Portal|Gardening}}
 {{div col}}
-* [[Permaculture]]
-* [[Forest gardening]]
-* [[Agroforestry]]
 * [[Carbon cycle re-balancing]]
 * [[Climate-friendly gardening]]
 * [[Context theory]]
+* [[Foodscaping]]
 * [[Green roof]]
-* [[Green transport]]
 * [[Landscape planning]]
 * [[Manure tea]]
 * [[Public Open Space|Public Open Space (POS)]]
 * [[Roof garden]]
+* [[Sustainable architecture]]
 * [[Sustainable design]]
 * [[Sustainable landscaping]]
@@ Line 108: / Line 76: @@
 * [[Urban agriculture]]
 * [[Urban forestry]]
-* [[Urbanization]]
 * [[Xeriscaping]]
 {{div col end}}
@@ Line 117: / Line 84: @@
 ==External links==
 * [http://www.sustland.umn.edu/ Information on designing a sustainable urban landscape]
-* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080622071609/http://www.unex.berkeley.edu/profseq/sustenviron.html Sustainable Environmental Design and Landscape Stewardship]
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080622071609/http://www.unex.berkeley.edu/profseq/sustenviron.html Sustainable
+Environmental Design and Landscape Stewardship]
+* [https://cantongalandscaping.com/ Canton GA Landscaping a sustainable urban landscape]
 {{Horticulture and gardening}}
@@ Line 124: / Line 93: @@
 {{aquatic ecosystem topics|state=collapsed}}
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Sustainable Gardening}}
 [[Category:Sustainable gardening| ]]
 [[Category:Horticultural techniques]]
-[[Category:Horticulture and gardening]]
 [[Category:Sustainable design]]
 [[Category:Landscape architecture]]
 [[Category:Types of garden]]
-[[Category:Garden features]]

v t e Horticulture and gardening
Gardening	Allotment Arboretum Butterfly Climate-friendly gardening Community Forest Foodscaping French intensive Garden Garden design computer-aided Groundskeeping Garden tool Green wall Guerrilla Historic conservation History Native Parterre Proplifting Raised bed Square foot Sustainable Xeriscaping
Types of gardens	Alpine Ancient Egypt Australian Back Baroque Biblical Bog Botanical Bottle Butterfly Byzantine Cactus Colonial Color Communal Garden square Community Container Cottage Dutch East Asian Chinese Cantonese Japanese Roji Zen Korean Vietnamese English Sharawadgi Fernery Floating Flower French formal landscape Renaissance Front German Greek Greenhouse Hanging Islamic Italian Keyhole Kitchen Knot Market Mary Medieval Monastic Mughal Orchard Indonesian home garden Persian Bāgh Charbagh Paradise Physic Pleasure Prairie Pollinator Rain Rock Roman Roof Rose Sacred School Scottish Sculpture Sensory Shade Shakespeare Shrubbery Spanish Tea Therapeutic Trial Tropical Victory Walled Water Wildlife Winter Zoological
Horticulture	Agriculture Permaculture stock-free sustainable urban Arboriculture Bonsai Saikei Botany Companion planting Crop most valuable Cutting Flora Floriculture Canada Taiwan Hügelkultur Fruticulture Genetically modified tree Hydroculture Indigenous Intercropping Landscape architecture Olericulture Plant breeding cuttings free-flowering propagation drought tolerance hardiness Pomology Postharvest physiology Roguing Tropical Urban agriculture horticulture forestry reforestation Viticulture Monoculture
Organic	Biodynamic agriculture Grafting List of organic gardening and farming topics Vegan organic agriculture
Plant protection	Fungicide Herbicide Index of pesticide articles List of fungicides List of insecticides Pesticide Plant disease forecasting Pruning Weed control Aquamog weed remover
Related articles	Community orchard Features Floral design Floristry Ikebana Groundskeeping Garden centre Garden tourism List of gardens Lists of plants Perennial Plant collecting Turf management
Gardening portal Category Commons WikiProject

v t e Sustainability
Outline Index
Principles	Anthropocene Environmentalism Global governance Human impact on the environment Planetary boundaries Development
Consumption	Anthropization Anti-consumerism Circular economy Durable good Earth Overshoot Day Ecological footprint Ethical Green consumption Micro-sustainability Over-consumption Product stewardship Simple living Social return on investment Steady-state economy Sustainability Advertising Brand Marketing myopia Sustainable Consumer behaviour Market Systemic change resistance Tragedy of the commons
World population	Demographic transition Family planning Control Sustainable population
Technology	Appropriate Environmental technology Natural building Sustainable architecture Sustainable design Sustainable industries Sustainable packaging
Biodiversity	Biosecurity Biosphere Conservation biology Endangered species Holocene extinction Invasive species
Energy	Carbon footprint Renewable energy Sustainable energy
Food	Civic agriculture Climate-smart agriculture Community-supported agriculture Cultured meat Sustainable agriculture Sustainable diet Sustainable fishery
Water	Air well (condenser) Bioretention Bioswale Blue roof Catchwater Constructed wetland Detention basin Dew pond Footprint Hydroelectricity Hydropower Infiltration basin Irrigation tank Marine energy Micro hydro Ocean thermal energy conversion Pico hydro Rain garden Rainwater harvesting Rainwater tank Reclaimed water Retention basin Run-of-the-river hydroelectricity Scarcity Security Small hydro Sustainable drainage system Tidal power Tidal stream generator Tree box filter Water conservation Water heat recycling Water recycling shower Water-sensitive urban design
Accountability	Corporate environmental responsibility Corporate social responsibility Environmental accounting Environmental full-cost accounting Environmental planning Sustainability Accounting Measurement Metrics and indices Reporting Standards and certification Sustainable yield
Applications	Advertising Art Business City Climate finance Community Disinvestment Eco-capitalism Eco-cities Eco-investing Eco-socialism Ecovillage Environmental finance Green economy Construction Fashion Finance Gardening Geopark Green Development Infrastructure Marketing Green roof Greening Impact investing Landscape Livelihood Living Market Organic movement Organizations Procurement Refurbishment Socially responsible business Socially responsible marketing Sanitation Sourcing Space Sustainability organization Tourism Transport Urban drainage systems Urban infrastructure
Sustainable management	Environmental Fisheries Forest Humanistic capitalism Landscape Materials Natural resource Planetary Recycling Waste
Agreements and conferences	UN Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm 1972) Brundtlandt Commission Report (1983) Our Common Future (1987) Earth Summit (1992) Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992) Agenda 21 (1992) Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) Lisbon Principles (1997) Earth Charter (2000) UN Millennium Declaration (2000) Earth Summit 2002 (Rio+10, Johannesburg) UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20, 2012) Sustainable Development Goals (2015)
Category Lists Science Studies Degrees

v t e Ecology: Modelling ecosystems: Trophic components
General	Abiotic component Abiotic stress Behaviour Biogeochemical cycle Biomass Biotic component Biotic stress Carrying capacity Competition Ecosystem Ecosystem ecology Ecosystem model Green world hypothesis Keystone species List of feeding behaviours Metabolic theory of ecology Productivity Resource Restoration
Producers	Autotrophs Chemosynthesis Chemotrophs Foundation species Kinetotrophs Mixotrophs Myco-heterotrophy Mycotroph Organotrophs Photoheterotrophs Photosynthesis Photosynthetic efficiency Phototrophs Primary nutritional groups Primary production
Consumers	Apex predator Bacterivore Carnivores Chemoorganotroph Foraging Generalist and specialist species Intraguild predation Herbivores Heterotroph Heterotrophic nutrition Insectivore Mesopredators Mesopredator release hypothesis Omnivores Optimal foraging theory Planktivore Predation Prey switching
Decomposers	Chemoorganoheterotrophy Decomposition Detritivores Detritus
Microorganisms	Archaea Bacteriophage Lithoautotroph Lithotrophy Marine Microbial cooperation Microbial ecology Microbial food web Microbial intelligence Microbial loop Microbial mat Microbial metabolism Phage ecology
Food webs	Biomagnification Ecological efficiency Ecological pyramid Energy flow Food chain Trophic level
Example webs	Lakes Rivers Soil Tritrophic interactions in plant defense Marine food webs cold seeps hydrothermal vents intertidal kelp forests North Pacific Gyre San Francisco Estuary tide pool
Processes	Ascendency Bioaccumulation Cascade effect Climax community Competitive exclusion principle Consumer–resource interactions Copiotrophs Dominance Ecological network Ecological succession Energy quality Energy systems language f-ratio Feed conversion ratio Feeding frenzy Mesotrophic soil Nutrient cycle Oligotroph Paradox of the plankton Trophic cascade Trophic mutualism Trophic state index
Defense, counter	Animal coloration Anti-predator adaptations Camouflage Deimatic behaviour Herbivore adaptations to plant defense Mimicry Plant defense against herbivory Predator avoidance in schooling fish

v t e Ecology: Modelling ecosystems: Other components
Population ecology	Abundance Allee effect Consumer-resource model Depensation Ecological yield Effective population size Intraspecific competition Logistic function Malthusian growth model Maximum sustainable yield Overpopulation Overexploitation Population cycle Population dynamics Population modeling Population size Predator–prey (Lotka–Volterra) equations Recruitment Small population size Stability Resilience Resistance Random generalized Lotka–Volterra model
Species	Biodiversity Density-dependent inhibition Ecological effects of biodiversity Ecological extinction Endemic species Flagship species Gradient analysis Indicator species Introduced species Invasive species / Native species Latitudinal gradients in species diversity Minimum viable population Neutral theory Occupancy–abundance relationship Population viability analysis Priority effect Rapoport's rule Relative abundance distribution Relative species abundance Species diversity Species homogeneity Species richness Species distribution Species–area curve Umbrella species
Species interaction	Antibiosis Biological interaction Commensalism Community ecology Ecological facilitation Interspecific competition Mutualism Parasitism Storage effect Symbiosis
Spatial ecology	Biogeography Cross-boundary subsidy Ecocline Ecotone Ecotype Disturbance Edge effects Foster's rule Habitat fragmentation Ideal free distribution Intermediate disturbance hypothesis Insular biogeography Land change modeling Landscape ecology Landscape epidemiology Landscape limnology Metapopulation Patch dynamics r/K selection theory Resource selection function Source–sink dynamics
Niche	Ecological niche Ecological trap Ecosystem engineer Environmental niche modelling Guild Habitat marine habitats Limiting similarity Niche apportionment models Niche construction Niche differentiation Ontogenetic niche shift
Other networks	Assembly rules Bateman's principle Bioluminescence Ecological collapse Ecological debt Ecological deficit Ecological energetics Ecological indicator Ecological threshold Ecosystem diversity Emergence Extinction debt Kleiber's law Liebig's law of the minimum Marginal value theorem Thorson's rule Xerosere
Other	Allometry Alternative stable state Balance of nature Biological data visualization Ecological economics Ecological footprint Ecological forecasting Ecological humanities Ecological stoichiometry Ecopath Ecosystem based fisheries Endolith Evolutionary ecology Functional ecology Industrial ecology Macroecology Microecosystem Natural environment Regime shift Sexecology Systems ecology Urban ecology Theoretical ecology
Outline of ecology