Foreword 



Ecology as a science has come of age. From its beginning over one hun- 

 dred years ago to the present, ecologists have asked basic questions: Why do 

 plants and animals live where they do? How do they adjust to one another 

 and to the changing forces in their environment? The relevance of ecological 

 knowledge to the needs of people has long been recognized, and scientists 

 with significant ecological concerns, e.g., "agronomists," "horticulturists," 

 and "foresters," have made major contributions to meeting the food and 

 fiber needs of the peoples of the world. In fact, in one sense the first farmers 

 of civilization were applied ecologists, as they observed the relationship of 

 plants to surrounding soil, water, light, and climatic conditions and deter- 

 mined the best means of cultivation to assure good production to meet 

 human needs. 



In recent years a dramatic growth in environmental awareness by peo- 

 ple from all walks of life has given focus to additional sets of ecological 

 questions: How do we maintain a high quality of life with the growth of our 

 human population threatening the basic natural support systems of the 

 world? How can the effects of technology as it impinges on natural 

 ecosystems be directed constructively to provide value to our society? 



Our welfare, and perhaps our survival, depends upon finding solutions 

 to a myraid of ecological and environmental problems. There are very few 

 simple solutions or "technological fixes" possible in the ecological world. 

 Whereas most of the emphasis of ecological study in the past was descrip- 

 tive, today we are extending our activities to assess further the effects of our 

 actions on the ecosystems of which we are a part. This necessitates adding a 

 predictive capability to the earlier descriptive base of ecology, while still pur- 

 suing the many unanswered basic questions. For example, current en- 

 vironmental impact assessment procedures call for descriptions of existing 

 ecosystems and their functioning, as well as predictions of any long and 

 short-term changes in these systems which are anticipated as a direct or in- 

 direct result of the construction or operation of a particular project. 



In the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 the role of the Federal 

 government and the concomitant obligations are formalized as national 

 policy. 



"Sec. 101. (a) The Congress, recognizing the profound impact of 

 man's activity on the interrelations of all components of the natural 

 environment, particularly the profound influences of population 

 growth, high-density urbanization, industrial expansion, resource 

 exploitation, and new and expanding technological advances and 

 recognizing further the critical importance of restoring and main- 

 taining environmental quality to the overall welfare and develop- 

 ment of man, declares that it is the continuing policy of the Federal 

 Government, in cooperation with State and local governments, and 

 other concerned public and private organizations, to use all prac- 



