As concerns about humankind's relationship with the environment move inexorably up the agenda, this volume tells the story of the history of the concept of ecology itself and adds much to the historical and philosophical debate over this multifaceted discipline. The text provides readers with an overview of the theoretical, institutional and historical formation of ecological knowledge. The varied local conditions of early ecology are considered in detail, while epistemological problems that lie on the borders of ecology, such as disunity and complexity, are discussed. The book traces the various phases of the history of the concept of ecology itself, from its 19th century origins and antecedents, through the emergence of the environmental movement in the later 20th century, to the future, and how ecology might be located in the environmental science framework of the 21st century.

1. Why Write a Handbook of Ecological Concepts? A. Schwarz, K. Jax2, Structure of the Handbook; K. Jax, A. Schwarz3. History of Concepts for Ecology; A. Schwarz4. Multifaceted Ecology Between Organicism, Emergentism and Reductionism; D. Bergandi5. The Classical Holism-Reductionism Debate in Ecology; L. Trepl, A. Voigt6. Conceptualizing the Heterogeneity, Embeddedness, and Ongoing Restructuring That Make Ecological Complexity 'Unruly'; P. Taylor7. A Few Theses Regarding the Inner Structure of Ecology; G. Wiegleb8. Dynamics in the Formation of Ecological Knowledge; A. Schwarz9. Etymology and Original Sources of the Term "Ecology"; A. Schwarz, K. Jax10. The Early Period of Word and Concept Formation; K. Jax, A. Schwarz11. Competing Terms; K. Jax, A. Schwarz12. Stabilizing a Concept; K. Jax13. Formation of Scientific Societies; K. Jax14. The Fundamental Subdivisions of Ecology; K. Jax, A. Schwarz15. The Rise of Systems Theory in Ecology; A. Voigt16. Ecology and the Environmental Movement; A. Jamison17. Ecology and Biodiversity at the Beginning of the Twenty-first Century: Towards a New Paradigm? P. Blandin18. An Ecosystem View into the Twenty-first Century; W. Haber19. Early Ecology in the German-Speaking World Through WWII; A. Schwarz, K. Jax20. The History of Early British and US-American Ecology to 1950; R. McIntosh21. The French Tradition in Ecology: 1820-1950; P. Matagne22. Early History of Ecology in Spain, 1868-1936; S. Casado23. Plant Community,Plantesamfund; P. Anker24. Looking at Russian Ecology through the Biosphere Theory; G.S. Levit25. Geography as Ecology; G. Hard26. Border Zones of Ecology and the Applied Sciences; Y. Haila27. Border Zones of Ecology and Systems Theory; E. Becker,  B. Breckling28. Economy, Ecology and Sustainability; J.M. GowdyPicture CreditsGlossaryAuthor BiographyAuthor IndexSubject Index