Integral ecology is an emerging field that applies Ken Wilber's integral theory to environmental studies and ecological research. The field has been pioneered since the late 1990s by integral theorist Sean Esbjörn-Hargens and environmental philosopher Michael E. Zimmerman. Integral ecology integrates over 80 schools of ecology and 70 schools of environmental thought. It integrates these approaches by recognizing that environmental phenomena are the result of an observer using a particular method of observation to observe some aspect of nature. This postmetaphysical formula is summarized as Who (the observer) x How (method of observation) x What (that which is observed). Integral ecology uses a framework of eight ecological worldviews (e.g.,eco-manager, eco-holist, eco-radical, eco-sage), eight ecological modes of research (e.g., phenomenology, ethnomethodology, empiricism, systems theory), and four terrains (i.e., experience, behaviors, cultures, and systems). See table below for an overview of a few of the schools of ecology that integral ecology weaves together:

Integral ecology is defined as the mixed methods study of the subjective and objective aspects of organisms in relationship to their intersubjective and interobjective environments. As a result integral ecology doesn’t require a new definition of ecology as much as it provides an integral interpretation of the standard definition of ecology, where organisms and their environments are recognized as having interiority. Integral ecology also examines developmental stages in both nature and humankind, including how nature shows up to people operating from differing worldviews.

Key integrative figures drawn on in integral ecology include: Thomas Berry, Edgar Morin, Aldo Leopold, and Stan Salthe