in many landscaped and agricultural locations could possibly be addressed by reintroducing local knowledge of naturally thriving species. The need for these species to coexist with and support human populations represents a significant environmental challenge; for example, those species may not be considered aesthetically pleasing, or they may be endangered and difficult to propagate.

Several co-authors of this article are collaborating on the development of a sociotechnical infrastructure to foster adaptation to global change and to preserve native species through computationally supported plant guild design. Plant guilds are low- to no-input (i.e., no irrigation, fertilization, pest management) human-designed collections of various plant species that form viable ecosystems appropriate for a particular local climate, geographic location, and social context. A well-designed and appropriate plant guild can be an alternative to a garden and should provide people with useful products such as food, medicinals, and building and household materials that are becoming harder to produce sustainably.

Typically, designing a plant guild
requires expert knowledge, as an
intimate understanding of complex
relationships between plants and
their environment is necessary.
The main technological focus of
this project is the development of
a Web-based application called the
Plant Guild Composer (PGC), which
supports non-experts in plant guild
design. The PGC’s primary role is
to ensure that a valid design is pro-
duced in the context of the user’s
wants and needs. A valid plant guild
design is reached once the needs for
each plant in the guild (e.g., water,
nutrients, sun exposure) are ful-
filled by the environment and the
other plants within the guild. The
PGC elicits from the user relevant
information, such as the geographi-
cal site where the plant guild will be
located and the user’s preferences
regarding the characteristics of the
plant guild, and then guides the
user through the process of assem-
bling an appropriate group of spe-
cies. The PGC is not a fully automat-
ed tool, but instead an interactive
design and implicit learning experi-
ence. When the user is prompted
to select a plant to fulfill one of his
or her needs (e.g., salad greens), the
PGC will provide only plant choices
that are compatible with the site
location and other plants already
chosen for the guild.

What if Humanity (Somehow)
Addresses Global Change Without
the Need for Adaptation?
As has been proven time and time
again across history, humans have
a remarkable supply of ingenu-
ity. Therefore, humanity may well
avert dramatic global change
through a new energy source,
geoengineering, or some other
as yet unconsidered approach. If
adaptation is rendered irrelevant,
won’t the research proposed in
this article have been wasted?