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The combination of the social and natural sciences is necessary in assessing changing landscape health and integrity. The transformation of the landscape is influenced by the interaction of two factors, namely, societal values and biophysical processes. These factors can be understood and explained with the help of the social sciences and the natural sciences, respectively. This important role of these factors in shaping the landscape is illustrated in the analysis of two contrasting case studies on the South Platte River basin in Colorado and the Kissimmee River basin in Florida.

A recent attempt to integrate economics and ecology has been a calculation of a monetary value for the world's ecosystem services and natural capital, published by ecologist Robert Costanza of the University of Maryland, along with co-authors. A minimum estimate of $33 trillion per year was described as the current economic value of 17 ecosystem services, however mainstream economists saw the figure as a serious underestimate of infinity. Costanza and colleagues argue that their work is no different from classical GNP accounting.