From Virtual Labs to Real Ecosystems: A Review of Digital Experimental Engineering in Environmental Research

Authors

  • Linyuan Ma

    Experimental Teaching Center, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan 250014, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/jees.v8i8.13434
Received: 20 April 2026 | Revised: 1 July 2026 | Accepted: 7 July 2026 | Published Online: 25 August 2026

Abstract

Environmental research is facing increasingly complex, dynamic, and difficult systems to study with only traditional laboratory or field experiments. In this regard, digital experimental engineering has become a promising model for connecting virtual experimentation with real-world ecosystem observation and intervention. This review analyzes how environmental experimentation has evolved to integrate digital systems incorporating sensing networks, simulation platforms, and digital twins, data assimilation, hybrid artificial intelligence, and adaptive control, over the years since traditional virtual laboratories. It integrates the conceptual foundations of the field, its key methodologies and technical architectures, and its applications in climate and atmospheric science, hydrology, soil and agricultural systems, biodiversity and ecosystem ecology, pollution control, and urban environmental management. The review indicates that digital experimental engineering broadens the realm of environmental inquiry by enabling more iterative, scaled, and responsive experimentation, especially in systems where direct manipulation is limited by scale, cost, or risk. Simultaneously, it determines the essential restrictions connected with data asymmetry, model uncertainty, ecological realism, reproducibility, governance, and standardization. The paper presents the argument that the future of digital experimental engineering is not to substitute the traditional experiments, but to restructure the relationship they have with the monitoring, modeling, and decision-making. By contextualising these developments through a single experimental lens, this review explains why the field remains novel, why it is currently maturing, and why it would be important to environmental science and sustainability governance in the future.

Keywords:

Digital Experimental Engineering; Digital Twin; Environmental Research; Virtual Laboratories; Ecosystem Management

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How to Cite

Ma, L. (2026). From Virtual Labs to Real Ecosystems: A Review of Digital Experimental Engineering in Environmental Research. Journal of Environmental & Earth Sciences, 8(8), 1094–1119. https://doi.org/10.30564/jees.v8i8.13434

Issue

Vol. 8 , Iss. 8 (August 2026): In Progress

Article Type

Review

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Copyright © 2026 Linyuan Ma

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.

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