Abstract: The acceleration of the formation and development of new quality productive forces in the new era is an inevitable requirement for China’s high-quality development and an important historical mission for achieving socialist modernization and ecological civilization. We interpreted the contemporary connotation of new quality productive forces from the perspective of applied ecology, which refers to an innovative production capacity driven by the optimization and sustainable utilization of ecosystem services, promoting harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. Furthermore, we summarized the developmental trajectory of applied ecology, evolving from biological to social and finally to digital applied ecology, and explored its crucial role in fostering disciplinary and technological innovation as well as the allocation of production resources. Looking ahead, applied ecology should take ecosystems as its core and strengthen the integration of biological cognition and human activities. It should focus on the development of ecological theories for new quality productive forces, the construction of methodological systems that integrate green development and innovation, and the practical application of ecological scenarios for new quality productive forces, which all contribute to achieving the green and healthy development of ecosystems. To promote the development of new quality productive forces through the interdisciplinary integration of applied ecology would provide ecological support for harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

Key words: applied ecology, new quality productive forces, human natural coupled system, ecosystem governance.