Anthroposystem
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The term anthroposystem is used to describe the anthropological analogue to the ecosystem. In other words, the anthroposystem model serves to compare the flow of materials through human systems to those in naturally occurring systems. As defined by Santos, an anthroposystem is "the orderly combination or arrangement of physical and biological environments for the purpose of maintaining human civilization...built by man to sustain his kind."[1] The anthroposystem is intimately linked to economic and ecological systems as well.
Description
Both the anthroposystem and ecosystem can be divided into three groups: producers, consumers, and recyclers. In the ecosystem, the producers or autotrophs consist of plants and some bacteria capable of producing their own food via photosynthesis or chemical synthesis, the consumers consist of animals that obtain energy from grazing and/or by feeding on other animals and the recyclers consist of decomposers such as fungi and bacteria.
In the anthroposystem, the
The ecosystem is sustainable whereas the anthroposystem is not. The ecosystem is a closed loop in which nearly everything is recycled whereas the anthroposystem is an open loop where very little is recycled. In contrast to the ecosystem, the anthroposystem's producers and consumers are significantly more spatially displaced than those in the ecosystem and thus, more energy is required to transfer matter to a producer or recycler. Currently, a large majority of this energy comes from non-renewable fossil fuels.
Additionally, recycling is a naturally occurring component of the ecosystem, and is responsible for much of the
A matrix can be used to describe the anthropological network of producers, consumers and recyclers and the movement of materials between each.
However, the matrix model of the anthroposystem - based on a model for the ecosystem - fails in acknowledging the physical redistribution of mobilized matter. In developing the anthroposystem model, there is a trade-off between simplicity and completeness. A simple representative model can be created involving only producers, consumers, and recyclers, but this is an open, incomplete system. More components and analogues (such as a matrix that encompasses the producers, consumers and recyclers) can be added to the system to make a more complete model, but the model loses simplicity in the process. Though the anthroposystem concept is flawed in this manner, it is a very good starting point for analyzing human activities and their effects on the environment.
When viewing the Earth as one large anthroposystem, we are essentially eliminating the uncertainty in material flow. All goods (i.e. fossil fuels) will still exist in the system but in a new form (i.e.
References
- ISSN 1474-6778. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2006-10-24.