Systems ecology
Systems ecology is an
Overview
Systems ecology seeks a holistic view of the interactions and transactions within and between biological and ecological systems. Systems ecologists realise that the function of any ecosystem can be influenced by human economics in fundamental ways. They have therefore taken an additional transdisciplinary step by including economics in the consideration of ecological-economic systems. In the words of R.L. Kitching:[4]
- Systems ecology can be defined as the approach to the study of ecology of organisms using the techniques and philosophy of systems analysis: that is, the methods and tools developed, largely in engineering, for studying, characterizing and making predictions about complex entities, that is, systems..
- In any study of an ecological system, an essential early procedure is to draw a diagram of the system of interest ... diagrams indicate the system's boundaries by a solid line. Within these boundaries, series of components are isolated which have been chosen to represent that portion of the world in which the systems analyst is interested ... If there are no connections across the systems' boundaries with the surrounding systems environments, the systems are described as closed. Ecological work, however, deals almost exclusively with open systems.[5]
As a mode of scientific enquiry, a central feature of Systems Ecology is the general application of the
The fourth of these principles, the
Deep ecology
Deep ecology is an ideology whose metaphysical underpinnings are deeply concerned with the science of ecology. The term was coined by
Joanna Macy, John Seed, and others developed Naess' thesis into a branch they called experiential deep ecology. Their efforts were motivated by a need they perceived for the development of an "ecological self", which views the human ego as an integrated part of a living system that encompasses the individual. They sought to transcend altruism with a deeper self-interest based on biospherical equality beyond human chauvinism.
Earth systems engineering and management
Earth systems engineering and management (ESEM) is a discipline used to analyze, design, engineer and manage complex environmental systems. It entails a wide range of subject areas including anthropology, engineering, environmental science, ethics and philosophy. At its core, ESEM looks to "rationally design and manage coupled human-natural systems in a highly integrated and ethical fashion"
Ecological economics
Ecological economics is a transdisciplinary field of academic research that addresses the dynamic and spatial interdependence between human economies and natural ecosystems. Ecological economics brings together and connects different disciplines, within the natural and social sciences but especially between these broad areas. As the name suggests, the field is made up of researchers with a background in economics and ecology. An important motivation for the emergence of ecological economics has been criticism on the assumptions and approaches of traditional (mainstream) environmental and resource economics.
Ecological energetics
Ecological energetics is the quantitative study of the flow of energy through ecological systems. It aims to uncover the principles which describe the propensity of such energy flows through the trophic, or 'energy availing' levels of ecological networks. In systems ecology the principles of ecosystem energy flows or "ecosystem laws" (i.e. principles of ecological energetics) are considered formally analogous to the principles of energetics.
Ecological humanities
Ecological humanities aims to bridge the divides between the sciences and the humanities, and between Western, Eastern and Indigenous ways of knowing nature. Like ecocentric political theory, the ecological humanities are characterised by a connectivity ontology and a commitment to two fundamental axioms relating to the need to submit to ecological laws and to see humanity as part of a larger living system.
Ecosystem ecology
Ecosystem ecology is the integrated study of
. Ecosystem ecology examines physical and biological structure and examines how these ecosystem characteristics interact.The relationship between systems ecology and ecosystem ecology is complex. Much of systems ecology can be considered a subset of ecosystem ecology. Ecosystem ecology also utilizes methods that have little to do with the holistic approach of systems ecology. However, systems ecology more actively considers external influences such as economics that usually fall outside the bounds of ecosystem ecology. Whereas ecosystem ecology can be defined as the scientific study of ecosystems, systems ecology is more of a particular approach to the study of ecological systems and phenomena that interact with these systems.
Industrial ecology
Industrial ecology is the study of
See also
- Agroecology
- Earth system science
- Ecosystem ecology
- Ecological literacy
- Emergy
- Energy flow (ecology)
- Energy Systems Language
- Holism in science
- Holon (philosophy)
- Holistic management
- Landscape ecology
- Antireductionism
- Biosemiotics
- Ecosemiotics
- MuSIASEM
References
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- J.B.S. Haldane
Bibliography
- Gregory Bateson, Steps to an Ecology of Mind, 2000.
- Kenneth Edmund Ferguson, Systems Analysis in Ecology, WATT, 1966, 276 pp.
- Efraim Halfon, Theoretical Systems Ecology: Advances and Case Studies, Academic Press, 1979.
- J. W. Haefner, Modeling Biological Systems: Principles and Applications, London., UK, Chapman and Hall 1996, 473 pp.
- Richard F Johnston, Peter W Frank, Charles Duncan Michener, Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 1976, 307 pp.
- Jorgensen, Sven E., "Introduction to Systems Ecology", CRC Press, 2012.
- R.L. Kitching, Systems ecology, University of Queensland Press, 1983.
- Howard T. Odum, Systems Ecology: An Introduction, Wiley-Interscience, 1983.
- Howard T. Odum, Ecological and General Systems: An Introduction to Systems Ecology. University Press of Colorado, Niwot, CO, 1994.
- Friedrich Recknagel, Applied Systems Ecology: Approach and Case Studies in Aquatic Ecology, 1989.
- James. Sanderson & Larry D. Harris, Landscape Ecology: A Top-down Approach, 2000, 246 pp.
- Sheldon Smith, Human Systems Ecology: Studies in the Integration of Political Economy, 1989.
- Shugart, H.H., O’Neil, R.V. (Eds.) Systems Ecology, Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Inc., 1979.
- Van Dyne, George M., Ecosystems, Systems Ecology, and Systems Ecologists, ORNL- 3975. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, pp. 1–40, 1966.
- Patten, Bernard C. (editor), "Systems Analysis and Simulation in Ecology", Volume 1, Academic Press, 1971.
- Patten, Bernard C. (editor), "Systems Analysis and Simulation in Ecology", Volume 2, Academic Press, 1972.
- Patten, Bernard C. (editor), "Systems Analysis and Simulation in Ecology", Volume 3, Academic Press, 1975.
- Patten, Bernard C. (editor), "Systems Analysis and Simulation in Ecology", Volume 4, Academic Press, 1976.
External links
- Organisations
- Systems Ecology Department at the Stockholm University.
- Systems Ecology Department at the University of Amsterdam.
- Systems ecology Lab at SUNY-ESF.
- Systems Ecology program at the University of Florida
- Systems Ecology program at the University of Montana
- Terrestrial Systems Ecology of ETH Zürich.