Ecological environment in Managerial Capacity of the Environment Law.[1]
1.Introduction: The ecological environment
includes both abiotic features, as climate, salinity, soil type, or
availability of water, and biotic factors, as food supply, prey, predators,
parasites, or conspecifics.
Ecology has
practical applications in conservation biology, wetland management, natural
resource management (agroecology, agriculture, forestry, agroforestry,
fisheries), city planning (urban ecology), community health, economics, basic
and applied science, and human social interaction (human ecology). It is not
treated as separate from humans. Organisms (including humans) and resources
compose ecosystems which, in turn, maintain biophysical feedback mechanisms
that moderate
processes acting on living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components of the
planet. Ecosystems sustain life-supporting functions and produce natural
capital like biomass production (food, fuel, fiber, and medicine), the
regulation of climate, global biogeochemical cycles, water filtration, soil
formation, erosion control, flood protection, and many other natural features
of scientific, historical, economic, or intrinsic value.
2.
History: Ecology has a complex
origin, due in large part to its interdisciplinary nature.Ancient Greek
philosophers such as Hippocrates and Aristotle were among the first to record
observations on natural history. However, they viewed life in terms of
essentialism, where species were conceptualized as static unchanging things
while varieties were seen as aberrations of an idealized type. This contrasts
against the modern understanding of ecological theory where varieties are viewed as the real phenomena of
interest and having a role in the origins of adaptations by means of natural
selection. Early
conceptions of ecology, such as a balance and regulation in nature can be
traced to Herodotus (died c. 425 BC), who described one of the earliest
accounts of mutualism in his observation of "natural dentistry".
Basking Nile crocodiles, he noted, would open their mouths to give sandpipers
safe access to pluck leeches out, giving nutrition to the sandpiper and oral
hygiene for the crocodile. Aristotle was an early influence on the
philosophical development of ecology. He and his student Theophrastus made
extensive observations on plant and animal migrations, biogeography,
physiology, and on their behavior, giving an early analogue to the modern
concept of an ecological niche.
Ecological
concepts such as food chains, population regulation, and productivity were
first developed in the 1700s, through the published works of microscopist
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723) and botanist Richard Bradley (1688?–1732).
Biogeographer Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) was an early pioneer in
ecological thinking and was among the first to recognize ecological gradients,
where species are replaced or altered in form along environmental gradients,
such as a cline forming along a rise in elevation. Humboldt drew inspiration
from Isaac Newton as he developed a form of "terrestrial physics". In
Newtonian fashion, he brought a scientific exactitude for measurement into
natural history and even alluded to concepts that are the foundation of a
modern ecological law on species-to-area relationships. Natural historians,
such as Humboldt, James Hutton, and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (among others) laid
the foundations of the modern ecological sciences.The term "ecology"
(German: Oekologie, Ökologie) was coined by Ernst Haeckel in his book Generelle
Morphologie der Organismen (1866). Haeckel was a zoologist, artist, writer, and later in
life a professor of comparative anatomy.
Opinions differ on who was the founder
of modern ecological theory. Some mark Haeckel's definition as the
beginning;others say it was Eugenius Warming with the writing of Oecology of
Plants: An Introduction to the Study of Plant Communities (1895), or Carl
Linnaeus' principles on the economy of nature that matured in the early 18th
century. Linnaeus founded an early branch of ecology that he called the economy
of nature.His works influenced Charles Darwin, who adopted Linnaeus' phrase on
the economy or polity of nature in The Origin of Species. Linnaeus was the
first to frame the balance of nature as a testable hypothesis. Haeckel, who admired
Darwin's work, defined ecology in reference to the economy of nature, which has
led some to question whether ecology and the economy of nature are synonymous.
3.
Types of Ecology:
Ecology can be classified into different types. The
different types of ecology are given below:
Global Ecology. It
deals with interactions among earth’s ecosystems, land, atmosphere and oceans.
It helps to understand the large-scale interactions and their
influence on the planet.
Landscape Ecology. It deals
with the exchange of energy, materials, organisms and other products of
ecosystems. Landscape ecology throws light on the role of human impacts on the
landscape structures and functions.
Ecosystem Ecology. It deals
with the entire ecosystem, including the study of living and non-living
components and their relationship with the environment. This science researches
how ecosystems work, their interactions, etc.
Community Ecology. It deals
with how community structure is modified by interactions among living
organisms. Ecology community is made up of two or more populations of different
species living in a particular geographic area.
Population Ecology. It
deals with factors that alter and impact the genetic composition and the size
of the population of organisms. Ecologists are interested in fluctuations in
the size of a population, the growth of a population and any other interactions
with the population.
In biology, a
population can be defined as a set of individuals of the same species living in
a given place at a given time. Births and immigration are the main factors that
increase the population and death and emigration are the main factors that
decrease the population.
Population
ecology examines the population distribution and density. Population density is
the number of individuals in a given volume or area. This helps in determining
whether a particular species is in endanger or its number is to be controlled
and resources to be replenished.
Organismal Ecology: Organismal ecology
is the study of an individual organism’s behaviour, morphology, physiology,
etc. in response to environmental challenges. It looks at how individual
organisms interact with biotic and abiotic components. Ecologists research how
organisms are adapted to these non-living and living components of their surroundings.
Individual species are related to
various adaptations like physiological adaptation, morphological adaptation, and behavioural
adaptation.
Molecular Ecology: The study of ecology focuses on the
production of proteins and how these proteins affect the organisms and their
environment. This happens at the molecular level.
DNA forms the proteins that interact
with each other and the environment. These interactions give rise to some
complex organisms.
4. Importance of Ecology: The following reasons
explain the importance of ecology:
Conservation
of Environment: Ecology helps us to understand how our actions affect the
environment. It shows the individuals the extent of damage we cause to the environment.
Lack of understanding of ecology has
led to the degradation of land and the environment. It has also led to the
extinction and endangerment of certain species. For eg., dinosaurs, white
shark, mammoths, etc. Thus, the study of the environment and organisms
helps us to protect them from any damage and danger.
Resource Allocation: With the knowledge of ecology, we
are able to know which resources are necessary for the survival of different
organisms. Lack of ecological knowledge has led to scarcity and deprivation of
these resources, leading to competition.
Energy Conservation: All organisms
require energy for their growth and development. Lack of ecological
understanding leads to the over-exploitation of energy resources such as light,
nutrition and radiation, leading to its depletion.
Proper knowledge
of ecological requirements prevents the unnecessary wastage of energy
resources, thereby, conserving energy for future purposes.
Eco-Friendliness: Ecology
encourages harmonious living within the species and the adoption of a lifestyle
that protects the ecology of life.
Ecosystem Management:
Ecosystem management is a process that
aims to conserve major ecological services and restore natural resources while
meeting the socioeconomic, political, and cultural needs of current and future
generations. The principal
objective of ecosystem management is the efficient maintenance and socially
appropriate use of natural resources. It is a multifaceted and holistic
approach which requires a significant change in how the natural and human
environments are identified.
Several
different approaches to implementing ecosystem management exist and these
involve conservation efforts at both local and landscape levels and involve:
●
Adaptive management.
●
Natural resource management.
●
Strategic management.
●
Command and control management.
Adaptive management: Adaptive
management is based on the concept that predicting future
influences/disturbance to an ecosystem is limited and unclear. Therefore, the goal of
adaptive management is to manage the ecosystem so it maintains the greatest
amount of ecological integrity, but also to utilize management practices that
have the ability to change based on new experience and insights.
Adaptive management aims to identify
uncertainties in the management of an ecosystem while using hypothesis testing
to further understand the system. In this regard, adaptive management
encourages learning from the outcomes of previously implemented management
strategies.Ecosystem managers form hypotheses about the ecosystem and its
functionality and then implement different management techniques to test the
hypotheses. The implemented techniques are then analyzed to evaluate any
regressions or improvements in functionality of the ecosystem caused by the
technique. Further analysis allows for modification of the technique until it successfully
meets the ecological needs of the ecosystem.[23] Thus, adaptive management
serves as a “learning by doing” method for ecosystem management.
Adaptive
management has had mixed success in the field of ecosystem management,
fisheries management, wildlife management, and forest management, possibly
because ecosystem managers may not be equipped with the decision-making skills
needed to undertake an adaptive management methodology. Additionally, economic,
social and political priorities can interfere with adaptive management
decisions.For this reason, adaptive management to be successful must be a
social process as well as a scientific one, focusing on institutional
strategies while implementing experimental management techniques.
Natural resource management: The term natural
resource management is frequently used when dealing with a particular resource
for human use rather than managing the whole ecosystem.A main objective of
natural resources management is sustainability for future generations. One
method to achieve this is by appointing ecosystem managers to balance natural
resources exploitation and conservation over a long-term timeframe. The
balanced relationship of each resource in an ecosystem is subject to change at
different spatial and temporal scales. Dimensions such as watersheds, soils,
flora, and fauna need to be considered individually and on a landscape level. A
variety of natural resources are utilized for food, medicine, energy and
shelter. The ecosystem
management concept is based on the relationship between sustainable resource
maintenance and human demand for use of natural resources.Therefore,
socioeconomics factors significantly affect natural resource management. The
goal of a natural resource manager is to fulfill the demand for a given resource
without causing harm to the ecosystem, or jeopardizing the future of the resource.
Partnerships between ecosystem managers, natural resource managers and
stakeholders should be encouraged in order to promote a more sustainable use of
limited natural resources. Natural resource managers must initially measure the
overall condition of the ecosystem they are involved in. If the ecosystem's
resources are healthy, managers can decide on the ideal amount of resource
extraction, while leaving enough to allow the resource to replenish itself for
subsequent harvests.
Strategic management: Strategic management
encourages the establishment of goals that will sustain the ecosystem while
keeping socioeconomic and politically relevant policy drivers in mind. Strategic
management differs from other types of ecosystem management because it keeps
stakeholders involved and relies on their input to develop the best management
strategy for an ecosystem. Similarly to other modes of ecosystem management, this method places a high level
of importance
on evaluating and reviewing any changes, progress, or negative impacts and
prioritizes flexibility in adapting management protocols as a result of new
information.
Command and control management: Command and control management
utilizes a linear problem solving approach where a perceived problem is solved
through controlling devices such as laws, threats, contracts and/or agreements.
This top-down approach is used across many disciplines and works best with
problems that are relatively simple, well-defined and work in terms of cause
and effect and for which there is broad societal agreement as to policy and
management goals. The application of command and control management has often
attempted to control nature in order to improve product extractions, establish
predictability and reduce threats.Some obvious examples of command and control
management actions include: the use of herbicides and pesticides to safeguard
crops in order to harvest more products; the culling of predators in order to
obtain larger, more reliable game species; and the safeguarding of timber
supply, by suppressing forest fires.
Attempts at
command and control management often backfire (a literal problem in forests
that have been ‘protected’ from fire by humans and are subsequently full of
fuel build-up) in ecosystems due to their inherent complexities. Consequently,
there has been a transition away from command and control management due to
many undesirable outcomes and a stronger focus has been placed on more holistic
approaches that focus on adaptive management and finding solutions through
partnerships.
Levels, scope, and scale of organization: The scope of ecology contains a
wide array of interacting levels of organization spanning micro-level (e.g., cells)
to a planetary scale (e.g., biosphere) phenomena. Ecosystems, for example,
contain abiotic
resources and interacting life forms (i.e., individual organisms that aggregate
into populations which aggregate into distinct ecological communities). Ecosystems
are dynamic, they do not always follow a linear successional path, but they are
always changing, sometimes rapidly and sometimes so slowly that it can take
thousands of years for ecological processes to bring about certain successional
stages of a forest. An ecosystem's area can vary greatly, from tiny to vast. A
single tree is of little consequence to the classification of a forest
ecosystem, but critically relevant to organisms living in and on it. Several
generations of an aphid population can exist over the lifespan of a single
leaf. Each of those aphids, in turn, support diverse bacterial communities.The
nature of connections in ecological communities cannot be explained by knowing
the details of each species in isolation, because the emergent pattern is
neither revealed nor predicted until the ecosystem is studied as an integrated
whole.[6] Some ecological
principles, however, do exhibit collective properties where the sum of
the components explain the properties of the whole, such as birth rates of a
population being equal to the sum of individual births over a designated time
frame.
The main
subdisciplines of ecology, population (or community) ecology and ecosystem
ecology, exhibit a difference not only of scale, but also of two contrasting
paradigms in the field. The former focuses on organisms' distribution and
abundance, while the later focus on materials and energy fluxes.
Biodiversity (an
abbreviation of "biological diversity") describes the diversity of
life from genes to ecosystems and spans every level of biological organization.
The term has several interpretations, and there are many ways to index,
measure, characterize, and represent its complex organization. Biodiversity includes species diversity,
ecosystem diversity, and genetic diversity and scientists are interested in the
way that this diversity affects the complex ecological processes operating at
and among these respective levels.
Biodiversity plays an important role in ecosystem services which by
definition maintain and improve human quality of life. Conservation priorities
and management techniques require different approaches and considerations to
address the full ecological scope of biodiversity. Natural capital that
supports populations is critical for maintaining ecosystem services and species migration (e.g., riverine fish
runs and avian insect control) has been implicated as one mechanism by which
those service losses are experienced. An understanding of biodiversity has
practical applications for species and ecosystem-level conservation planners as
they make management recommendations to consulting firms, governments, and
industry.
Human
Ecology and Biodiversity:
Ecology is as much a biological science
as it is a human science. Human ecology is an interdisciplinary investigation
into the ecology of our species. "Human ecology may be defined:
(1) from a bioecological standpoint as
the study of man as the ecological dominant in plant and animal communities and
systems;
(2) from a bioecological standpoint as
simply another animal affecting and being affected by his physical environment;
and
(3) as a human being, somehow different
from animal life in general, interacting with physical and modified
environments in a distinctive and creative way. A truly interdisciplinary human
ecology will most likely address itself to all three." The term was
formally introduced in 1921, but many sociologists, geographers, psychologists,
and other disciplines were interested in human relations to natural systems
centuries prior, especially in the late 19th century.
The ecological
complexities human beings are facing through the technological transformation
of the planetary biome has brought on the Anthropocene. The unique set of
circumstances has generated the need for a new unifying science called coupled
human and natural systems that builds upon, but moves beyond the field of human
ecology. Ecosystems tie into human societies through the critical and all
encompassing life-supporting functions they sustain. In recognition of these functions
and the incapability of traditional economic valuation methods to see the value
in ecosystems, there has been a surge of interest in social-natural capital,
which provides the means to put a value on the stock and use of information and
materials stemming from ecosystem goods and services. Ecosystems produce,
regulate, maintain, and supply services of critical necessity and beneficial to
human health (cognitive and physiological), economies, and they even provide an
information or reference function as a living library giving opportunities for
science and cognitive development in children engaged in the complexity of the
natural world. Ecosystems relate importantly to human ecology as they are the
ultimate base foundation of global economics as every commodity, and the
capacity for exchange ultimately stems from the ecosystems on Earth.
8. Relation to the environment.
The environment
of ecosystems includes both physical parameters and biotic attributes. It is
dynamically interlinked, and contains resources for organisms at any time
throughout their life cycle. Like ecology, the term environment has different
conceptual meanings and overlaps with the concept of nature. Environment
"includes the physical world, the social world of human relations and the
built world of human creation." The physical environment is external to
the level of biological organization under investigation, including abiotic factors
such as temperature, radiation, light, chemistry, climate and geology. The
biotic environment includes genes, cells, organisms, members of the same
species (conspecifics) and other species that share a habitat.
The distinction between external and
internal environments, however, is an abstraction parsing life and environment
into units or facts that are inseparable in reality. There is an
interpenetration of cause and effect between the environment and life. The laws
of thermodynamics, for example, apply to ecology by means of its physical
state. With an understanding of metabolic and thermodynamic principles, a
complete accounting of energy and material flow can be traced through an
ecosystem. In this way, the environmental and ecological relations are studied
through reference to conceptually manageable and isolated material parts. After
the effective environmental components are understood through reference to
their causes; however, they conceptually
link back together as an integrated whole, or holocoenotic system as it was
once called. This is known as the dialectical approach to ecology. The dialectical
approach examines the parts, but integrates the organism and the environment
into a dynamic whole (or umwelt). Change in one ecological or environmental
factor can concurrently affect the dynamic state of an entire ecosystem.
Radiation: heat, temperature and light.
The biology of
life operates within a certain range of temperatures. Heat is a form of energy
that regulates temperature. Heat affects growth rates, activity, behaviour, and
primary production. Temperature is largely dependent on the incidence of solar
radiation. The latitudinal and longitudinal spatial variation of temperature
greatly affects climates and consequently the distribution of biodiversity and
levels of primary production in different ecosystems or biomes across the planet.
Heat and temperature relate importantly to metabolic activity. Poikilotherms,
for example, have a body temperature that is largely regulated and dependent on
the temperature of the external environment. In contrast, homeotherms regulate
their internal body temperature by expending metabolic energy.
There is a
relationship between light, primary production, and ecological energy budgets.
Sunlight is the primary input of energy into the planet's ecosystems. Light is
composed of electromagnetic energy of different wavelengths. Radiant energy
from the sun generates heat, provides photons of light measured as active
energy in the chemical reactions of life, and also acts as a catalyst for
genetic mutation. Plants, algae, and some bacteria absorb light and assimilate
the energy through photosynthesis. Organisms capable of assimilating energy by
photosynthesis or through inorganic fixation of H2S are autotrophs.
Autotrophs—responsible for primary production—assimilate light energy which becomes
metabolically stored as potential energy in the form of biochemical enthalpic
bonds.
9. Physical environments.
Water: Diffusion of carbon
dioxide and oxygen is approximately 10,000 times slower in water than in air.
When soils are flooded, they quickly lose oxygen, becoming hypoxic (an
environment with O2 concentration below 2 mg/liter) and eventually completely
anoxic where anaerobic bacteria thrive among the roots. Water also influences
the intensity and spectral composition of light as it reflects off the water surface
and submerged particles. Aquatic plants exhibit a wide variety of morphological
and physiological adaptations that allow them to survive, compete, and
diversify in these environments. For example, their roots and stems contain
large air spaces (aerenchyma) that regulate the efficient transportation of
gases (for example, CO2 and O2) used in respiration and photosynthesis. Salt
water plants (halophytes) have additional specialized adaptations,
such as the development of special organs for shedding salt and osmoregulating
their internal salt (NaCl) concentrations, to live in estuarine, brackish, or
oceanic environments. Anaerobic soil microorganisms in aquatic environments use
nitrate, manganese ions, ferric ions, sulfate, carbon dioxide, and some organic
compounds; other microorganisms are facultative anaerobes and use oxygen during
respiration when the soil becomes drier. The activity of soil microorganisms
and the chemistry of the water reduces the oxidation-reduction potentials of
the water. Carbon dioxide, for example, is reduced to methane (CH4) by
methanogenic bacteria. The physiology of fish is also specially adapted to
compensate for environmental salt levels through osmoregulation. Their gills
form electrochemical gradients that mediate salt excretion in salt water and
uptake in fresh water.
Fire: Plants convert carbon
dioxide into biomass and emit oxygen into the atmosphere. By approximately 350
million years ago (the end of the Devonian period), photosynthesis had brought
the concentration of atmospheric oxygen above 17%, which allowed combustion to
occur. Fire releases CO2 and converts fuel into ash and tar. Fire is a
significant ecological parameter that raises many issues pertaining to its
control and suppression. While the issue of fire in relation to ecology and
plants has been recognized for a long time,Charles Cooper brought attention to
the issue of forest fires in relation to the ecology of forest fire suppression
and management in the 1960s.
Native North
Americans were among the first to influence fire regimes by controlling their
spread near their homes or by lighting fires to stimulate the production of
herbaceous foods and basketry materials. Fire creates a heterogeneous ecosystem
age and canopy structure, and the altered soil nutrient supply and cleared
canopy structure opens new ecological niches for seedling establishment. Most ecosystems are
adapted to natural fire cycles. Plants, for example, are equipped with a
variety of adaptations to deal with forest fires. Some species (e.g., Pinus
halepensis) cannot germinate until after their seeds have lived through a fire
or been exposed to certain compounds from smoke. Environmentally triggered
germination of seeds is called serotiny.
Fire plays a major role in the persistence and resilience of ecosystems.
10.
Conclusion: Ecology is the branch of science that deals with the
relationship of organisms with one another and with their physical surrounding.
The different types of ecology include- molecular ecology, organismal ecology, population
ecology, community ecology, global ecology, landscape ecology and ecosystem.
Ecology plays a significant role in forming new species and modifying the
existing ones. Natural selection is one of the many factors that influences
evolutionary change.Ecology was first devised by Ernst Haeckel, a German
Zoologist. However,
ecology has its origins in other sciences such as geology, biology, and
evolution among others.Habitat ecology is the type of natural environment in
which a particular species of an organism live, characterized by both physical
and biological features.
11. References.
1. "the
definition of ecology". Dictionary.com. Archived from the original on 21
February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
2. Samuel M. Scheiner; Michael R. Willig (2011).
The Theory of Ecology. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN
9780226736860.
3. Eric
Laferrière; Peter J. Stoett (2 September 2003). International Relations Theory
and Ecological Thought: Towards a Synthesis. Routledge. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-134-71068-3.
Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
4. Akhatov,
Aydar (1996). Ecology & International Law. Moscow: АST-PRESS. 512 pp. ISBN
5-214-00225-4 (in English and Russian).
5. Bimal N.
Patel, ed. (2015). MCQ on Environmental Law. ISBN 9789351452454
6.Farber &
Carlson, eds. (2013). Cases and Materials on Environmental Law, 9th. West
Academic Publishing. 1008 pp. ISBN 978-0314283986.
7. Faure,
Michael, and Niels Philipsen, eds. (2014). Environmental Law & European
Law. The Hague: Eleven International Publishing. 142 pp. ISBN 9789462360754 (in
English).
8.Malik,
Surender & Sudeep Malik, eds. (2015).Supreme Court on Environment
Law. ISBN 9789351451914.
9.Lackey, Robert
T (1999). "Radically contested assertions in ecosystem management".
Journal of Sustainable Forestry. 9 (1–2): 21–34.
10.Reed, M.S.
(2008). "Stakeholder participation for environmental management: A
literature review". Biological Conservation. 141 (10): 2417–2431.
Comments
Post a Comment