I am confused by the original question. The CBD definition does not
exclude humans. Nor does it refer only to pristine areas. And I do not
agree that a general definition of something as broad as "ecosystem"
should single out humans or any other species.
Joe Poston
High Point NC USA
On Jun 25, 2010, at 11:20 PM, "Warren W. Aney" <a...@coho.net> wrote:
Instead of looking for recent, confounded definitions, I prefer to
go back
to simpler, classical definitions such as:
"Any area of nature that includes living organisms and nonliving
substances
interacting to produce an exchange of materials between the living and
nonliving parts is an ecological system or ecosystem." (Odum,
Fundamentals
of Ecology, 1953)
That definition would cover an ant-colonized crack in my driveway,
the urban
system I live in, and the pristine (almost) wilderness that contains
my
footprints.
Warren W. Aney
Senior Wildlife Ecologist
9403 SW 74th Ave
Tigard, OR 97223
(503) 539-1009
(503) 246-2605 fax
-----Original Message-----
From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news
[mailto:ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of Fabrice De Clerck
Sent: Friday, 25 June, 2010 08:21
To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU
Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Humans in the definition of ecosystems
Dear Friends,
An environmental economist colleague of mine is disappointed with
the CBD
definition of ecosystems which gives the impression that only
pristine areas
are ecosystems. Can anyone point us to a more recent definition of
ecosystems that explicitly includes humans as an integral part of the
definition?
Here is the original question:
The CBD defines ecosystems as a dynamic complex of plant, animal and
micro-organism communities and their non-living environment
interacting as a
functional unit.
I find this boring, as it leaves us humans, as special animals, out
of the
picture. When you read it, it is easy to think of pristine
environments. Has
there been any reaction or correction of this definition? I need an
authoritative quote that balances the CBD´s
All reactions welcome, and citations welcome!
Fabrice
********************************************************
Fabrice DeClerck PhD
Community and Landscape Ecologist
Division of Research and Development
CATIE 7170, Turrialba, Costa Rica 30501
(506) 2558-2596
fadecle...@catie.ac.cr
Adjunct Research Scholar
Tropical Agriculture Programs
The Earth Institute at Columbia University
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