Ecolog:
It is healthy to continue to subject any concept or definition to scrutiny,
and it beats reliance upon authority. Words are convenient labels that
ideally convey the same meaning to all others, but this is rarely the case.
"Ecosystem" is reasonably well defined by the various "authorities" cited,
at least among ecologists and others seriously interested in understanding
how life forms work, but, like a lot of terms, it sometimes gets "hijacked"
at various times and the meaning gets twisted. Some who use the term have a
poor understanding of its meaning. Ecology may well be the most difficult of
all phenomena to study; it is a very complex subject.
It may not be so much that ecosystem is in need of redefinition but that the
terminology used in writing and speaking about it has become far too
convoluted, full of terms that are themselves poorly defined and recklessly
used. Part of this springs from a sincere effort to develop terms that
represent entire concepts so they don't have to be repeated, but part of it
also can be phony-needless convolutions and vague definitions that serve
mainly as jargon when simpler, plainer words would do the job better. It is
too easy to get so ensnarled in pseudo-academic jargon that one forgets what
one was examining in the first place. Ecologists have long been accused of
being a "soft" science, and some ecologists, intimidated by such criticism,
have gone into defense mode with both arcane language and meaningless math
to appear to be "more scientific."
Ecology IS "soft." It is "squishy" and elusive. But that is because it is
complex, not "soft" in the sense of being "easy" or merely "philosophical."
Its study requires a synthesis of an impossibly wide intellectual pursuit
that spans all of the other disciplines, from physics to a kind of
philosophy of reality, far from, and beyond, the presumptions of Plato and
Socrates about the meaning of life and all that.
Certainly, however, some ecologists do come at the subject from such
philosophical directions as concerns about moral action and intuition, and
as long as all stay open to observing reality rather than insisting upon the
confirmation of prejudices, all will sort out eventually. Certainly ecology
and the ecosystem concept will benefit from reexamination, and any
refinement or replacement of those terms will be beneficial to an honest
intellectual pursuit. But what are those replacement terms?
WT
PS: As to whether or not humans are "part" of the ecosystem (or any subset
thereof), certainly they are, like any other organism. What distinguishes
humans from the other organisms is the psychological phenomenon of culture,
which has enabled cultural humans to change their environment to suit them
rather than changing (evolving) to suit the environment. Nature, or reality,
however, is indifferent to destiny, and will, as Louis Ziegler once said,
"shrug off Homo sapiens with no more concern that she has countless other
species in the history of the earth."
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fabrice De Clerck" <fd2...@columbia.edu>
To: <ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU>
Sent: Friday, June 25, 2010 8:20 AM
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
********************************************************
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.439 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2966 - Release Date: 06/27/10
06:35:00
