An Ecologist’s View of Social-Ecological Systems

Prof. Dr. Peter Edwards

An ecologist by training, I have worked with colleagues from many other disciplines to apply ecological ideas in agriculture, urban areas and industry. In my introductory lecture, I discuss the value of taking an ecosystem approach to understanding societal problems.

The ecosystem concept. For over 80 years, the ecosystem has been the main organizational concept in ecology, and it continues to evolve. One definition of the ecosystem is the complex of living organisms, their physical environment, and all their inter-relationships in a particular unit of space. The ecosystem concept is very flexible and can be applied at any spatial scale including the entire planet, which is increasingly the focus of study as we attempt to understand climate change.

Early studies characterized natural ecosystems such as grassland and forest in terms of the stocks and flows of energy and chemical elements. It was discovered that stable ecosystems - for example, mature tropical rainforest - usually have a high biodiversity and well-defined structure, and are in balance with their surroundings. However, even mature ecosystems can be disrupted, either by disturbance or by introducing a new species.

Complex social-ecological systems. Human-dominated systems such as cities can also be treated as ecosystems. Unlike most natural systems, however, they are often severely out of balance, being net importers of huge amounts of sand, concrete, metals, plastics, fossil fuels and a vast array of other chemical compounds. The energy balance of these systems is also greatly altered, with huge inputs of energy from fossil fuels and large storage of heat in the materials of which they are constructed. Not surprisingly, cities tend to be warmer than their surroundings, which in hot climates can be a cause for concern.

While the ecosystem approach is useful for tackling environmental problems such as pollution and the urban heat island effect, it is insufficient for solving complex societal challenges such as sustainability. This is because human environments are social-ecological systems in which other processes - flows of information, capital and people - are also important. Human-dominated systems are also much influenced by technology; indeed, just as new species can transform an ecosystem, so also can new technology transform a social-ecological system.

Disruptive technologies. We live in a time of extraordinary technological change. For economic reasons, new technologies are vigorously promoted by governments, usually without considering the wider societal consequences they may have. Yet some of these technologies are highly disruptive (the new crop varieties of the green revolution, the oral contraceptive pill, and the internet, are examples), changing everyone’s life, directly or indirectly, and not always for the better. I conclude by considering the capacity of technology to disrupt social-ecological systems, and how the less desirable consequences of innovation can be avoided.

Suggested Readings

1. Brown, Isaac T. (2017) "Managing Cities as Urban Ecosystems: Fundamentals and a Framework for Los Angeles, California," Cities and the Environment (CATE): Vol. 10: Iss. 2, Article http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cate/vol10/iss2/4
    
2. William S. Currie (2010). “Units of nature or processes across scales? The ecosystem concept at age 75”. New Phytologist (2011) 190: 21–34
    
3. Edwards. (Jan 2016) “Learning from Rainforests”, Urban Solution. Issue 8
    
4. Edwards. “The Role of Ecosystem Services in Making Cities Sustainable.”
    
5. T. Schröpfer and S. Menz, Dense and Green Building Typologies, SpringerBriefs in Architectural Design and Technology