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7 - Evolution of the Systems Ecology Paradigm in Managing Ecosystems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2021

By
Robert G. Woodmansee ,
Michael B. Coughenour ,
Keith Paustian ,
William J. Parton ,
Thomas J. Stohlgren ,
William H. Romme ,
Paul H. Evangelista ,
Cameron Aldridge ,
Dennis S. Ojima  and
William Lauenroth
...Show all authors
Edited by
Robert G. Woodmansee ,
John C. Moore ,
Dennis S. Ojima  and
Laurie Richards
Robert G. Woodmansee
Affiliation:
Colorado State University
John C. Moore
Affiliation:
Colorado State University
Dennis S. Ojima
Affiliation:
Colorado State University
Laurie Richards
Affiliation:
Colorado State University
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Summary

The systems ecology paradigm (SEP) emerged in the late 1960s at a time when societies throughout the world were beginning to recognize that our environment and natural resources were being threatened by their activities. Management practices in rangelands, forests, agricultural lands, wetlands, and waterways were inadequate to meet the challenges of deteriorating environments, many of which were caused by the practices themselves. Scientists recognized an immediate need was developing a knowledge base about how ecosystems function. That effort took nearly two decades (1980s) and concluded with the acceptance that humans were components of ecosystems, not just controllers and manipulators of lands and waters. While ecosystem science was being developed, management options based on ecosystem science were shifting dramatically toward practices supporting sustainability, resilience, ecosystem services, biodiversity, and local to global interconnections of ecosystems. Emerging from the new knowledge about how ecosystems function and the application of the systems ecology approach was the collaboration of scientists, managers, decision-makers, and stakeholders locally and globally. Today’s concepts of ecosystem management and related ideas, such as sustainable agriculture, ecosystem health and restoration, consequences of and adaptation to climate change, and many other important local to global challenges are a direct result of the SEP.

Keywords

grazingland/forestland managementagro-ecosystem managementland management policiesecosystem managementhumans as components of ecosystemslong-term ecological researchsustainability and resilience in ecosystemsecosystem servicesbiodiversitysustainable agriculture
Type
Chapter
Information
Natural Resource Management Reimagined
Using the Systems Ecology Paradigm
 , pp. 202 - 244
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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