Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-19T12:43:36.845Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

1 - The Systems Ecology Paradigm

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2021

By
Robert G. Woodmansee ,
John C. Moore  and
Dennis S. Ojima
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
Get access

Summary

The systems ecology paradigm (SEP) is presented as the right science and analytical approach at the right time for resolving many of the Earth’s natural resource, environmental, and societal challenges. SEP embodies two major parts. One, the systems ecology approach, which is the holistic, systems thinking perspective and methodology developed for the rigorous study of ecosystems, including humans. Two, the use of ecosystem science, the vast body of scientific knowledge, much of which has been assembled using the ecosystem and systems ecology approaches. The fundamental philosophy, evolution, and application of the SEP are defined in this chapter. The organizing principles of the SEP include: many problems are complex and complicated and may have multiple causes; precise definitions of problems and their spatial, temporal, and organizational hierarchical scales are critical; collaborative decision making including scientists, technical and administrative staff members, and essential stakeholders is essential; transparent, honest, and effective communication is required; globalization of collaboration within interdisciplinary networks has been a hallmark of the paradigm; and integration of simulation modeling, field and laboratory studies has proven indispensable for many scientific breakthroughs. A call for integration of transdisciplinary science, policy making, and management is presented.

Keywords

systems ecology approachecosystem sciencesimulation modelingecosystem approachsystems thinkingcollaborative decision-makingenvironmental analysisnatural resource analysisecological hierarchies and scalingglobalization of collaboration
Type
Chapter
Information
Natural Resource Management Reimagined
Using the Systems Ecology Paradigm
 , pp. 1 - 35
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abelson, P. H. (1993). Science, technology, and national goals. Science, 259, 743.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, D. W., Heil, R. D., Cole, C. V., and Deutsch, P. C. (1983). Identification and Characterization of Ecosystems at Different Integrative Levels. Athens, GA, Special Publication, University of Georgia, Agriculture Experiment Stations.Google Scholar
Biodiversity, A–Z. (2018). UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre. www.biodiversitya-z.org/content/ecosystem-approach (accessed July 23, 2018).Google Scholar
Chapin, F. S., Chapin, M. C., Matson, P. A., and Vitousek, P. (2011). Principles of Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Christensen, N. L., Bartuska, A. M., Brown, J. H., et al. (1996). The report of the Ecological Society of America committee on the scientific basis for ecosystem management. Ecological Applications, 6(3), 665–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coleman, D. C. (2010). Big Ecology: The Emergence of Ecosystem Science. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forrester, J. W. (1961). Industrial Dynamics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Forrester, J. W. (1968). Principles of Systems. Cambridge, MA: Wright-Allen Press.Google Scholar
Hautaluoma, J. E., and Woodmansee, R. G. (1994). New roles in ecological research and policy making. Ecology International Bulletin, 21, 1–10.Google Scholar
IPCC. (2014). Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, ed. Core Writing Team, Pachauri, R. K., and Meyer, L. A.. Geneva, Switzerland: IPCC.Google Scholar
Jogiste, K., Korjus, H., Stanturf, J. A., et al. (2017). Hemiboreal forest: natural disturbances and the importance of ecosystem legacies to management. Ecosphere, 8(2), e01706. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1706 (accessed June 18, 2018).Google Scholar
Lewis, C. S. (1955). The Magician’s Nephew. New York: Harper Collins Children’’s Books.Google Scholar
Lubchenco, J., Olson, A. M., and Brubaker, L. B., et al. (1991). The Sustainable Biosphere Initiative: an ecological research agenda – a report from the Ecological Society of America. Ecology, 72(2), 371–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKenzie-Mohr, D. (2011). Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.Google Scholar
Meadows, D. H. (2008). Thinking in Systems: A Primer. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing.Google Scholar
Montague, C. L. (2018). Systems ecology. Oxford Bibliographies. www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199830060/obo-9780199830060-0078.xml (accessed July 8, 2018).Google Scholar
NREL. (2018). Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory at Colorado State University. www.nrel.colostate.edu (accessed June 13, 2018).Google Scholar
Odum, E. P., and Odum, H. T. (1963). Fundamentals of Ecology, 2nd ed. Philadelphia and London: W. B. Saunders.Google Scholar
O’Neill, R. V. (1988). Hierarchy theory and global change. In Scales and Global Change: Spatial and Temporal Variability in Biospheric and Geospheric Processes, ed. Rosswall, T., Woodmansee, R. G., and Risser, P. G.. SCOPE Series 38, Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley and Sons: 29–45.Google Scholar
Pope Francis. (2015). Laudato Si’: Encyclical Letter on Care for Our Common Home. http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html (accessed June 13, 2018).Google Scholar
Riebsame, W. E., and Woodmansee, R. G. (1995). Mapping common ground on public rangelands. In Let the People Judge, ed. Echeverria, J. and Eby, R. B.. Washington, DC: Island Press, 69–81.Google Scholar
Risser, P. G. (1990). Landscape pattern and its effects on energy and nutrient distribution. In Changing Landscapes: An Ecological Perspective, ed. Zonneveld, I. S. and Forman, R. R. T.. New York: Springer, 45–56.Google Scholar
Rosswall, T., Woodmansee, R. G., and Risser, P. G., ed. (1988). Scales and Global Change: Spatial and Temporal Variability in Biospheric and Geospheric Processes (SCOPE Report 35). Published on behalf of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Systems Perspective. (2019). Systems Thinking. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_thinking (accessed January 8, 2019).Google Scholar
Tansley, A. G. (1935). The use and abuse of vegetational concepts and terms. Ecology, 16, 284–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
UNMEA. (2018). United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. United Nations. www.millenniumassessment.org/en/index.html (accessed June 13, 2018).Google Scholar
Van Dyne, G. (1969). The Ecosystem Concept in Natural Resource Management. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Von Bertalanffy, L. (1968). General Systems Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications. George Braziller: New York.Google Scholar
Waltner-Toews, D., Kay, J. J., and Lister, N.-M. E., eds. (2008). The Ecosystem Approach: Complexity, Uncertainty, and Managing for Sustainability. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
WCED. (1987). Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, ed. Brundtland, G. H.. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Weathers, K. C., Groffman, P. M., Van Dolah, E., et al. (2016). Frontiers in ecosystem ecology from a community perspective: the future is boundless and bright. Ecosystems, 19, 753.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wohl, E. (2017). Historical range of variability. Oxford Bibliographies. www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199363445/obo-9780199363445-0001.xml (accessed June 18, 2018).Google Scholar
Woodmansee, R. G. (1978). Critique and analyses of the grassland ecosystem model ELM. In Grassland Simulation Model, ed. Innis, G. S.. New York: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Woodmansee, R. G. (1988). Ecosystem processes and global change. In Scales and Global Change: Spatial and Temporal Variability in Biospheric and Geospheric Processes (SCOPE Report 35), ed. Rosswall, T., Woodmansee, R. G., and Risser, P. G.. Published on behalf of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). New York: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Woodmansee, R. G. (1990). Biogeochemical cycles and ecological hierarchies. In Changing Landscapes: An Ecological Perspective, ed. Zonneveld, I. S. and Forman, R. R. T.. New York: Springer, 57–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woodmansee, R. G., and Riebsame, W. E. (1993). Evaluating the Effects of Climate Change on Grasslands. Proceedings of the XVII International Grassland Congress, Palmerston North, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand, Lincoln, New Zealand, Rockhampton, Australia, Palmerston North, New Zealand, The New Zealand Grassland Association.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×