Ecosystem health

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Ecosystem health or ecosystem health (also common in German-speaking countries), also ecological integrity describes a theoretical concept of social-ecological research on the function of ecosystems .

concept

The definition of the concept of ecosystem health has not yet been conclusively clarified in the current theoretical state of the discussion. The open definition of the term is accompanied by the question of which concrete indicators a “healthy ecosystem” has. The term ecosystem health is currently used in various contexts, mostly in relation to the functional and economic aspects of ecosystems and almost only applied to systems that are used by humans: cultural landscapes , seas, lakes, limnic systems.

The concept evolved from the idea of ​​the integrity of ecosystems. The fisheries biologist James Karr was one of the first scientists to use the term "biotic integrity" for the assessment of limnic systems in the USA. According to a definition by Yuan from 1991, an assessment aimed at ecosystem health consists of 1. biophysical, 2. ecological and 3. socio-economic factors related.

Implicit factors of the concept are mostly the carrying capacity of an ecosystem, the potential of possible ecosystem services and other cumulative factors ( air purity , fertile soils, etc.).

The term “health” intends that ecosystems can be “healthy”, just as the human body can be healthy. The concept thus closely follows the Gaia theory from the 1970s. The Gaia hypothesis is based on a systems- theoretical understanding of life. A living being is therefore an open and entropy-producing system that can reactively and self-organizingly adapt to its environment. The Gaia hypothesis regards the earth as a complex, interwoven life-sustaining system, a kind of “superorganism”.

Conversely, it is assumed that a “healthy” ecosystem can return to its original state after disturbances (mostly due to anthropogenic influences). This is then called resilience .

Synonyms terms

In the evaluation of ecosystems, ecosystem health in German-speaking countries is sometimes used synonymously with the terms ecosystem integrity (ecological integrity = intactness) and ecological status . These are based on similar theoretical derivations and are also not conclusively defined.

application

So far, the term ecosystem health has mostly been used as an umbrella term for requirements or specific measures that aim to achieve a more sustainable use of ecosystems. In German-speaking countries, people often spoke of “healthy lakes” or “healthy rivers and streams”. The concept can be applied well to these limited habitats. The lake ecosystem, in particular, can change its state by interrupting or influencing the circulation processes or the O 2 / temperature ratio (system shift). Lakes are considered "healthy" if the spatiotemporal processes take place in a way that has a positive effect on the biodiversity in the lake and its water quality (drinking water).

In 2010 the Helsinki Convention published a strategy entitled Ecosystem Health of the Baltic Sea , which describes the development of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea using a strongly holistic approach.

In the United States, the state conservation agency (EPA) has used the term for evaluating ecological systems since the early 1980s.

Criticism and limitations of the concept

The qualitative evaluation of natural systems always relates to subjective, human value judgments . On the basis of these judgments, eco systems are assessed and classified from “good = natural = healthy” to “bad = degraded = sick”. Which state in the real environment is viewed as “good” by the respective actors and is therefore worth striving for depends heavily on the respective values ​​of the actors. The transfer of the health of the human organism to the "organism of nature / environment" is also viewed critically because it largely ignores evolutionary and population-biological variables.

In the concept of ecosystem health , various value systems (functional-economic approach, cultural and spiritual approach) are connected without reflection. However, the functions of ecosystems, which are crucial for humans to be preserved, are always central: i.e. CO 2 storage, natural water cycles, pollination, soil regeneration, wildlife and fish resource protection. This means that ecosystem health has a clearly anthropocentric background and is primarily aimed at resource management and less at the protection of biological diversity as a “ value in itself ”.

literature

Web links

Background Gaia hypothesis

swell

  1. ↑ James Karr (1981): ASSESSMENT OF BIOTIC INTEGRITY USING FISH COMMUNITIES. ( PDF )
  2. ↑ Yuan et al .: Assessment of ecosystem health - concept framework and indicator selection. In: Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 2001/04
  3. ↑ Where is the ecology in the assessment of our groundwater? ( Memento from June 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ http://www.epa.gov/solec/peer_reviewed/dev_implement_indicators.pdf
  5. ↑ HELCOM, 2010 Ecosystem Health of the Baltic Sea 2003-2007: HELCOM Initial Holistic Assessment. Balt. Sea Environ. Proc. No. 122.
  6. ↑ See on this: Reinhard Piechocki (2011): Landscape - Home - Wilderness: Protection of Nature - but which and why?