1. Context: Historical and Ecological
NREM 612
Context: Historical and Ecological

2. “Quiz”

3. Historical Context

4. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
3. Model of land use transitions (& degradation) over time
Different parts of world in different stages
Not all areas move linearly thru transitions
Some stay in stage one for long period or move rapidly bet. stages
(Foley et al )

5. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
A. 21,000 BC: bow & arrow replace spear, central Asian hunters  Europe, Siberia, & N America (Montgomery 2007)
1. Hunter-gatherers small degr. footprint due to low pop density, low growth rates, mobility
Q: How did HGs degrade ecosystems?
caused fires
hunted larger species to extinction
etc.
Hunting scene from 4th millennium BC (Hillel 2006)

6. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
2. 8,500 BC ~ HG global pop. of 4 million (Tillman et al. 2002)
a. Overharvesting of large-bodied spp. is an ancient & persistent signature (Western 2001)

7. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
B. ~ 7,500 BC: Ag. develops in Mesopotamia, China, Mesoamerica (Montgomery 2007)
1. Ag settlements supported ↑ pop growth. Why?
a. Shorter birth interval, < 4 yrs vs > 4 yrs (previously mother shifting camp can only carry 1 baby, inter > 4 years)
b. Plants & animals
higher densities in ag vs wild ecos.
(Diamond 2002)
c. Specialization

8. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
C. 6,000 BC: Cattle first domesticated in Greece/Balkans (quickly spread to Middle East, Europe, India)
1. Animal husbandry ↑ food prod., ↑ land conversion, ↑ manure for fertilization
D. Repeating story: HG societies conquered by Ag. societies (Diamond 2002)
1. ↑ population & land conversion  ↑ degradation

9. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
3. Model of land use transitions (& degradation) over time
Alteration of the landscape through clearing
(Foley et al )

10. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
Ancient & modern centers of agriculture. Trends?
Ag arose where valuable domesticable crops were native, other areas proved more productive when domesticates introduced (Diamond 2002). Exception?

11. E. Europe: Deforestation, Erosion
I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
E. Europe: Deforestation, Erosion
900 BC-250 AD: Greek, Roman writers comment on deforestation
i. Plato wrote of erosion of mtns. of Attica, ruin of farms, villages
b AD: St. Francis of Assisi witnessed deforestation & voiced concern for nature
i. Patron Saint of animals & environment

12. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
F AD - Industrial Revolution: Global pop. 800 million
1. Western societies transform from Ag. to Industrial
i. Demographic shift: migration to cites

13. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
3. Model of land use transitions (& degradation) over time
Urbanization and small farms increasing
(Foley et al )

14. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
2. AG society: Pop. lived among fields that sustained them
i. Nutrients returned to soil
3. Urbanizing society:
i. Nutrients drawn from field to cities
ii. Wastes leave via streams to coasts/sea, not returned to soil

15. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
4. Potential for unlimited food production
“The improvements to be made in cultivation & in the augmentations that earth is capable of receiving in the article of productiveness, cannot, as yet, be reduced to any limits of calculation. Myriads of centuries of still increasing population may pass away, & the earth be yet found sufficient for the support of its inhabitants.”
William Godwin in Political Justice, 1793

16. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
widespread use of steam power fueled by coal
i. engines, ships, trains  Transportation Revolution
ii. ↑ in atmospheric CO2 concentrations

17. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
6. Inexhaustible fisheries & ocean resources
“I believe, then, that the cod fishery, herring fishery, pilchard (sardine) fishery, mackerel fishery, and probably all great sea fisheries, are inexhaustible; that is to say, that nothing we do seriously affects the number of the fish. And any attempt to regulate these fisheries seems consequently, from the nature of the case, to be useless.”
T. Huxley in 1883

18. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
Model of land use transitions (& degradation) over time
Exhausted natural ecosystems
(Foley et al )

19. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
G. New attitude emerges
: Poets Wordsworth, Blake, Emerson expressed interest in env.
a. Saw “industrial man” as corrupter of nature
: U.S. estab. Yellowstone as world’s 1st National Park
a. New concept, way to protect env. for future gen.

20. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
3. J. Muir & T. Roosevelt
a. Muir (
i. co-founds Sierra Club
ii. Advocate for wilderness & Yosemite & Sequoia NPs
b. TR ( ): “Conservation President”
i : estab. 5 NPs, 4 National Monuments, protected part of Grand Canyon
AD End of Ind. Rev., Global pop. = 1.8 billion

21. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
Model of land use transitions (& degradation) over time
Protected areas created
Agriculture intensified
(Foley et al )

22. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
H Haber & Bosch?
1. Synthesized NH4 from N2 + H2
a. Haber: invented process; 1918 Nobel Prize
b. Bosh: upscaled it; 1931 Nobel
2. Facilitates ag intensification
a. humanity no longer relies only on natural sources of N
b. Coastal eutrophication starts to  exponentially

23. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
I. U.S. 1930s: Dust Bowl/Dirty 30s
1. Dust storms  formation of SCS in 1933, S&W Cons. Districts
a. Black Sunday 4/14/1933

24. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
1945 Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO)
1. Becomes agency of UN 1946
a. HQ in Rome
2. Purpose: food security for all (consults, provides funding, collects data)
a. focuses on dvping countries, combats degr.

25. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
1950s-Present: Green Revolution: global pop. 2.4 billion
1. ↑ in ag production due to what main factors?
2. Green Rev driven by . . .
a. fertilization
b. irrigation
c. hybridization / genetic modification
d. mechanization
. . . fossil fuel energy, env. cost

26. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
Model of land use transitions (& degradation) over time
Green revolution maxed out agriculture
Natural ecosystems bottomed out
(Foley et al )

27. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
L s/70s: Environ. Movement & Cons. Biol.
Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
a. publicizes effects of chemicals on birds & fish
2. Mar. 21, 1970?
3. Gaia hypothesis (Lovelock 1979) earth as ecosystem; role of ocean, atmo, organic proccesses controlling clim; global biochemical homoeostasis
a. 1st Earth Day

28. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
M : World Soils Charter (U.N.)
Establishes principles for optimum use of world's land resources, for improvement of their productivity, & for conservation for future generations
Calls for commitment of gov’t, internat. orgs, & land users to manage for long-term
Calls for land-use policies which create incentives for participation in soil conservation

29. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
N. 1992: UNCED Rio
1. Earth Summit: U.N. Conf. on Environment & Development
2. Addressed 3 issues:
a. Climate change
b. Biological diversity
c. Desertification  29

30. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
Current “Human-Dominated Ecosystems” Concept : management should be done with ecological principles for the sustainable use of natural resources

31. II. Current “Human-dominated Ecosystem” Concept
A. “The ecosystem approach is fundamental in managing Earth’s resources because it addresses the interactions that link biotic systems, of which humans are an integral part, with the physical systems on which they depend” Chapin et al. 2002
Sustainable use of resources in an era of increasing population and consumption and large, rapid global environmental change
Ecological context provides a holistic view of managed systems, interacting biotic and abiotic components in a single integrated system
From Chapin et al. 2002

32. II. Current “Human-dominated Ecosystem” Concept
B. Ecosystems
Are at steady state when outputs balance inputs over time, accept variation as a normal aspect, but the system shows no trend over time.
Long term, directional changes in the environment and climate caused by humans results in directional changes in ecosystem properties and loss of steady state
“Sustainable” use of resources generally defined as usage < renewal
Understanding how a system works before a disturbance is fundamental to predicting and controlling degradation
From Chapin et al. 2002

33. II. Current “Human-dominated Ecosystem” Concept
C. Impact of Human Activities
“Overall, any clear dichotomy between between pristine ecosystems and human-altered areas that may have existed in the past has vanished, and ecological research should account for this reality” Vitousek 1994, MacAurthur Award Lecture
From Vitousek 1994

34. II. Current “Human-dominated Ecosystem” Concept
D. Ecosystem Development
State factors set the boundaries of ecosystem development
Climate most strongly influences ecosystem characteristics – biomes
Parent material determines the starting point for soil development and properties, incl fertility
Interactive factors both control and are controlled by ecosystem characteristics
Acquisition of resources depletes their abundance
Human activities increasingly have an enormous impact on all ecosystem properties
Impact of human activities even affects state factors
From Chapin et al. 2002

35. II. Current “Human-dominated Ecosystem” Concept
E. Alteration of Ecosystems
Transformation of land for food, fiber, and goods production is the most direct and substantial alteration of ecosystems
Land use change drives species extinction and loss of biodiversity
Most major ecosystem controls (climate, soil, water, disturbance regime, functional groups of organisms) are being altered on a global scale by humans
Humans cause directional change, novel conditions, and positive feedbacks that impact the stability and resilience required to maintain ecosystems
From Vitousek et al. 1997
From Chapin et al. 2002

36. II. Current “Human-dominated Ecosystem” Concept
Focus of Special Issue of Science in 1997
What did you think of the Vitousek et al paper?

37. imports of non-solar energy food webs habitat/landscape soils
B. Characteristics of human dominated (HDEs) compared to natural ecosystems (NEs)
Fill in this table w/ a partner based on Vitousek paper & your knowledge
HDEs
NEs
resource extraction
chemical use
imports of non-solar energy
food webs
habitat/landscape
soils
hydrology
disturbance regimes (fire, flooding, buffalo migration, etc.)

38. HDEs
NEs
resource extraction
high
low-none
chemical use
heavy
imports of non-solar energy
food webs
simple
complex
habitat/landscape
homogeneous
heterogeneous
soils
disturbed/
undisturbed/
hydrology
modified/
regulated
unmodified/
unregulated
disturbance regimes (fire, flooding, buffalo migration, etc.)
reduced-absent
active

39. 39

40. 40

41. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
2000s: Advances in Remote Sensing & GIS, RE & EBM
1. RS & GIS improve monitoring of various scales
(NASA) 41

42. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
2. Explosive growth of Rest. Ecol. & EBM in 2000s
a. Economic growth based on exploitation ↓; growth based on restoration ↑ (Cunningham 2002)
b. Restoration = spirit & business of 21st cent.?
c. Fed. & state agencies, NGOs shift from sectoral, single-species mgmt. to ecosystem-based mgmt 42

43. I. Historical Context of Human Induced Degradation
3. Model of land use transitions (& degradation) over time
(Foley et al )