Four Fundamental Processes that Drive Our Ecosystem*
Where we once viewed our global ecosystem – everything on our planet and in its surrounding atmosphere – mainly as a source of raw materials, we now view it as the foundation on which all human endeavors, all economies and all life are built.
In order to work with nature's inherent complexity, we focus on the four fundamental processes that operate in any ecosystem: water cycle, mineral cycle, solar energy flow and community dynamics (the patterns of change and development within communities of living organisms).
Consciously modify any one of these processes, and you automatically change all of them in some way because, in reality, they are only different aspects of the same thing.
All of us – not just scientists, or farmers, foresters, and others managing land- must begin to acquire a basic understanding of the fundamental processes through which our ecosystem functions, if only to better understand our dependence on them. It will soon be unacceptable for any economist, politician, or corporate CEO to remain environmentally illiterate, and thus ignorant of these processes and our connection to them.
The Water Cycle
An effective water cycle requires a covered and biologically active soil. When effective, most water soaks in quickly where it falls. Later, it is released slowly through plants that transpire it, or through rivers, springs and aquifers that collect, through seepage, what the plants do not take. When soil is exposed and biological activity reduced, most water runs off as floods. What little soaks in is released rapidly from evaporation which draws moisture back up through the soil surface.
The Mineral Cycle
An effective mineral cycle also requires a covered and biologically active soil. When effective, many nutrients cycle between living plants and living soil continually. When soil is exposed and biological activity low, nutrients become trapped at various points in the cycle or are lost to wind and water erosion.
Community Dynamics
With few exceptions, natural communities strive to develop toward ever-greater complexity and thus stability. From unstable bare ground, where biological activity is low, stable range or forest communities develop over time. When humans reduce this complexity by planting monoculture crops or clearing vegetation from an area, for instance, they so defy the principles of nature that they can only be maintained by unnatural means, and then only temporarily. As components within nature, humans cannot escape this principle any more than other organisms can.
Energy Flow
Almost all life requires the energy that flows daily from the sun. The basic conversion of this solar energy to usable form takes place through plant material on land and in water. The energy passes from plants to whatever eats them, moving up the pyramid. Energy doesn't cycle; it flows through the ecosystem until it's used up.
- Ecosystem Processes
- Seral Stages
- Historic Range of Variability
- Wildland-Urban Interface
- National Fire Plan
- Mule Deer Habitat
* From Holisitic Management TM. For more information visit www.holisticmanagement.org
