Ecosystems as complex adaptive systems Complex adaptive systems •Many parts •Many interactions • •Adaptive because feedback allows them to survive in fluctuating environment Systems •Holistic view includes the relation between parts and the whole Hierarchical Representation of Systems Level n Level n+1 Level n−1 Hierarchical levels can be identified by a stronger set of interactions within a hierarchical level than between levels. A critical feature of such hierarchies is the asymmetry of interactions among hierarchical levels. objects possess both self-assertive and integrative tendencies Systems •It’s not just a random relation: “the whole exists for and by means of the parts and the parts exists for and by means of the whole.” •– Stuart Kauffman •(www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2011/08/08/139006531/the-end-of-a-physics-worldview-heraclitus-and-the- watershed-of-life) • Emergent Properties •Function at higher order of organization that arises from behavior at a lower level •Whole is more than the sum of the parts Emergent Properties •Self organization – increase complexity without being guided by outside force •Macroscopic structure from microscopic disorder http://www.bioteams.com/images/ibm_research_en.jpg Within species organization Among species organization http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/90/3890-004-E4910620.jpg Among species with their environment Among humans http://www.iyouth.gr/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Czech-Republic-Prague-Old-Town-Square-Astronomical- Clock-St-James-Church2-L.jpg Among humans and nature Ecosystem Organization Self-organizing processes in ecosystems make them awesomely complex Some properties of sustainable systems •How they organize •How they are organized/designed – patterns that emerge •How they stay functioning – homeostasis •How they interact with adjacent systems - open with input-output flows •Natural Ecosystems •Agricultural Ecosystems •Urban Ecosystems • •Coadaptation •Fitting together •Coevolution •Changing together • Ecosystem Design •Redundancy – duplication •Leads to Reliability and Resilience • • •“The ecosystem ensures its survival be feedback mechanisms that regulate the biological populations within it.” p. 63 • > Key design feature Positive feedback in an autocatalytic Life—Environment system Autocatalysis – self catalyzing 1f299708-1618-4423-8b00-30436f0526fe Interacting autocatalytic systems – expands the possibilities 52a01bc7-f10e-4b0a-b98e-f84725e5d0d9 Combinations of things give rise to new things 0d4875c7-9322-4c63-a0cf-8369a86deaa8 DeWitt Clinton Locomotive pulling coaches on the Mohawk-Hudson railroad 42a2bc68-b477-410a-971b-8f29748886c3 Everything operates as a web of interdependent co-developments •The fittest panther in the jungle is a goner if its habitat goes. And what is habitat? It’s an intricate, complicated web of interdependencies • •The ensemble itself made the environment rich by expanding. • As the community assembly process forms a food web, it selects only species that fit into the existing web Competition is occurring within a cooperative network Open systems to energy flow •A self-sustaining system needs infusions of energy from outside itself. •The second half is energy discharge •So an ecosystem can be thought of as a conduit through which energy passes, with many or few transformations of energy/matter during its trip through the conduit. The interesting question is what happens in the conduit. Organization matters •Desert – energy passage is swift and simple leaving little traces of its passage •In the forest, energy flow is anything but swift and simple, because of the diverse and roundabout way that the system’s web of teeming, interdependent organisms uses energy. • Debeljak, 2004 Thermal radiation from different biomes – the forest captures and utilizes more of the energy, with it creating complex and diverse structures. One major barrier is the dominant idea in mainstream science now – to treat the fundamental working unit of Nature as a “mechanism” – we have turned the world into the machine we have pictured it to be. The suite of systemic problems listed above – showing a world and natural life support ecosystems literally “running out of gas” and “breaking down” in myriad ways – is not typical behavior of natural living systems. On the contrary, natural living systems normally self–organize continually and self–repair after disturbance. They grow, develop and improve in environmental quality over time (O2 atmosphere, O3 layer, soils, water purification, etc.) These demonstrate the normal behavior of healthy Life systems is a win–win where life and environment both improve over time. http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/successn/images/index1a.jpg Life-environment interactions are self-organizing, self-regulating, and self-enhancing: They make the overall conditions better for life as evidence in the greater complexity, diversity, and total energy utilization Ecosystem Homeostasis: Evidence that led James Lovelock to Gaia Hypothesis Comparison of systems: Natural, Agriculture, Urban How big are the input-output flows? Are the inputs renewable? Are the outputs renewable (able to be used by others)? Natural ecosystems are self-organizing, self-sufficient, and self-sustaining Inputs are renewable Inputs are small since the evolved mechanisms for holding onto materials Outputs have use by others in the ecosystem Agricultural and Urban are managed for specific purposes Inputs are often largely nonrenewable Inputs are large to meet the specific end Outputs are large in terms of products and waste Environment, Power, and Society (1971) HT Odum Role of thermodynamics and energetics in human society Ways of farming meat Pastureland Ways of farming meat Rangeland Ways of farming meat Factory farming Google maps/satellite Dalhart, Texas URBAN SYSTEM BOUNDARIES Open system with connections and dependencies on the countryside A. City as system Inputs: air, water, food, fuels, raw materials, people Outputs: waste heat, finished goods, ideas, wastewater, solid wastes, air pollutants “Systems theory is, strictly speaking, not a theory of systems, but of system-environment distinctions.” Urban System ITS – industry Dom – domestic Ene – energy production W&S – water and soil Con – construction Agr – agriculture Loc – local environment Dis – distal environment Chen S, Chen B, & Fath BD. 2014. Environmental Pollution 190, 139-149 Metabolic Network tracking of carbon flows in Vienna, Austria is used to analyze that the major emission sectors (Agriculture, Domestic, and Industry) are most impacted by indirect transfer through the Energy and Construction sectors. This indirect flow analysis allows one to make more effective reduction strategies. Quantitative analysis of urban metabolism: nutrients and water Urban Metabolic Nitrogen model of Beijing Network model of the nitrogen metabolic processes in Beijing’s urban ecosystem Direct Nitrogen Flows Indirect Nitrogen Flows Importance of indirect flows Metabolic Network tracking of nitrogen flows in Beijing is used to analyze that the major emission sectors were dominated by indirect flows (Animal Husbandry, Crop Cultivation, Sewage Treatment, Surface Water, Atmosphere, and Forest). Water network model of Beijing Zhang et al. 2011. Science of Tot. Env. “Trophic” water structure of Beijing • Holistic interactions between sectors Conclusions from urban metabolism •Cities, obviously, depend on exogenous energy resources • •Urban energetic trophic structure mostly inverted •Additional energy recovery systems needed • •Households and industry always in competition for final demand energy • •Energy efficiency improvements can help but more importantly are how the energy networks are formed and maintained. Key feature is forming and maintaining self-sustaining cycles