We can distinguish at least two major directions in understanding the term “geoecology”, the subject, goals and objectives of this science: 1. Geoecology is considered as the ecology of the geological environment. With this approach, geoecology studies the natural connections (direct and reverse) of the geological environment with other components of the natural environment - the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, evaluates the impact of human economic activity in all its diverse manifestations and is considered as a science at the intersection of geology, geochemistry, biology and ecology . 2. Geoecology is interpreted as a science that studies the interaction of geographical, biological (ecological) and social-production systems. In this case, geoecology studies the ecological aspects of environmental management, issues of the relationship between man and nature, and is characterized by the active use of systemic and synergetic paradigms and an evolutionary approach. Here geoecology is considered as a science at the intersection of geography and ecology. There are a number of other views on geoecology. Thus, different interpretations can be distinguished depending on what science (geography or ecology) the author takes as the basis of geoecology. A number of authors consider geoecology as ecologized geography, studying the adaptation of the economy to the surrounding landscape . Others are part of ecology, which examines the consequences of interactions between biotic and abiotic components. Many scientists consider geoecology to be the result of modern development and synthesis of a number of sciences: geographical, geological, soil and others. These authors advocate a broad understanding of geoecology as an integral science of ecological orientation that studies the patterns of functioning of anthropogenically modified ecosystems at a high level of organization.
5* Understanding of geoecology in geographical and geological approaches
Geological approach is key, but not the main one. The problems were developed within the framework of geoecology. Result-ecological geology, the object is a set of geospheres. The composition of the main environmental object includes: - geosphere, lithobiosphere, lithosphere, underground part of the technosphere. The geological environment is an object of geological ecology, as it is in relationship with the technosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. Tasks of the geological stage: 1.study of the geological environment, 2. Identification of dangerous processes of a natural and man-made nature that may threaten society and structures. Item: ecological functions and properties of the ecological environment. Geology is the field of study of the laws of the lithosphere and geosphere, revealing the role of the earth's external geospheres and predominant human activities. Geological ecology: ecogeochemistry, ecogeomorphology, ecogeodynamics. Geographical approach. Geographers have the first information about geoecology. Karl Troll coined the term “geoecology” in 1939. Geographers were the first to include natural landscapes as objects of study. Geographical science has formed the prerequisites for geoecology: 1. Geography of natural ecosystems and biogeography study the patterns of functioning of systems at various levels. The result is the identification of environmental patterns of geographical zones. 2. Geographers often use environmental assessments and approaches when expanding the links between socio-economic development and environmental issues. 3. study of medicine, geography of diseases caused by changes in the state of wasps and geochemical characteristics of natural and man-made systems 4. geoecology studies modern landscapes, has a connection with landscape ecology, but the ultimate goal is the task of optimizing natural resources. 5. Geoecology is a continuation of the concept of constructive geography.
Concept and history of geoecology
Definition 1
Geoecology is one of the young interdisciplinary environmental sciences that studies the most global, territorially, patterns of functioning of ecosystems and the biosphere as a whole, of a natural and anthropogenic nature.
It was formed during the period of the so-called second expansion of the subject of ecology, i.e. around the beginning of the second half of the last century. The formation of geoecology was determined by the synthesis of classical ecology, geography and nature conservation; subsequently, the concept of the latter as an independent scientific discipline became less and less popular, and by the end of the last century it almost disappeared, merging with ecology. At the present stage, geography and ecology are acquiring an important applied ability to predict the transformation of nature on the surface of the Earth (mainly as a result of human activity), to propose solutions that mitigate the negative impact of humans on nature.
However, passion for applied aspects of ecology often comes to the detriment of theoretical research and leads to a change in the very subject of ecology towards its convergence with the Earth sciences. As a result, bioecology, which originally constituted all ecology as a whole, is now beginning to be perceived as only one, and far from the main, branch of environmental science.
Note 1
In the process of development of geoecology, its subject has undergone noticeable changes. In particular, if at the end of the 70s geoecology was considered mainly the study of the natural energy and material budget of the landscape, and the methodology of this direction was a detailed quantitative and qualitative study of substance cycles, then in the 80s the content of this science expanded significantly.
Among the central concepts of geoecology is the term “natural environment,” which is understood as a complex of geoenvelopes of the Earth that exists in a state of relative thermodynamic equilibrium. The structure of this complex includes near outer space, the earth's atmosphere, the World Ocean, the internal hydrosphere, the cryosphere and the active layer of the lithosphere.
Nowadays, geoecology is a complex science that studies predominantly irreversible processes and phenomena that occur under the influence of intense anthropogenic impact in the natural environment and biosphere, resulting, in addition, from near and distant consequences of the anthropogenic factor.
The main attention is paid to the spatiotemporal aspect of environmental research.
Main tasks of geoecology
The range of tasks of geoecological science includes:
- Studying the sources of anthropogenic influence on the natural environment and biosphere, the intensity of the anthropogenic factor and the spatiotemporal features of its manifestation;
- Creation and optimization of special geographic information systems to ensure continuous monitoring of the state of the natural environment (biosphere), based on an integrated monitoring system;
- Study of quantitative indicators of pollution and destruction of the main components of the global ecosystem and all geospheres of the Earth, constant and widespread monitoring of their dynamics;
- Assessing the anthropogenic load on natural landscapes, which determines the possibility of their functioning as ecosystems, developing and implementing standardization and regulation of loads on ecosystems at various hierarchical levels of organization, studying the response of the biosphere as an integral system to anthropogenic processes of various origins;
- Assessment, forecasting and modeling of the results of anthropogenic impacts, manifested in the transformation of the state of ecosystem components from regional to global levels, as well as in changes in the intensity and direction of the processes of heat, mass and energy balance of global ecosystems on various time scales;
- Study of the stability of the geological environment under conditions of anthropogenic impact;
- Development of recommendations for preserving the integrity of the natural environment and biosphere by optimizing anthropogenic activities and regulating the scale of resource consumption.
The origin of geoecology is associated with the name of the German geographer K. Troll, who back in the 30s of the last century understood it as one of the branches of natural science, combining environmental and geographical research in the study of ecosystems. In his opinion, the terms “geoecology” and “landscape ecology” are synonymous. In Russia, the widespread use of the term “geoecology” began in the 1970s, after it was mentioned by the famous Soviet geographer V.B. Sochavoy. As a separate science, it finally took shape in the early 1990s of the twentieth century.
However, this term has not yet received a clear and generally accepted definition; the subject and tasks of geoecology are also formulated in different ways, often very heterogeneously. In the most general case, they come down mainly to the study of negative anthropogenic impacts on the natural environment.
Within the broad concept of “geoecology” there are many very diverse scientific areas and practical problems. Due to the fact that geoecology covers diverse aspects of the interaction between society and nature, there are different interpretations of its subject, object and content, the range of issues of geoecological research has not been defined, and there is no generally accepted methodology and terminological base.
We can distinguish at least two major directions in the understanding of the term “geoecology”, in the vision of the subject, goals and objectives of this science:
- Geoecology is considered as the ecology of the geological environment, while the terms “geoecology” and “ecological geology” are considered synonyms. With this approach, geoecology studies the natural connections (direct and reverse) of the geological environment with other components of the natural environment - the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, evaluates the impact of human economic activity in all its diverse manifestations and is considered as a science at the intersection of geology, geochemistry, and ecology. At the same time, the ecological functions of the lithosphere (the concept was introduced by V.T. Trofimov and D.G. Ziling in 1994) mean the whole variety of functions that determine and reflect the role and significance of the lithosphere, including groundwater, oil, gases, geophysical fields and flowing in it are geological processes, in the life support of the biota and, mainly, the human community.
- Geoecology is interpreted as a science that studies the interaction of geographical, biological (ecological) and social-production systems. In this case, geoecology studies the ecological aspects of environmental management, issues of the relationship between man and nature, and is characterized by the active use of systemic and synergetic paradigms and an evolutionary approach. Here geoecology is considered as a science at the intersection of geography and ecology.
There are a number of other views on geoecology. Thus, different interpretations can be distinguished depending on what science (geography, geology, geochemistry or ecology) the author takes as the basis of geoecology. A number of authors consider geoecology as an ecologized geography that studies the adaptation of an economy to the surrounding landscape. Others are part of geochemistry, which studies the effects of interactions between biotic and abiotic components.
Many scientists consider geoecology to be the result of modern development and synthesis of a number of sciences: geographical, geological, soil and others. These authors advocate a broad understanding of geoecology as an integral science of ecological orientation that studies the patterns of functioning of anthropogenically modified ecosystems at a high level of organization.
The extensive development of industry in the second half of the twentieth century led to intensive accumulation of chemical elements in the near-surface part of the lithosphere in concentrations not typical for the environment of living organisms. The problem of their diagnosis and identification was successfully solved in the collective work of the Institute of Mineralogy, Geochemistry and Crystal Chemistry of Rare Elements (IMGRE). Simultaneously with this school, approaches to diagnosing and ranking anomalies in the deficiency of vital elements in the soil-plant system were developed in Russia. The leading role in the development of this direction belongs to the team of the GEOKHI RAS. V.I. Vernadsky and employees of his regional centers. In the works of V.V. Kovalsky, V.V. Ermakov, M.A. Risha, B.A. Aidarkhanova, A.M. Khakimova. and others, much attention is paid to the study and mapping of biogeochemical provinces of biophilic deficiency and imbalance, i.e. vital elements. The leading parameters for diagnosing the quality of lithogeochemical anomalies are biogeochemical indicators, including biosubstrates of plants and animals. School of Ecological and Geochemical Research, Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov is represented by the works of creative teams led by N.S. Kasimov, (urban areas), I.A. Avsalomova (mining regions), N.P. Solntseva (oil-producing regions), etc., the main basis for constructing ecological-geochemical maps is the doctrine of landscape geochemistry. A series of calculated indicators reflecting the intensity of migration in the soil-plant system are widely used. The variety of approaches to ecological and geochemical assessments of territories, on the one hand, made it possible to develop a basis for complex research, and on the other hand, at the present stage, it began to introduce a certain dissonance in the joining and comparison of the results obtained by various creative teams. An analysis of the modern criteria base indicates the need for active implementation of the methodology of various natural science schools into the practice of ecological and geochemical research. Only their integrated use makes it possible to objectively identify the entire range of geochemical environmental risk factors that reduce the comfort of an area for the existence of an ecosystem and human habitation.
- a branch of science that studies the interaction between humans and the environment, but this definition was not immediately formed. The term " geoecology"was first introduced into geography in 1966 by the German scientist K. Troll.
A separate existence sciences – geoecology dates back to the early nineties of the 20th century. Despite the lack of a generally accepted clear definition of this term, all variations of the wording are geoecology boil down to the negative impact of anthropogenic impacts on the natural environment.
The concept " geoecology"includes a large number of diverse scientific areas and practical problems. This is due to the fact that geoecology examines various aspects of the interaction between nature and society, and from the many directions two main ones can be distinguished:
- , as the ecology of the geological environment. This approach makes it possible to study the patterns of connections between the geological environment and its natural components - the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and also to assess the impact of various human activities. This direction is considered from the point of view of biology, geology, geochemistry, and ecology.
- , as a science that studies the interaction of systems: biological, geographical, social and industrial. This is the direction geoecology examines issues of environmental management, the relationship between man and nature in the form of a symbiosis of geography and ecology.
The problem of geoecology consists in finding an acceptable and reasonable compromise for categories that are constantly in conflict, such as nature, population, production.
Problems of geoecology
Global geoecological problems are a consequence of changes in the external appearance of the Earth due to active human activity. The modern period is characterized by a significant intensity of human impact, if we evaluate the scale and depth of changes in landscapes and natural components. Human influence on nature and the processes occurring in it and landscapes is manifested in the movement of huge masses, disruption of the heat and water regime of surrounding areas, migration of chemical elements and biological balance. For example, hundreds of billions of tons of rocks are mined from the depths of the Earth every year, the atmosphere loses 16 billion tons of oxygen, economic and domestic needs require more than 3.5 thousand cubic meters of water, more than 9 billion tons of bioproducts are produced.
Here are some geoecological facts for 2012:
Frightening
- The world's population increases by 9,100 people every hour, which requires significant raw material resources.
- Intensive development of agriculture has led to the deforestation of 80% of the tropical forest areas of the entire planet.
- More than 43% of the Earth's ice-free surface has been transformed due to anthropogenic activities (construction, industry, agriculture, etc.).
- The Intergovernmental Committee studying climate change predicts that by 2030, more than 3.9 billion people on the planet will experience acute shortages of water, and by 2050 their number will exceed 2/3 of the world's population.
- Over the past forty years, the number of vertebrate animal populations has decreased by almost a third. Such frightening figures were the result of studying the size of just over 9,000 populations of 2,688 species of birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.
- Water resources around the world are actively used by humans. And out of 177 rivers, the length of which is more than 1000 kilometers, only one third is not spoiled by hydraulic structures.
- Employees of the Economic Cooperation Organization noted in their report that by 2050, humanity will receive most of its energy (85%) from fossil fuels, and greenhouse gas emissions will increase by 50%.
- Russia has even surpassed Nigeria in the world ranking for associated gas flaring and irrational use of natural resources. Russia's share is one third of the annual flaring of associated natural gas. This is about 15 billion cubic meters, worth 20 billion US dollars.
- Since 1970, the area covered by Arctic ice has decreased by 13% every decade.
- The Potsdam Institute has published data that the annual rise in sea level, according to research, is 3.2 millimeters.
Encouraging
- Renewable energy sources in Scotland provide a third of the country's energy needs.
- By 2027, the European Union, actively developing the area of alternative energy, plans to increase the share of energy generated from alternative sources to 20%.
- The Russian North is an untouched protected area and continues to remain a “world ecological reserve” and a “civilization reserve.” Anthropogenic changes in the territory of the North range from 3 to 10%.
- University of Vermont specialist Austin Troy has established a relationship between green space and crime in the city of Baltimore. The study found that increasing the area of green urban areas by 12% leads to a decrease in crime.
Encouraging and frightening data are far from complete, and, probably, there is no point in listing the entire list of negative factors of human influence on the environment. Much more important for future generations is the second list, which can prove to the inhabitants of the planet that the time of reckless, spontaneous use of the planet’s resources has already passed. Nature management can be carried out using scientific methods geoecology, taking into account the complex processes that occur in the natural environment without or with human participation. Since we are an integral part of nature and have an increasingly stronger impact on it, the rational use and protection of natural resources is a relevant environmental direction.
1.2. Basic concepts and definitions in geoecology
The existence and various types of human activities take place on Earth within the so-called environment. Under environment, which is more correctly called environment surrounding a person, It is customary to understand a system of interconnected natural and anthropogenic objects in which people’s work, life and recreation take place. This concept includes natural, social and artificially created phenomena, different in purpose and scale, directly or indirectly affecting human life. Environmental factors are divided into natural (natural) and artificial (anthropogenic or man-made).
The most important component of the environment is natural environment, uniting the four geospheres of the Earth. Under geospheres understand more or less regular concentric layers covering the entire Earth, varying with depth and having characteristic physical, chemical and biological properties. Geospheres are divided into external and internal. The external ones include the atmosphere and surface hydrosphere, the internal ones include the underground hydrosphere, the earth's crust, mantle and core. The Earth's crust and upper mantle make up the lithosphere, which also belongs to the internal geospheres. The atmosphere, hydrosphere and upper lithosphere form biosphere- complex discontinuous shell of the Earth, which is the habitat biotas - living "matter" of the planet. With the term “biosphere”, introduced into science by the Australian geologist E. Suess in 1875 and widely used by V.I. Vernadsky [Z], the term is closely related "ecosphere" Y. Odum (1971), who defined it as the sphere of activity of living organisms and their environment. Many scientists consider bio- and ecosphere synonymous. The use of the term "ecosphere", in their opinion, is inappropriate.
The biosphere, in turn, is divided into a number of ecosystems (or geoecosystems).
Ecosystem is called any community of living organisms and its habitat combined into a functional whole. The size of ecosystems can vary from microecosystems (for example, the trunk of a rotting tree) to the global ecosystem, which, in fact, includes the biosphere.
The term “ecosystem” was introduced into ecology by the English geobotanist L. Teneli in 1935. The most important among ecosystems is considered biogeocenosis - a single interdependent natural complex, which is a collection of plants, animals and microorganisms with the corresponding area of the earth's surface - biotope.
Thus, biogeocenosis- this is a combination of biotic and abiotic factors - biocenosis and biotope (Fig. 1.1). In this case, a biotope is understood as an area of the earth’s surface characterized by the homogeneity of geological structure, microclimate, water regime, topography and soil cover.
In accordance with other definitions of biogeocenosis, the focus is on a homogeneous area of the earth's surface with a certain composition of living (biocenosis) and inert (soil, etc.) components and dynamic interactions between them.
Many researchers consider the terms “ecosystem” and “biogeocenosis” as synonyms. Moreover, “ecosystem” is more often used by American, and “biogeocenosis” by European and Russian researchers.
Thus, the natural environment includes the biosphere with ecosystems (biogeocenoses), atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere.
The geospheres listed above represent the natural shells of the Earth.
Rice. 1.1 Scheme of biogeocenosis
(Landscape protection. - M.: Progress, 1982)
In addition to them, there is also an artificial (anthropogenic) or technogenic “shell” - technosphere, a human-created habitat that is part of the biosphere. The technosphere is considered as a material part of the social system – sociosphere, interacting with the natural environment. Within the technosphere there are economic (natural-technical, geotechnical, technical) systems, combining material and technical means of production and related activities, as well as technological processes. Such economic systems are industry, agriculture, construction, housing and communal services, etc.
The biosphere is transformed into a qualitatively new state - the noosphere, or the sphere of mind. Noosphere acts as a special shell of the Earth in which the activities of human society are manifested.
Noosphere reflects the spiritual life of society and, according to some scientists, represents the second (the first is the technosphere) part of the sociosphere.
Man's influence on the state of environmental components increased as his technical equipment improved and his needs increased. The first law on environmental protection was issued by the English king Edward IV in 1273, prohibiting the heating of London houses with coal, because. a lot of soot was formed. In 1388, a law was issued to protect the river. Thames within the city. In the 16th century, the first geographical maps of the Moscow state already contained information about the shallowing of rivers that arose as a result of clearing forests and plowing up floodplains. The Marine Regulations, approved by Peter I in 1718, prohibited throwing garbage into rivers or leaving it on ice. At the same time, the position of observer for water purity at shipyards was approved. In 1773 N.I. Novikov publishes the book “Ancient Russian Hydrography”, where he significantly clarifies the information on the transformation of the Russian hydraulic network. XVIII - XIX centuries - the time of the beginning of the scientific and technological revolution of mankind. The basic laws of mechanics and electricity were discovered. Prominent scientists of that time, Vic d. Azir, J. Lamarck and others, drew the attention of mankind to the degradation processes recorded in nature. A. Humboldt writes about the global impact of man on the environment in his famous work “Cosmos”. In 1876, E. Reclus introduced the concept of “geographical environment,” by which he means space that is influenced by human activity. In 1866, Haeckel first put forward the term “ecology” as the science of the relationship of an organism with its external environment. In Ukraine, in 1910, the first “Society for Nature Conservation” was formed. In the works of K. Marx, F. Engels, V.I. Lenin outlines the foundations of a dialectical-materialist understanding of the relationship between society and nature. In 1918, the law on forests of the RSFSR was adopted. It reflects the main environmental provisions. In 1921, the decree “On the protection of natural monuments, gardens and parks” was adopted.
In 1927, French scientists E. Leroy and P. Gaillard introduced the concept "noosphere".
Let us dwell briefly on the content and essence of the concept of “noosphere”, and also try to determine its methodological significance and relationship with such concepts as “anthroposphere”, “sociosphere” and “technosphere”.