A New Theoretical Approach to Ecosystem Concept as a Differential of the Biosphere

Abstract

The concept of the ecosystems has been accepted as the paradigm of ecology since the late 1960’s, but it is often regarded as obvious and trivial, especially by newcomers to the field with no biological background. There is, in addition, a growing tendency for the concept to be oversimplified, vulgarized or abused in real world applications. Some authors go so far as to treat the ecosystem concept as essentially dimensionless, and equally applicable to systems as diverse as a drop of water from a lake, a 1 m² hammock in a swamp, a 0.01 ha meadow plot, a 1 ha pasture, a 100 ha forested area, etc. up to landscapes, regions, continents and oceans, and even to the whole biosphere. The methodological volume of the IGBP states: “The term ecosystem is used as a general term for any interactive, ecological unit, generally involving a set of functionally different biological entities and a dynamic abiotic environment. This term by itself does not connote any specific dimensions” (1).