Synonyms
Definition
Ecosystems: Basic units of nature within which living organisms continually interact with non-life forms, whose boundaries are arbitrary, and which exist in “dynamic equilibrium.”
Ecosystem services: A way of thinking about the benefits provided to humans and other species by nature; examples range from obvious (oxygen, food, water) to subtle (regulation of the carbon cycle) and psychological (aesthetic beauty). Sometimes called “nature’s services.”
Biodiversity: Abundance of biological variety.
EcoHealth: A term that indicates linkages between human and ecological well-being.
Sustainability: A debate exists concerning the definition of “sustainability” (or its earlier formulation “permanence”). One pole is anthropocentric (humans first), the other is biocentric (life in its basic form first). A formulation that many would consider anthropocentric is “capacity to meet long-term human needs enduring over many generations.” In...
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References and Further Reading
Berkes, F., Kislalioglu, M., Folke, C., & Gadgil, M. (1998). Exploring the basic ecological unit: Ecosystem-like concepts in traditional societies. Ecosystems, 1, 409–415.
Buck, S. J. (1985). No tragedy on the commons. Environmental Ethics, 7(Spring), 49–61.
Butler, C. D. (2008). Human health and forests: An overview. In C. J. P. Colfer (Ed.), Human health and forests: A global overview of issues, practice and policy (pp. 13–33). London: Earthscan.
Chivian, E., & Bernstein, A. (Eds.). (2008). Sustaining life. How human health depends on biodiversity. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Daly, H. (1996). Beyond growth. Boston: Beacon.
Danielsen, F., Beukema, H., Burgess, N. D., Parish, F., Brühl, C. A., Donald, P. F., et al. (2008). Biofuel plantations on forested lands: Double jeopardy for biodiversity and climate. Conservation Biology, 23(2), 348–358.
Fauth, J. E. (1997). Working toward operational definitions in ecology: Putting the system back into ecosystem. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 78(4), 295–297.
Gillson, L. (2006). A “large infrequent disturbance” in an East African savanna. African Journal of Ecology 44, 458–467.
Keesing, F., Belden, L. K., Daszak, P., Dobson, A., Harvell, C. D., Holt, R. D., et al. (2010). Impacts of biodiversity on the emergence and transmission of infectious diseases. Nature, 468, 647–652.
Leopold, A. (1949). A sand country almanac. With essays on conservation from Round River. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Louv, R. (2008). Last child in the woods. New York: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
Lovelock, J. (2009). The vanishing face of Gaia, a final warning. London: Allen Lane.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. (2003). Ecosystems and human well-being. A framework for assessment. Washington, DC: Island Press.
Ramakrishnan, P., Saxena, K., & Chandrashekara, U. (1998). Conserving the sacred: For biodiversity management. New Delhi/Oxford: UNESCO/IBH.
Soskolne, C. L., Westra, L., Kotzé, L., Mackey, B., Rees, W., & Westra, R. R. (Eds.). (2008). Sustaining life on earth. Environmental and human health through global governance. Lanham: Lexington Books, a Division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Tansley, A. (1935). The use and abuse of vegetational concepts and terms. Ecology, 16, 284–307.
Wilcox, B. A., Aguirre, A. A., & Horwitz, P. (2011). EcoHealth: Connecting ecology, health and sustainability. In A. A. Aguirre, R. Ostfeld, et al. (Eds.), Conservation medicine (2nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Wilson, E. O. (1984). Biophilia. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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Butler, C.D., Soskolne, C.L. (2019). Ecosystems, Stable and Sustainable. In: Gellman, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1394-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1394-2
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Ecosystems, Stable and Sustainable- Published:
- 22 May 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1394-3
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Ecosystems, Stable and Sustainable- Published:
- 13 September 2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1394-2