Biosphere services and the significance of biosphere protection

From the appearance of life on Earth, the area of species constituting the biosphere and the species and quantitative composition of communities have been changing continuously. Earlier the transformation of the living world of geohistorical level could have been observed as a natural phenomenon, but effects attributable to human activity had an increasing role in the changes taking place in the last few thousand years. Among the anthropogenic impacts on our environment one of the most debated and most significant is the issue of climate change. (Hufnagel and Sipkay 2012, Harnos et al. 2008)

Climate change undoubtedly has a significant impact on natural ecological systems and through these it also affects social and economical processes. For today it has become an accepted fact that our social and economical life relies on limited natural resources and enjoys the most diverse benefits of ecosystems („ecosystem services”). Thus ecosystems can’t be considered as a single sector among others, since they are interlinked with most of the sectors due to ecosystem services. Global changes primarily affect our life through the alterations experienced in these sectors. (Hufnagel and Sipkay 2012, Harnos et al. 2008) 

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Global changes affect numerous sectors via „ecosystem services”, eventually exerting an impact on social welfare (based on Czúcz et al. 2007)

Direct and indirect effects of climate change could have been already observed in the past decades on terrestrial and maritime ecosystems – on the levels of individuals, populations, species, ecosystem composition and functions as well. When examining at least 20-year long data series of more than 500 taxa, statistically significant correlation can be shown between temperature and the change of a biological-physical parameter of the given species. Research have shown phenological, morphological, physiological and behavioural changes of taxa, alterations in the frequencies of epidemics and damages caused by pests, shifts in areas of species and other indirect effects.

Possible impacts of climate change on natural or nearly natural ecosystems and the responses, reactions of communities are even less known than in case of cultivated agricultural systems which had been studied in greater detail. This is due to the greater complexity of near-natural ecosystems.

Ecological system incorporates living organisms, the inanimate environment and represents their connections on a basis of a systematic approach (KALAPOS, 2007). The operation of each community level ecological system is influenced by the abiotic environment and the biotic factors. Abiotic environment comprises inanimate ecological factors which can be separated into edaphic (physical and chemical characteristics of the soil), topographic (elevation above sea level, inclination etc.) and climatic factors (MOSER & PÁLMAI, 1992).

Biotic factors mean the interrelations of organisms (interactions among producer, consumer and decomposer organisms) and anthropogenic impacts can have a direct or indirect appearance. Direct impacts are when the physical, chemical and biological conditions are affected, and the indirect impact is the effect exerted on the living organisms (e.g. deforestation).

The dynamic unit of habitat and community is called ecosystem or biogeocoenosis that has a determined energy circulation. Ecosystem is a relatively stable spatial-temporal system. Since its components can be changed and altered, it is called an open system. Biosphere is the highest level ecosystem, the common part of the three geospheres (lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere) where organisms are living.

All ecosystems are characterized by a given species composition and number of individuals. An ecosystem has not only a spatial area (biotope) but also a temporal variability, which means the ecosystem is in a biological equilibrium. Among the species present in an ecosystem, competition starts for the resources. According to the principle of competitive exclusion and limiting similarity, only those species can live together which have a different ecological place, niche (HUTCHINSON 1957, HARDIN 1960). Niche means a recess in a wall, so it can be interpreted that the living space for different populations is separated by imaginary niches created by the resources. Two populations with the same niche cannot live in a longer term at the same spatial location beside each other. Depending on the state of realization, two kinds of niche are differentiated: one of them is the fundamental (possible) and the other is the realized (attained) ecological status. Fundamental niche means the place that is occupied exclusively by the given population in the multidimensional ecological space. When the resources actually available in the environment of the population are considered, the realized niche is obtained. Realized niche is always smaller than fundamental, since environmental limiting conditions force the population to give up the perfect satisfaction of one or more environmental needs. (PÁSZTOR & MESZÉNA, 2007)

Ecosystems have an important role in the operation of the biosphere. Ecosystem services are those activities that the beneficial effects of which are enjoyed by humanity. Based on their method of operation, these services can be divided into several groups (MEA, 2005):

  • Provisioning services: ecosystems participate in the production of various products (e.g. food, water, wood, fibres, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products).
  • Regulating services: ecological services have an important regulatory role in the biosphere encompassing climate regulation, carbon sequestration, water and air purification and restoration of the impacts of disasters.
  • Cultural services: provide aesthetic, spiritual, recreational experiences.
  • Supporting services: important tasks of ecosystems incorporate facilitating primary and secondary production, maintaining biodiversity and circulation of minerals, soil formation. This kind of services is not directly perceived by humankind in contrast with the three other roles mentioned above. The relations between supporting services of ecosystems and ecophysiological properties of plants can be seen below:

Ecophysiological properties of plants

Role of ecosystem

Photosynthesis, respiration and transpiration

Net ecosystem change of CO2 and H2O

Spatial distribution of carbon (above or under land surface), competition between species, symbiotic relations

Distribution of ecosystems flows

Growth, ageing, defoliation

Carbon source and sink

Mineral substances, climate, life-form, plant functional types, phenology, canopy structure, succession

Spatial and temporal variation inside and between ecosystems

Relations between the ecophysiology of plants and the services of ecosystems (BUCHMANN, 2002)

Since the birth of life, Earth has undergone several smaller and greater changes of climate. Based on paleontological and paleoecological research it is seen probable that phenomena related to the change of climate acted in the separation of geologic eras and periods. Ongoing research cast a light upon the fact that global climate change observed in the last century severely endangers a significant part of current species. The most important difference between the current and past changes of climate is the time-scale of the change. Compared to current change in climate, changes in the past took place some magnitudes slower. Decrease of biodiversity can be characterized by the number of extinct species in a given period, the so-called extinction rate of species. Current acceleration of processes is indicated by the fact that this rate is 50-100-fold of the natural background extinction rate.

It is not obvious to everyone whether the decrease of biodiversity really causes significant losses to humankind or not. Current public perception states that the value of something is determined by how much people would pay for it. Traditional economical approach is prone to underestimate the value of natural resources, thus mostly neglects the price of environmental destruction and the exhausting of natural resources. Environmental economics solves this problem by translating different aspects of assessments of biological diversity (climate regulation, water retention, ecological self-regulation) into the language of economics.

By applying the methods of environmental economics it is possible to quantify the values of such services as the climate regulating role of ecosystems, or the role of montane forests in water retention and decreasing the extent of floods. Furthermore, important aspects are the indirect use values of natural habitats and communities, and potential values regarding possible future use. 

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Global map of value of ecosystem services (Costanza et al. 1997). Colour code represents the estimated value of ecosystems. The same code applies to the European and Hungarian ecosystem service value maps.

When analysing the possibility of a global climate change tendency and its expected impacts it must be clearly seen that human society is a part of the biosphere. It cannot be separated from the biosphere (or from the services provided by the biosphere); otherwise it becomes incapable of living. It is known that the services of the biosphere are available only in a limited quantity, natural resources are finite. Biosphere services are jointly provided by interacting communities of organisms (biomes, associations) living in different habitats. Volume of a service provided by a community depends on the type of the community and it is proportionate to its spatial extension (area). Through the processes of the global ecosystem (bio-geochemical cycles, global atmospheric circulation, etc.) the impact of the damage or destruction of a given community exerts its effects on the whole human society. Thus the local damages and their impacts emerge through a complex ecologic chain of effects in a spatially and temporally diffuse way, often quite far from the spot where the original damage was caused.

From the aspect of environmental protection climate change is the most important element of globally changing processes. Instead of the currently prevailing „in situ conservation” (conserving current ecological conditions in present habitats) the aim of environment protection could only be the conservation of operability, self-regulating capacity and biological diversity of biosphere. This can be achieved through inhibiting destructive anthropogenic effects and actively supporting natural adaptation processes of ecological systems.

To solve the problem, active protection work based on eco-engineering can’t be avoided. This work can be divided basically into two subtasks:

  • facilitating the formation of such natural and near-natural communities which are adapted to the changing climate of Hungary,
  • securing an escape path for communities currently living in Hungary but unable to adapt to the changing ecological conditions.

The primary aim on the present nature conservation areas of Hungary is the more effective elimination of damaging effects unrelated to climate (disturbance, pollution, fragmentation …), but structural rearrangements occurring due to changing climate and spontaneous settling of new species must not be inhibited. However, this in itself is quite far from sufficient. It is also crucial that formation of near-natural communities already adapted to our climate in other locations should be facilitated with active colonization on areas removed from other cultivation types under agricultural classification. This effort can be supported by the method of geographical analogy which makes it possible to find current analogues of the future climate of Hungary. The flora and fauna and natural vegetation types and soils should be taken as examples and considered as a source of propagula. (These areas can be found mostly to the South from Hungary, on the Balkan Peninsula.) The second aim is the conservation of species unable to adapt which can also be done by finding areas based on geographical analogy and translocation, but the goal in this case is to find those areas the future climate of which is identical to the historic or present climate of Hungary. (Most of these areas can be found in Poland.) Realization of these active environmental protection interventions can only be done with the international cooperation of environment protection authorities which necessitates the application of tools and methods of diplomacy and international law.

Apparent interests of different human activities and sectors might interfere which necessitates the financial quantification of possible effects and consequences. This task is supported by the tools of environmental economics that are suitable to quantify, monetize the value of biosphere services. These tools might also prove useful in enhancing forestations with climate protection purposes, translocation projects with environment protection purposes, removal of lands from intensive cultivation, or establishment of agricultural production being in accordance with ecological conditions.

References

Costanza, R., d’Arge, R., de Groot, R., Farber, S. (1997): The value of the word’s ecosystem services and natural capital. – Nature, 387:253-260.
Czúcz, B., Kröel-Dulay Gy., Rédei T., Botta-Dukát Z., Molnár Zs. (2007): Éghajlatváltozás és biológiai sokféleség. Kutatási jelentés MTA ÖBKI, Vácrátót
Hardin, G. (1960): The competitive exclusion principle. Science 131: 1292-1297.
Harnos, Zs., Gaál, M., Hufnagel, L. (szerk) (2008): Klímaváltozásról mindenkinek – Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem, Budapest. (1-197 oldal) ISBN 978-963-503-384-3
Hufnagel L, Sipkay Cs (szerk) (2012): A klímaváltozás hatása ökológiai folyamatokra és közösségekre – Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem, Budapest (1-530 oldal) ISBN 978-963-503-511-3
Hutchinson, G. E. (1957): Concluding remarks. Cold Spring Harbour Symposia on Quantitative Biology 22: 415-427.
Kalapos T. (2007): Anyag- és energiaáramlások, az ökológiai rendszer szerveződése 338-363. In: Pásztor E., Oborny B.: Ökológia. Budapest. Nemzeti Tankönyvkiadó
Moser M., Pálmai Gy. (1992): A környezetvédelem alapjai, Nemzeti Tankönyvkiadó, Budapest
MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005): Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis, Island Press, Washington, DC.
Pásztor E., Meszéna G. (2007a): Versengés és együttélés 100-123. In: Pásztor E., Oborny B.: Ökológia, Nemzeti Tankönyvkiadó, Budapest

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Utolsó frissítés: 2014 11. 13.