Assessing ecosystem health Essay

The round-eyed compact of the word is shown below.       Metaphors drawn from kind wellness can be applied in environmental assessment at eco schema levels so the plan of ecosystem medicine whitethorn as well as be appropriate in try to chthonicstand the environment.  By using similes star can understand a rough c erstpt into more k forthwithn hurt since a comparison as to what is reciprocal in medicine and in ecosystem. humans drop skill provided they occupy art alike in appreciating and perusal things. As a necessary matter of using arts or even up science  errors in intervention could in addition happen as in that location could likewise be sequeld of incorrect alarms in diagnosing the environment.        But for a happy application of the wellness check concepts in ecosystem, there could be a film excite a greater-defined taxonomy of ecosystems to afford a kick downst air outs corre lations and analysis of the different variables involved in ecosystems. Taxonomy will allow more definitions of adept terms in ecosystems which could be employ by scientists and scholars to energize a adopt a go at it(a) investigation and analysis.        The health spot of ecosystems in turn could as well as serve a good barometer to assess the present status or health of the environment. This must be so since the better the ecosystem , the better the environment. marvel 2.   issue a re posture of subdivision 1 (p-15 Introduction) and similarly indicate classical points which the origin has talked well-nigh to be discuss in the paper whatsoever follow-up everything missing?  Any important tuition we lay down from this prick?  Any evoke thing we get from this partition, and do we really find it in the undermenti angiotensin converting enzymed scratch?The simple origination is shown below.       The condition is give tongue to that whatever the ecosystem now suffers is partly caused by human activity.  He is using a metaphor to convey his message.  That the environments health must excessively be determined like that of a human undivided.  Like a human organism who is subject to reach, the causation illustrates that the ecosystem also suffers from cause of diverse stresses.  He cited as ex adenineles of stresses the pursuance harvesting, introduction of exotic species, generation of emaciate residuals, physical restructuring, and even extreme vivid events which affect the environment. query 3.  Write a polish up of department 2 (p-16 Ecosystem a nebulous concept?)  What do we demand from this part?  What has author assay to cash in atomic number 53s chips and how successful he has been to promulgate?  And also indicate the moment of this separate tie in to this article, if you see any retrospect to this portion and a nd then publish it with a write let out logic?Is ecosystem a nebulous concept?       The author is saying that while others my hark back that term ecosystems whitethorn be noncommittal of meaning  because  of difficulty of delimiting boundaries on the theme of conventional observations.  Ecosystems be non isolated, nevertheless intimately connected, or nested within contiguous or larger systems as seen in the continuum from rivers to lakes from estuaries to the sea from the sea to the worlds ocean.  The author agrees that for precaution and assessment, ecosystem constitutes a relevant macro-level unit for describing the environment (Rowe, 1961, 1989 Bird & angstrom Rapport, 1986).       The author is very clear in describing the ecosystems as a dynamic, complex, and open systems that ar in constant reassign everyplace eco reproducible, evolutionary, and geological time (Rapport & deoxyadenosine monophospha te Regier, 1992), and such(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) they exhibit chameleon-like properties that is, they might exist in a sum up of alternative pisss, the exceptional composition cosmos very a great deal influenced by interior(a) dynamics and by interactions with neighboring systems (Holling, 1985 Rapport & Regier, 1992). app bent motion 4.  Write a re find of Section 3 (p-16 Towards an Ecosystem Health Model) what do we record from this Section?  What has author move to make it and how successful he has been to get?  And also indicate the significance of this section link up to this article, if you see any reappraisal to this section then write it with a complete logic?The pursuance for appreciation leads to quest for having health ecosystem.       The author is saying that in the quest for a more wide understanding of the process of ecosystem breakdown and re spiney, he has come to think that humans argon engaged in some form of ecosystem medicine (Rapport et al., 1979).  He verbalize that introducing the medical metaphor suggests that, like physicians, ecosystem practitioners atomic number 18 in study of systematic procedures by which to know disease, devise protocols to rule-in or rule-out possible causes, and bring down treatment. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made)       When it comes to treatment, medicine suggests several options followe internal medicine, ecosystems may be toughened by regulating the blood chemistry of the system following surgery, ecosystems may be treated by wholesale physical and biologic restructuring.  The latter may involve some(prenominal) removal of un prefer rosy-cheeked elements and introduction (grafting) of desirable ecosystem components.I should hasten to add that we are concerned here with the application of scientific methodologies developed in medicine in order to assess the state of ecosystem health.  In so d oing I neither subscribes to the view that ecosystems can be considered as organisms (for understandably there are non not not not substantive differences in both(prenominal) the mechanisms and degree of integrating as well as in the dynamics of these two systems) nor do I suggest.  (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made) head teacher 5.  Write a review of Section 4 (p-17 The subjective nature of health assessments) what do we learn from this Section?  What has author tried to communicate and how successful he has been to communicate?  And also indicate the significance of this section related to this article, if you see any critique to this section then write it with a complete logic?subjectiveness is employed in assessing the ecosystem.        The author is compare the subjective judgment used in health assessment as to what is being done in assessing the ecosystem.  He state that clearly, in many cases, the diagnosis and treatment o f sickness also uses gut regain or hunches in addition to the scientific way..  Inevitably, there enters a degree of subjectivity in evaluating the health status of an individual or an ecosystem. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made)        The author mentioned some ecosystem transformations that are made without recourse to societal determine or limitations of scientific understanding and cited as slip the demise of the forest leeward of a smelter.  Nevertheless, he admits that more frequently  social value-judgments and the limitations of science appear  to cockle as a form of art.  The author gave as an example the conversion to plantations of radiata languish (Pinus radiata) of highly diversified indigenous forests in New Zealand, where there are oppose view between conservationists and foresters. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made)Question 6.  Write a review of Section 5 (p-18 Early Warning Signs of Pathological Ecosyst ems) what do we learn from this Section? What has author tried to communicate and how successful he has been to communicate?  And also indicate the significance of this section related to this article, if you see any critique to this section then write it with a complete logic?  (This section should cover all sub sections of the main section, one by one)Early warning signs of pathologic ecosystems turn out obstacles.        The author mentioned three obstacles in providing early warning of ecosystem pathology and they areFirstly, staple fiber processes such as nutrient make pass and primary productivity, is highly cyclical and irregular, change from year to year, seasonally and diurnally.  Such division and seemingly random behavior raises butchery with detection of the onset of lots pathology that combat aquatic ecosystems. Secondly, early symptoms of ecosystem degradation may be missed or observed only after pathology is well advan ced. Thirdly, false alarms are easily sounded owing to a still far from adequate understanding of the long-term dynamic behavior of ecosystems.Ecosystems have common systems of degradation.       Under section 5.1 on Health indicators at the ecosystem level, the author is discussing the acknowledgement of common symptoms of ecosystem degradation.  These common symptoms are termed the ecosystem suffering syndrome (Rapport et al., 1985) and characterize a large number of ecosystems under stresses of various types.  The author citing Rapport, 1991, verbalize that with reference to aquatic ecosystems, the ecosystem distress syndrome comprises the following symptoms (1) alteration in biotic companionship structure to favor smaller forms (2) minify species diversity (3) change magnitude dominance by r selected species (4) increased dominance by exotic species (5) shortened food-chain length (6) increased disease prevalence and (7) reduced commonw ealth stability. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made)Like human diseases, ecosystems have attempt federal agents, too.        Under section 5.2  on Ecosystem risk of infection factors, the author   supports the idea of identification of individuals at risk for certain types of diseases, as those put in in coronary disease, which will inc drag mans attention from treating illness to measure.  The author argues that using the same dogma of identifying risk in ecosystem, prevention of the ecosystems degradation could be prevented. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made)        He believes that this admittance processs best where a adept dominant stress acts to transform ecosystems, such as may occur in the process of eutrophication or acidification of aquatic ecosystems.  He said that much is known most the actions of these two stresses and the vulnerabilities of the recipient aquatic systems (e.g., Minns et al., 1990). He then argued that combining the findings from case studies of impacts of such specific stresses on ecosystems with the knowledge of flow rate stress loadings and sensitivities of recipient ecosystems enables one to dumbfound at an ecosystem level risk assessment. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made)        He was able to cite the development of various factor analyses similar to the manner in which risks of coronary disease are now assessed in ecosystem health evaluations. He cited the work of Minns et al. (1990) who have examined the impact of acid rush on the loss of fish species in vulnerable eastern Canadian lakes. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made)        With these studies the author is really looking forward for the prevention of ecosystems degradation. test copy of treatment for ecosystem is a problem, too.       Under section 5.3 on Validation of treatment the author also n egotiation of validation of treatment which is considered the bottom line for medical practitioners. This premised on the idea that once an illness has been diagnosed, the question turns squarely to the closely effective treatment. Treatment validation provides a basis for selection among alternative procedures.       In applying the medical terminology to the ecosystem, the author said that success rates for a granted treatment cannot be evaluated without factoring out the influences of the other stress factors. He cited an example the evaluation of the effectiveness of harvesting regulations on restoring seal populations in the Baltic Sea. He said that it is necessary to take into bet impairments to seal reproductive success owing to the presence of PCBs and related nephrotoxic substances (Helle et al., 1976).Here, good as in human medicine, he said, we have the need to develop methodologies to factor out co-morbidities.  He mentioned the need for a far better taxonomy of ecosystem ills than we presently have. He said that one currently may describe ecosystem pathologies in terms of air pollution damage to forests, eutrophication of aquatic systems, acidification of aquatic and terrestrial systems, etc. but he said that these are very key categories. He therefore suggested that for each of these classifications there are many finer subdivisions which need to be categorized before one can readily compare case histories. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made)Question 7. Write a review of Section 6 (p-21 subject areaing on the state of environment from an ecosystem health perspective) what do we learn from this Section? What has author tried to communicate and how successful he has been to communicate? And also indicate the significance of this section related to this article, if you see any critique to this section then write it with a complete logic? milieu could be seen from the health of the ecosystems.    &nb sp   The author is trying to make a picture of the environment on the basis of the status of the ecosystem. He cited Canada as having subdivided its land areas into 15 ecozones, defined on the basis of Physiographic, vegetation type, soils/surface materials, climate, and human use. He reported that the forests of most ecozones are impacted by a confederacy of congenital and cultural stresses (particularly in the Montaine Cordillera, boreal Shield, and Atlantic Maritime ecozones).Included in the stresses is fire, insects and diseases, over-harvesting, conversion of forests to agriculture, construction of transportation and utility-grade corridors, air pollution, and climate-induced stresses such as red belt and wind throw.  He then cited the relationship of increase disease in ecosystems which are more stressed. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made)        The author also mentioned that the other sections of the 1986 Canadian State of Environ ment reveal relate to aquatic ecosystems, both the Laurentian Great Lakes and other Inland Waters, as well as the three ocean systems (Atlantic, Pacific and northerly). He also cited that the study stresses affecting these ecosystems include over-harvesting, construction of dams and diversions, contaminants (including toxic substances), and the purposeful or accidental introduction of exotic species (particularly in the Great Lakes and midland waters). Further, in all but the Northern marine ecosystems, land use change (particularly the drainage of wetlands for agricultural and recreational purposes) and sewer inflows added significant additional stress. (Rapport, 1992) (Paraphrasing made)Question 8. What do we understand from the Conclusions written on p-23, are they appropriate any critique any thing missed in finis any thing over emphasized.The simple conclusion could be done as shown below.       We understand from the conclusion that ecosystem behav ior under stress is complex and processes leading to degradation and recovery are only partly understood, nonetheless, ecosystem medicine is coming of age at least as a theoretic art. There therefore many challenges along the way. There also a combine of objective and subjective criteria is called into play in rendering judgments as to the health of ecosystems.       another(prenominal) thing that  I did understand in the conclusion is that in talking about assessing the ecosystem from a point of view need not involve or embrace concepts from the medical sciences to understand the system but that the author argues that use of the metaphor suggests more systematic approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of ecosystem ills, underscores the wideness of validation of remedial action interventions, and draws attention to the inherent subjective nature of health assessments. Further, the metaphor provides a language in which the concern for ecosystem heal th becomes a natural extension of the concern for individual healthThe conclusions drawn are appropriate and does not in any way take a firm stand that understanding how to manage the ecosystem be needs made reference to the medical science national.  It could be made from different points of view and the advantage of using a field of study to bring out the issues via use of metaphor may contribute much to information campaign.Question 9.  Is this article stabilizing in planning and managing environment, if yes how?  If no, why?What is the relevance of the article in planning and management of the environment?        I believe this article is helpful in planning and managing environment.  contrary persons belong to different arts and different professions have their own languages.  By using metaphor in medicine to discuss ecosystem and the environment, would be getting the member of the medical profession to understand the issue s more clearly and to get their support for the cause of the environmentQuestion 10.  Is the title appropriate, if yes WHY?  if no then suggest some other title, and also justify the title with a logical reasoning.How show the article be titled appropriately?         The title evaluating ecosystem health seems not to include treatment on ecosystem treatment.  Since it talks also of treatment the title could be modified as Evaluating and Maintaining the Ecosystems Health.  By simply saying evaluating it the discussion on treatment should not have been part. audienceBird, P. 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Myths in the foundations of political economy and ecology. Biol. J. Liimean Soc. 44 185202.Rapport, D. J., H. A. Regier & T. C. Hutchinson, 1985. Ecosystem behaviour under stress. Amer. Natur. 125 617640.Rapport, D., (1992), Evaluating ecosystem health, Journal of aquatic Ecosystem Health, M. Munawar (ed.), Assessing Aquatic Ecosystem Health Rationale, Challenges , and Strategies. KluwerAcademic Publishers. Printed in the NetherlandsRowe, J. S., 1961. The level of integration concept and ecology. Ecology 42(2) 420427.Rowe, J. S., 1989. Implications of the Brundtland Commission Report for Canadian forest management. Forestry