Basics – Part 1
Introduction
Hello! We warmly welcome you to the digitized course on Soil and Water Environmental Engineering.
We have integrated the content and resources so that you discover the concepts and develop the necessary skills to address issues associated with this Learning Unit and you can understand and interpret environmental problems related to soil and water, in a local context, but with possibilities of understanding the national or international scenario and, in turn, propose alternatives and strategies for the resolution of said situations, respecting the pertinent regulatory framework and offering viable alternatives.
To this end, we hope that you will take an active and committed attitude to attend the activities and slogans that will be presented and have full confidence to interact with our team, who will answer your comments and doubts.
We hope you have a fruitful and satisfying learning journey.
Content developement
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Systemic analysis of ecosystems
The environment can be better understood by studying the interactions between biotic (living beings) and abiotic (minerals, gases, liquids, and inert components) of ecosystems. Each ecosystem has characteristic distributions and abundances of these elements, which are affected and regulated by the aforementioned components themselves.
Among the fundamental concepts to take into account are:
- Ecology: Science that studies the relationships established between living beings and the physical environment where they are found.
- Ecosystem: It is a biological system made up of a community of living organisms and the physical environment where it is related.
- Nature: Intrinsic network that allows interactions between biotic and abiotic components.
- Environment: Interaction between the natural system or nature and the social system (self-regulating human structures)
In addition, within the effects of human intervention in nature, we can define the following:
- Extraction: Subtraction if replacement or replacement of the extracted elements, for example, mining, fishing, or forestry.
- Use of environmental functions: Services or intangible goods granted by a natural system, for example, wind, solar energy, etc.
- Environmental problems: Those related to the alteration of the balance between the biotic and abiotic components of the natural system and product of the excessive use of natural resources or the discharge of toxic substances foreign to them, generating damage that may be temporary or permanent and that it invariably impacts the operation of the entire system.
Biotic and abiotic components are indeed fundamental for the functioning of ecosystems, for this reason, we will define some concepts that are fundamental for their understanding:
Biotic and abiotic components are indeed fundamental for the functioning of ecosystems, for this reason, we will define some concepts that are fundamental for their understanding:
- Abiotic:
- Inorganic substances: Substances that have a reason for existence and function in the natural system and that do not require the intervention of living organisms for this, for example, carbon dioxide, water, oxygen, minerals, etc. These inorganic substances can be in liquid, solid, or gaseous form.
- Organic substances: They are those that are formed by the action of living organisms, plants, or animals and that are the product of some metabolic process, due to the effect of ingestion and degradation in successive cycles.
- Biotics:
- Producers: Organisms that through autotrophy produce compounds that they use for life support. These organisms use sunlight and convert it into chemical energy through photosynthesis.
- Consumers: They consume the energy reserves produced and stored by producers and are classified in turn as:
- Primary or herbivores
- Secondary or carnivores
- Tertiary or secondary carnivores
With the above mentioned, it is relevant to mention the term ecology, to know its origins and its object of study:
Ecology has taken on enormous importance in recent years. Our ecosystems have been seriously affected mainly by human activity, irreversibly affecting biotic and abiotic elements and drastically altering the balance and behavior of their interactions.
These ecosystems are based on the premise that all the species that comprise it are intimately linked with each other, as well as with the abiotic factors with which they interact.
The development of human activities within the ecosystem has generated serious damage to the environment i.e., water resources, soil, air, plant, and animal species.
However, to understand this damage, the reasons, and the possible solutions, it is also necessary to analyze the interrelationships between society and nature, as well as the social, political, economic, and cultural dynamics that govern it.
To this end, I invite you to read and analyze the article entitled «A good life for all within planetary boundaries» by O’Neill and collaborators, where the relationship between human beings and natural resources on the planet is historically reviewed, emphasizing the problems and challenges that these relationships have represented. Interestingly, this article introduces quantitative and qualitative aspects to analyze this human/nature relationship, to understand the reasons and consequences of the use of ecosystem elements.
In this article, the term planetary limits are mentioned, which will allow us to incorporate the concept of sustainability and critically understand its importance.
The revised article also mentions global proposals to contribute to the scope of sustainability, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), issued by the United Nations, where 17 global objectives and specific indicators are associated with each objective. This proposal represents a global strategy where the efforts of civil society and the government are integrated, to ensure a better future and guarantee the coexistence of all living beings on the planet.
I invite you to visit the UNESCO page where the 17 SDGs are explained, and in this way, you can deepen your knowledge.
As you may have realized, the resources on planet earth are finite and they fulfill a fundamental function within ecosystems. On the other hand, the wasteful use of these resources by humans has generated serious damage to natural systems, bringing consequences to ourselves.
The understanding of the interactions between biotic and abiotic elements must be modified so that the human needs of this generation and the next can still be satisfied and ensure that the rest of plant and animal species, as well as resources abiotic on the planet, continue and prevail harmoniously.
Finally, below we include 2 videos that we are sure will be useful to assess the importance of the role of humans in the conservation of our planet.
After reading and viewing the material, I invite you to reflect on what is the impact of your activities on the environment? What is the environmental scope of your activities, local, regional or global? And what behaviors can you modify to reduce the negative environmental impact and which ones can you start from now on to contribute positively to the environment?
After reading and viewing the material, I invite you to reflect on what is the impact of your activities on the environment? What is the environmental scope of your activities, local, regional or global? And what behaviors can you modify to reduce the negative environmental impact and which ones can you start from now on to contribute positively to the environment?
Conclusion
Finally, I want to close this first session, recapping the most important aspects reviewed.
In this class, we learned the basic concepts necessary to understand environmental systems and the complexity that their analysis represents. The interconnection between biotic and abiotic elements, in addition to the pressure suffered by these relationships due to the execution of human activities, has generated and potentiated environmental problems related to water, edaphic and atmospheric resources.
It is important to recognize the inter-relationships between these elements and to foresee both the positive and negative impacts of human interventions.
Information sources
- Begon, M., & Townsend, CR (2021). Ecology: from individuals to ecosystems. John Wiley & Sons.
- Chapin III, FS, Matson, PA, & Vitousek, P. (2011). Principles of terrestrial ecosystem ecology. Springer Science & Business Media.
- La Notte, A., D’Amato, D., Mäkinen, H., Paracchini, ML, Liquete, C., Egoh, B., … & Crossman, ND (2017). Ecosystem services classification: A systems ecology perspective of the cascade framework. Ecological indicators, 74, 392-402.