The document proposes a new integrated framework to explore interactions between human and ecological patterns and processes in coupled urban systems. It recognizes that humans are the dominant driving force that affects ecological conditions, which then feed back to influence human decisions. A key aspect of this framework is that these interactions are spatially determined, with local land use, infrastructure, and land cover patterns influencing composition and dynamics at larger metropolitan scales. Biodiversity and ecosystem functions like primary production are important indicators of ecosystem health within this human-ecological system.
The document proposes a new integrated framework to explore interactions between human and ecological patterns and processes in coupled urban systems. It recognizes that humans are the dominant driving force that affects ecological conditions, which then feed back to influence human decisions. A key aspect of this framework is that these interactions are spatially determined, with local land use, infrastructure, and land cover patterns influencing composition and dynamics at larger metropolitan scales. Biodiversity and ecosystem functions like primary production are important indicators of ecosystem health within this human-ecological system.
The document proposes a new integrated framework to explore interactions between human and ecological patterns and processes in coupled urban systems. It recognizes that humans are the dominant driving force that affects ecological conditions, which then feed back to influence human decisions. A key aspect of this framework is that these interactions are spatially determined, with local land use, infrastructure, and land cover patterns influencing composition and dynamics at larger metropolitan scales. Biodiversity and ecosystem functions like primary production are important indicators of ecosystem health within this human-ecological system.
The document proposes a new integrated framework to explore interactions between human and ecological patterns and processes in coupled urban systems. It recognizes that humans are the dominant driving force that affects ecological conditions, which then feed back to influence human decisions. A key aspect of this framework is that these interactions are spatially determined, with local land use, infrastructure, and land cover patterns influencing composition and dynamics at larger metropolitan scales. Biodiversity and ecosystem functions like primary production are important indicators of ecosystem health within this human-ecological system.
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The framework proposed here provides new directions for research
linking complex patterns, processes, and functions in coupled human ecological
ecosystems.
Figure 3.1a. Conceptual model of functions, processes, and patterns.
A new integrated framework is needed to explore interactions between human and ecological patterns and processes in coupled urban systems (Figure 3.5). Scholars of both urban economics and urban ecology have begun to recognize the importance of explicitly representing finer-scale feedback mechanisms in their studies of urban regions (Grimm et al. 2000, Alberti and Waddell 2000, Pickett et al. 2001). Humans are the dominant driving force in urbanizing regions, and changes in ecological conditions also control human decisions. Furthermore, these interactions are spatially determined. The evolution of land use and its ecological impacts are a function of the spatial patterns of human activities and natural habitats, which affect both socioeconomic and ecological processes at various scales. For example, land-use decisions are highly influenced by patterns of land use (e.g., housing densities), infrastructure (e.g., accessibility), and land cover (e.g., green areas). These local interactions affect the composition and dynamics of entire metropolitan regions.
In ecology, ecosystem function is the ability of Earth’s processes to
sustain life over a long period of time. Biodiversity is essential for the functioning and sustainability of an ecosystem. Different species play specific functional roles, and changes in species composition, species richness, and functional type affect the efficiency with which resources are processed within an ecosystem. Thus, the loss of species will impair the biogeochemical functioning of an ecosystem. Furthermore, the distribution, abundance, and dynamic interactions of species can be good indicators of ecosystem condition. Often the disappearance of a species precedes changes in ecosystem function and overall health (Rapport et al. 1985). There are a variety of possible species functional types and measures of ecosystem function (i.e., energy flow, nutrient cycles, productivity, species interactions) to target for assessing system health. Biodiversity is generally considered a good indicator of ecosystem function. Another indicator is net primary production (NPP), which determines the amount of sunlight energy that is fixed by the processes of photosynthesis to support life on Earth. The concept of ecosystem function has evolved over time to include the interactions between a system’s structure and functions and its spatial systems are no longer considered as closed, self-regulating entities, which at their mature stage reach an equilibrium. Instead they are recognized as