The science of geoecology is a discipline at the intersection of ecology and geography. In its framework, the features, composition, structure and processes of the human environment are studied. Specialists in this field are working to protect the biosphere from adverse changes caused by human activities.
Subject of study
The main task of specialists in the field of geoecology is to find a compromise between the population, production and nature. To do this, they study the sources of anthropogenic impact on the environment, their spatial and temporal distribution and intensity. Studies of the destruction of natural environments and components are being conducted, and control over their dynamics is being conducted.
The load on the geo-ecosystem is what geo-ecology is studying. To this end, she analyzes the response of living organisms to technological processes that affect them. Scientists model, predict and evaluate anthropogenic impact. The result of their work, as a rule, is the preparation of recommendations that set out the most optimal ways to use the geoecosystem.
Place in science
From the point of view of scientific classification, geoecology is a subsection of ecology as a whole (sometimes it is called megaecology). Like every discipline, it has its own specific object of study. In the case of geoecology, these are ecosystems of a high hierarchical level (for example, the mainland, biosphere, biome, ocean).
There are other estimates of the place of discipline in science. Among other things, geoecology is the fourth section of geography (along with economic, physical and social). But that is not all. Geoecology is closely intertwined with geology - it studies the geological environment and its relationships with other environments, including the hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. This science provides an assessment of human influence on all of them.
Border discipline
What geoecology studies has a systemic nature (such, for example, are the interactions of the abiotic environment and living organisms). Especially for this science, scientists have introduced a new term. This is a geo-ecosystem, which is the result of the interaction of the hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere. It is also seen as causing a clash of society and nature. The consequence of their interaction is the emergence of open and closed geo-ecological systems.
Like any other borderline discipline, this science uses research methods of a very different nature. Geoecology is a system that cannot be described by only one indicator, which means that in this case the integration of geology, geography, ecology and some other areas of human knowledge is required.
Global and universal issues
A study of geography and geoecology reveals two types of problems. They can be divided into global and universal. The first include problems affecting the entire ecosphere (an example is the greenhouse effect). The universal type includes negative repeating tendencies in different modifications. These include a reduction in the diversity of life on Earth and the destruction of the ozone layer of the planet.
The Department of Geography and Geoecology pays particular attention to the problems of soil degradation. Deterioration of its quality leads to a decrease in fertility. As a rule, degradation is caused by the economic activities of people. Nevertheless, its cause may also be a certain natural factor (landslides, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, etc.).
Research principles
Geoecological research has several key principles. The first of them is regional. It takes into account local geoecological conditions. The historical principle is based on an analysis of the reasons for the formation of the system and the circumstances of its development. When studying, specialists also take into account its structure, dynamics and functioning processes. One of the foundations of such research is the landscape map.
Geoecology, ecology and the sciences bordering on them cannot but take into account the resource factor. Scientists pay considerable attention to the temporal and spatial patterns of the development of the landscape and of nature as a whole. An important role is played by the so-called basin principle. According to him, an important analysis of the state of hydrogeology, the flow of energy, substances and information.
Concepts and ideas
The theoretical basis of geoecology is the concept of biocenosis, developed in the XIX century by the scientist Karl Moebius. This term refers to the totality of living organisms living in the same natural conditions. Any institute of geoecology pays attention to such concepts as geographic envelope, ecosystem, landscape, noosphere, geosystem concept, concept of geotechnical system.
The theoretical foundation of the discipline has developed thanks to two maternal sciences and their progress over the past century and a half. Thanks to geography, a comprehensive concept has developed in geoecology about the natural relationships and the role of individual geocomponents, the concepts of differentiation and integration. The other side of this coin is also important. Ecology introduced the terms of the noosphere and biosphere into geoecology, a system of views on the circulation of substances and the quality of the environment.
Background of the emergence of science
Separate views characteristic of geoecology were expressed even before its appearance. Thus, the great English economist of the XVIII century, Adam Smith, studied in detail natural resources as a source of national wealth. His compatriot Thomas Malthus in 1798 almost for the first time attempted to theoretically comprehend the danger of the environmental crisis, which could be caused by food shortages. As noted above, the phenomenon of the circulation of substances is very important for the science under consideration. The first to be investigated was Justus Liebig, who lived in the 19th century, thus substantiating the theory of the mineral nutrition of plants.
The formation of geoecology was influenced by the fundamental work of Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species (1859), as well as the book by the American geographer George Perkins Marsh, Man and Nature (1864). It was this researcher who was one of the first to state the need to limit economic activity that harms the environment.
The Russian scientist Alexander Voeikov in 1891 described methods of dealing with adverse natural phenomena (dry winds, frosts, droughts, etc.). As a countermeasure, he proposed water reclamation and afforestation. Professor of St. Petersburg University Vasily Dokuchaev in 1903 completed the development of the doctrine of the soil, in which it was considered as a natural-historical body. All these works later played a role in the formation of geoecology.
The origin of geoecology
The history of the study of geography, geoecology, tourism and other related disciplines has common roots. They can be traced if you look closely at the evolution of science in the 20th century. The emergence of geoecology is associated with the emergence of landscape ecology that occurred in 1939. The founder of this discipline was Karl Troll. He studied climate, topography, vegetation, and the relationships of various natural factors. It was the Troll who introduced the concept of landscape ecology, which, when translated from German into English, was transformed into geological ecology or geoecology.
The double term clearly demonstrated its essence. In the new discipline, Karl Troll combined two research approaches. One (horizontal) was to study natural phenomena and their interactions, and the other (vertical) was based on the study of their relationships within the ecosystem. New science was the counterweight to the then existing disciplines. For example, geoecology was very different from biological ecology, which had a separate structure (ecology of animals, plants, microorganisms, etc.). The brainchild of Karl Troll gradually expanded its competence. In the 1960s. The economic activity of man and its impact on the landscape and the environment fell under the sight of geoecology.