Envi 11: Environmental Science

Lesson 2.1: Environmental Systems

Lesson Summary
From understanding what a system is, its components, and how systemic equilibrium is
achieved, viewing our environment as a system is crucial in managing the environment.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to pinpoint some characteristics of a
system, explain how crucial seeing the environment as a system in areas of management, and
how systemic equilibrium is achieved.

Motivation Question
Your whole body is composed of several systems. If a single organ from a system fails to
function, your whole body is affected. Now, think of your body as the environment where you
belong. How important is it to view your environment as a system.

Discussion

What is a system?

A system is a network of interdependent components and processes, with materials and energy
flowing from one component of the system to another (https://epdf.pub/principles-of-
environmental-science.html.) Perhaps, this isn’t the first time that you heard the word
ecosystem, am I right? This simple word represents complex assemblages of animals, plants,
and their environment, through which materials and energy move.

So, the earth at an enormous scale is a system. It is separated from its surroundings, and
understanding the inputs and outputs allows us to manage a network. Thus, considering our
planet as a system is essential. The idea of systems is useful because it helps us organize our
thoughts about the inconceivably complex phenomena around us. For example, an ecosystem
might consist of countless animals, plants, and their physical surroundings. Keeping track of all
the elements and relationships in an ecosystem would probably be an impossible task. But if we
think about components in terms of their roles—plants, herbivores, carnivores, and
decomposers—and the interactions among them, then we can start to comprehend how the
system works.

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Vision: A globally competitive university for science, technology, and environmental conservation.
Mission: Development of a highly competitive human resource, cutting-edge scientific knowledge TP-IMD-01
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and innovative technologies for sustainable communities and environment.
No. 20-001
 Envi 11: Environmental Science

Feedback loops help stabilize systems.

A system is in a stable state, and we say it is in equilibrium. Systems can change, though,
sometimes suddenly. Often there are thresholds or “tipping points,” where rapid change
suddenly occurs if you pass certain limits.

A positive feedback loop tends to increase a process or part, whereas a negative feedback loop
diminishes it. Feedbacks occur in many natural systems. Think of a sound system, when a
microphone picks up the sound coming from speakers. The microphone amplifies the sound
and sends it back to the speakers, which gets louder and louder (positive feedback) until the
speakers blow out or someone cuts the power. Your body has feedback loops that regulate
everything from growth and development to internal temperature. When you work-out and get
hot, you sweat, and evaporation cools your skin (negative feedback) to maintain a stable
temperature. When you are cold, you shiver, and that activity helps return your temperature to
normal.

Disturbances, events such as fire, flooding, climate change, invasion by new species, or
destructive human activities, also interrupt standard feedback loops. Sometimes systems are
resilient so that they return to something like their previous states after a disturbance.
Sometimes disturbances cause a system to shift to a new state so that conditions become
permanently altered.

Emergent properties are another exciting aspect of systems, in which the characteristics of a
whole system are higher than the sum of its parts. Consider mangrove forests, which grow
along coastlines throughout the tropical world. Because their direct economic value can be
modest, thousands of kilometers of mangrove-lined coasts have been cleared to make room for
shrimp ponds or beach resorts. But the mangrove forest provides countless indirect economic
values. Prop-roots trap sediment and stabilize mudflats, improving water clarity and protecting
offshore coral reefs from silt. Mangroves also protect small fish and other marine species. Much
commercial ocean fish and shrimp species spend juvenile stages hiding among the mangrove
roots. And the forest protects the shoreline from damaging storms and tsunamis. Collectively
these services can be worth hundreds of times the value of a shrimp farm, but they exist only
when the many parts of the system function together.

Page 2 of 2
Vision: A globally competitive university for science, technology, and environmental conservation.
Mission: Development of a highly competitive human resource, cutting-edge scientific knowledge TP-IMD-01
V0 07-15-2020
and innovative technologies for sustainable communities and environment.
No. 20-001