Topics for group work assignment

1. The role of urban planning for urban ecosystem management

2. Assessment of Urban Green Infrastructure development in Addis
Ababa
3. Sustainable urban storm water drainage planning and Management
4. Urban Soil and Water Conservation Planning
5. Planning for Sustainable Water Supply and sanitation in urban
areas
6. Planning for Sustainable Urban Air Quality
7. Urban Parks and Open Space Planning
8. Urban Conservation Area Planning
9. Planning and Managing Solid Waste management
10. Planning for Urban Forestry
 Introduction

Definitions and basic concepts of Ecology

 Ecology vs Urban Ecology

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 What is Ecology?

 Origin of the word

• Greek origin:
– ‘Oikos’ = household/home
– ‘Logos’ = study of…
• Study of the “household/env’t” in which living
organisms live.
• The term “ecology” was coined by Ernst Haeckel.

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 Definitions
 There are a number of definitions.
 Most focus on the interactions b/n organisms
and their env’t.
 Ecology - the study of interactions among
organisms and between organisms and their
environment.
• Study of an organism & its env’t
• Study of how organisms interact with one another
and their physical env’ts

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 Definition … Con’d

 The comprehensive science of the r/nship of organisms

to all their env’t s (Ernst Haeckel, 1869; Taylor,1936)
 The science of the interrelation b/n living organisms &
their env’ts, including both the physical and biotic env’ts,
and emphasizing interspecies as well as intraspecies
r/ns (Allece et al., 1949)

 The scientific study of the distribution & abundance of

organisms(Andrewartha, 1961)
 The study of env’tal interactions which control the
welfare of living things, regulating their distribution,
abundance, production & evolution(Petrides, 1968)

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 Basic concepts … Con’d

 The study of the structure & function of ecosystems/

nature(Odum 1963)

 The scientific study of the interactions that determine the

distribution & abundance of organisms( krebs, 1972)

 The scientific study of the r/n s/ps of living organisms with

each other and with their env’ts (Southwick, 1976)

According to Haekel, “By ecology it is to mean the body of

knowledge concerning the economy of nature”

As he implied, ecology and economics are closely related

 Both are concerned with resource allocation
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 Basic concepts … Con’d

Biological interactions among individuals, communities and

populations

Science of ecosystems
- the interrelations of biotic components with abiotic
components

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 Basic concepts …. Con’d
science of ecosystems
Pollination & dispersal

Photosynthesis
Shelter

Food

Autotrophes Hetrotrophes

Photosynthesis Decomposition
Decomposition

CO2 , H2O, Minerals

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 Basic concepts … Con’d
 As a scientific study of interactions between organisms and
their environments, it is used to make decisions about env’tl
issues

 Study of interactions between

− Non-living components in the env’t:
• Water
• Wind
• Nutrients in soil
• Solar energy
• Atmosphere, etc. and
− Living organisms
• Plants
• Animals
• Microorganisms.
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 Basic concepts … Con’d

Thus, ecology is:

 the study of the interactions that take place among

organisms and their environment

 the study of the relationships between biotic and abiotic

factors in the environment

 an integrated and dynamic study of the env’t.

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 Basic concepts … Con’d

• Concerned with humans, plants & animals

Humans

Env’t
Animals Plants

• As physics is to engineering, ecology is to env’tal

studies
- the principle of ecology to alter the env’t

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 Basic concepts … Con’d
Scope of ecology

Interactions b/n organisms and their env’t

                                                       
a.  Interactions determine distribution and
abundance of organisms.
 
b.  An organism’s env’t has both abiotic and biotic
                                   
components.                                              
 Abiotic components : physical factors such as
temp., light, water, and nutrients.
                                      
 Biotic components: living factors such as other
organisms.
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 Concept of Ecological Planning
 Ecological planning is considered to be a process of development
having two main objectives:
• achieving an overall growth of the society and

• removing socio-economic disparities through the exploitation

and utilization of all types of resources

 Planning is "figuring out what needs to be done and how to do it.“

 Urban ecological planning is the process of "applying ecological

knowledge to action" or basic problem solving in urban

environment.
 Concept of Ecological Planning……Con’d

 Planning involves setting objectives, gathering and analyzing

information, and formulating and evaluating alternative policies to
meet the objectives.

 Thus, ecological planning implies:

o the optimal utilization of the earth's resources, both renewable

and non-renewable, for development activities,

o conservation of what is rare and precious in nature and

o maintenance of the quality of ecosystems for the healthy

growth of life

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 Concept of Ecological Planning……Con’d

 It seeks to improve and protect env’tal quality for residents both through
controlling the generation of pollution and through segregating activities
that are env’tally incompatible.

 It requires effective interaction and overlay between three components –

hardware, software and heartware.
• Hardware consists of the physical fabrics – landscape, infrastructure,
buildings, railway, roads etc.

• Software consists of sets of rules and regulations, laws and

legislations, including habits, ethics and traditionally established code
of conduct.

• Heartware is an individual’s emotional mechanism, behavior and

conduct, which determines needs, wants and wishes.
It also determines the process by which the individual's interaction
with the surrounding environment.
Ecological Knowledge
 The basic understanding of env’tal planning
processes at all levels of decision making
• Global
• Regional
• Country
• City
• Site(e.g. Open Space)
• Building……etc
the science of planning & the art of design

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 Basic concepts … Con’d

Basic ecological terms

           
 Biogeography

- the study of past and present distribution of individual

species. 
• the distribution of organisms within geographic
population boundaries (Species dispersal).

- further division
• Zoogeography- faunas
• Phytogeography- floras

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 Basic concepts … Con’d

 Habitat
- place where an organism lives and that provides the
types of food, shelter, moisture, and temperature
needed for survival
- The characteristics of the type of environment where an
organism normally lives.
 Limiting factor
- anything that can restrict the size of a population,
including living and nonliving features of an ecosystem,
such as predators or drought
 Carrying capacity
- the capacity that an ecosystem can support the largest
number of individuals of a particular species over time
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 Basic concepts … Con’d

 Producers
- organisms that use an outside source of energy like
the sun to create energy-rich food molecules

 Consumers
- organisms that cannot create energy-rich molecules
but obtains its food by eating other organisms

 Decomposers
- consume wastes and dead organisms

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 Basic concepts … Con’d

 Predators
- animal that hunts and kills other animals for food. A
predator is a consumer [carnivore or omnivore]

 Prey
- animal that is hunted and caught for food. Prey is
a consumer; it may be a herbivore, omnivore, or
carnivore.

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 Basic concepts … Con’d

 Food chain
- chain of organisms along which energy, in the form of
food passes.
- An organism feeds on the link before it and is in turn
prey for the link after it.

 Food web
- Complex network of many interconnected food chains
and feeding relationships; a group of interconnecting
food chains

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 Basic concepts … Con’d
 Symbiosis
- any close relationship between species, including
mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism

 Mutualism (+,+)
- a type of symbiotic relationship in which both
organisms benefit

 Commensalism (+,0)
- a type of symbiotic relationship in which one organism
benefits and the other organism is not affected

 Parasitism (+,-)
- a type of symbiotic relationship in which one organism
benefits and the other organism is harmed

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 Basic concepts … Con’d

 Energy pyramid – a way of showing energy flow. As

the amount of available energy decreases, the pyramid
gets smaller. Each layer on a pyramid is called a
trophic level.
4st TL

3st TL

2st TL

1St
1st TL

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 Basic concepts … Con’d

The interdependent parts are :

 Nonliving
– dead organic matter
– nutrients in the soil and water.
 Producers
− green plants
 Consumers
– herbivores and carnivores
 Decomposers
– fungi and bacteria

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 Basic concepts … Con’d

Levels of organization in Ecology

 Ecological research scale ranges from individuals to the

biosphere

 Biosphere
• the global ecosystem/Surface of the earth
i.e. - Sum of all Earth's ecosystems
- Composed of many ecosystems
• Largest and broadest area of study for ecologists
e.g. Research on global climate change & its effect on
living things as an ecology at the biosphere scale.
• Can be pictured as an "envelope" of air, land, and
water supporting all living things on Earth. 25
 Basic concepts … Con’d
• It consists of both the atmosphere of several km
high to oceans to a depth of several km
 Ecosystem:
• is a collection of all the organisms that live together in
a particular place as well as their nonliving or physical
environment, i.e. it includes both the abiotic and biotic
factors of an area
• all abiotic factors plus all organisms that exist in a
certain area i.e. Ecosystem ecology
• Can be large or small
E.g. Urban ecosystem in Addis vs Bishoftu

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 Basic concepts … Con’d

 Population - groups of individuals that belong to the

same spp. and live in the same area
• the study of a group of individuals of the same spp.
• ecological experiments often examine factors of an
environment affecting size and growth of a
population

 Community – All of the organisms that inhabit a

particular area, i.e. d/t. species that live in a particular
area.
• assemblages of the d/t populations that live together
in a defined area
i.e. interacting species within a particular area.

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 Basic concepts … Con’d

 Species- a group of organisms so similar to one

another that they can breed.
• concerned about the way in which an individual
interacts with its env’t.

 Landscape ecology : interactions among ecosystems

 Biome - a group of ecosystems that have the same

climate and similar dominant communities.

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 Basic concepts … Con’d

Thus, ecology
• explores a wide range of questions about what factors
control the distribution, abundance and behavior of
organisms.
E.g. some animal and plant species are unique in some
Ethiopian high lands.

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 Basic concepts … Con’d
large region with typical
plants and animals that
includes several ecosystems
all living and nonliving
things interacting within a
certain area
all interacting populations in
an ecosystem
all organisms of the same
kind living in one area
one individual living thing
group of organs working
together
group of different kinds of
tissues working together
group of similar cells
organized to work together
cell
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smallest unit of living things
 Basic concepts … Con’d

Urban Ecology
Humans inhabit two worlds.
 The natural world: plants, animals, soils, air, and water.
 The world of human society: technology, social institutions
and artifacts that we create for ourselves using science,
technology, and political organization.
– Both are essential to our lives

 The basic goal of urban ecology is essentially to foster

urban sustainable dev’t through the creation of a quality
living conditions that are conducive for human health,
livelihood, well being and prosperity
 It typically addresses urban env’tal problems arising from
pollution and depletion of natural resources
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• The overall goal of Urban ecology is:

to improve and enhance the health and quality of life of residents and
to promote sustainable social and economic development through the
sound management and use of natural, human-made and cultural
resources and the environment as a whole with the aim to meet the
needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.

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Consideration in urban ecology
 Urban areas are engines of dev’t.
 Concentration of industries
 Concentration of population, income/affluence, over-
consumption and poverty.
 Concentration of land use and related conflicts, waste
generation and pollution.
 These are imperatives for urban environmental
sustainability, i.e., the need for control, regulate and
monitor urban dev’t processes.

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 Human - Environment interaction
Humans inhabit two worlds:
 Natural world of plants, animals,
soils, air, and water

 Human society, technology, social

institutions and artifacts that we
create for ourselves using
science, technology, and political
organization.

Both worlds are essential to our

lives, but integrating them
successfully causes enduring
tensions.
• All constitute important parts of our environment.
 Man- Environment system
In a very broad sense, man-environment system consists of:
 Resources: Land, human and others;
 Processes: that convert these resources into various other
useable products and services; and
 Effects of these processes, which may be negative or positive.
Types of Environmental Resources
• Human Resources
• Land resources
• Flora and fauna
• Soils
• Air
• Mineral resources
• Water resources
o Surface Water Resources
o Ground Water Resources
• Energy resources
• Reusable and Recyclable materials
 Environmental Effects
Negative Effects -
– Pollution: air, water, noise
– Waste Generation: solid waste, sewage
– Overcrowding
Positive Effects
– Products,
– Value-addition
 Structure of the env’tal system

Environment- A multidimensional system that consists of four

interacting spheres.

 The Atmosphere,
 Lithosphere,
 Hydrosphere, and the
 Ecosphere
-biosphere

- The env’tal system is the set of interactions between these

elements
 Structure ..…cont’d
Atmosphere
 A way for the spatial diffusion of pollutants and
their accumulation.
 a mixture of
• 78% ……Nitrogen; 21% ……Oxygen & 1% …Traces
(Carbon dioxide, Argon, Water vapor and other
components)

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 Structure ..…cont’d

Hydrosphere
 the accumulation of water in all its physical states and the
elements dissolved in it (Na, Mg, Ca, Cl- and SO4-2).
 covers around 71% of the earth's surface
 97% ------oceans,
2% --------ice (north and south poles) and
1% --------rivers, lakes, ground water and atmospheric vapor.

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 Structure ..…cont’d
Lithosphere
 The thin crust between the mantle and the atmosphere.
 Around 100 km thick, but only 1 km of it can be considered to
have interaction with the biosphere.
 Main constituents in a crystalline state
• O2 …..47%
• Si ….. 28%
• Al ….. 8%
• Fe ….. 5%
• Ca ….. 4%
• Na ….. 3%
• K ….. ..3% &
• Mg ….. 2%.
 The main source of pollutants and a permanent accumulator.
 Some are naturally released through sources like volcanic
eruptions, while others like fossil fuels are the result of
artificial extraction and combustion. 41
 Structure ..…cont’d
Biosphere
 Part of Earth that supports life, including the top portion of
Earth's crust, the atmosphere, and all the water on Earth's
surface
 The set of all living organisms - animals and plants.
- Biologically inhabited/ biologically active/ biotic part
of the earth
 is not uniform-  different ecosystems such as deserts,
grasslands, forests, rivers, and etc. due to env’tal
variations in abiotic

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 Functions of the environment

 Function of the env’t - various functions of the four

interacting spheres

Atmosphere
 Provides shelter, air, rain, temperature regulation, energy
and supports many natural and socio-economic processes.

The Hydrosphere
 provides water, habitat for much of biodiversity, regulates
temperature and supports several other physical, biological
and socio-economic systems.

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 Functions..…cont’d

Lithosphere
 Provides land, soil, subsurface for life, minerals, etc.
i.e. provides a diversity of resources to human life.

Biosphere
 A very complex set of relationships with the atmosphere,
hydrosphere and lithosphere.

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 Environmental components
 Abiotic and

 Biotic

- species must be able to cope with both biotic and abiotic

- critical factors for spp. survival
- each habitat has abiotic and biotic factors

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 Abiotic Factors
 are nonliving physical and chemical conditions of an env’t
i.e. the nonliving parts of an ecosystem
 Affects the abundance and distribution of species
E.g. abiotic factors in the env’t are sunlight, water, T0 , soil,
and wind
 factors of interest include        
- climate - the major factor affecting distribution of terrestrial
organisms
- incorporates: Water(precipitation), Sunlight,
Temperature (range from 0 to 45 C), Soil, Wind
(increases heat & water loss)                                

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Sunlight
• The source of light and energy almost for all ecosystems
• Powers photosynthesis – the main producers for terrestrial
ecosystems

Water
• Can dissolve gases and solutes such as oxygen and salt
• Terrestrial organisms have adaptations allowing them to
keep from drying out and losing water quickly

Temperature
• Most life exists between 0°C and 50°C
• Most enzymes are denatured >50°C
• Some organisms have adapted to exist in extreme
temperatures (over 80°C)

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Soil
• Product of abiotic forces (water, wind, etc) and actions of
organisms on the rocks and minerals of the Earth's crust
• Structure and chemical makeup of soil and rock affect
plants, affecting the other organisms that can exist there

Wind

• Affects distribution and activities of organisms

• Moves clouds and rain and stirs up bodies of water (creating

currents & bringing nutrients from bottom of lakes
• Plants depend on wind to disperse pollen and seeds to
grow

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 Biotic Factors 
 the living parts of an ecosystem
 living organisms include plants, animals, fungi,
microorganisms in an environment

Interact with each

Parasitism, mutualism,
other in complex such as
competition, etc
ways

also interact with dependent upon water,

abiotic factors in thus minerals, temperature,
the ecosystem light

• Thus, affect distribution of organisms

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 Why should WE care about ecology?

Reasons:

 The earth is an ecosystem

 The earth is the source of our life support system
- From the earth we derive energy and nutrients
 To the earth we give our bodies when we die
- For these reasons, we want to understand ecology

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51
 The Role of Planners in env’tal protection

 Planner as Technicians and Information Source

 Planner as Facilitator of Public Involvement, Builder of
Community Support and Champion of Citizen Empowerment
 Planner as Regulator
 Planner as Negotiator among Interests, Mediator of Conflicts
 Planner as Political Adviser, as politician
 Planner as Designer with Vision
 Planer as Advocate
 Human population growth
The Big Issues.

Are there limits to sustainable

population growth?

Is there room for us all on this

planet?

How are population and the

environment related?

How can we act responsibly

for future generations?
 Human
population
growth and
the Shrinking
Earth