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LOCAL, REGIONAL AND GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS


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OVERVIEW
The environmental syndromes introduced in Chapter 3 operate over many different scales,
each with associated symptoms as local, regional and/or global impacts. An appreciation of spatial scale is therefore a critical prerequisite for a thorough understanding of the environmental
syndromes examined in this book. This is one of the reasons why geography has such an
important role to play in this task. Scale applies equally in terms of understanding the principal
drivers of a particular problem and in appreciating the processes through which direct and indirect
impacts have a bearing on the environment and its peoples. It follows, therefore, that part of the
solution has also to involve action at different scales to be effective.

This chapter will explore issues of scale further through selected examples of environmental
syndromes. In some cases, it is useful to broaden out the analysis from the specific syndromes
themselves, to consider the wider implications of processes. Since urbanization is now such an
important global driving force, this is one area considered in some detail. Specifically, the
chapter identifies and discusses the range and nature of impacts as they relate to the four
environmental media covered in Part 3 of the book.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this chapter, you should feel able to:

• Identify and outline the impact of selected syndromes on local, regional and global
  ecosystems and on the environment as a whole
• Appreciate the role of spatial scale operating within specific environmental systems and
  syndromes
• Summarize the range of impacts and related modification of physical processes associated
  with urbanization
• Appreciate the interlinkages between the different spheres of the physical and human
  environment.
  

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SUMMARY

This chapter has outlined a number of development, utilization and sink syndromes of environmental change, using examples from different geographical locations with contrasting features. Throughout this discussion, the importance and influence of drivers and impacts has been identified, as have the scales over which the syndromes operate. In view of the increasing populations living in built-up areas, considerable emphasis has been placed on the specific impacts of urbanization on the environmental media looked at in this book: air, water, landforms and life. The chapter ends with a consideration of the state of the world’s ecosystems. Chapter 15 goes on to explore the issue of human impacts and trends for the future in more detail.

QUESTIONS

1. How does the environmental syndrome    approach help in understanding the    environmental impacts of human activity? 4. Draw up a table that summarizes the key    differences between rural and urban areas    in terms of the physical processes and    characteristics of air, water, land and life    systems. 2. Which of the environmental syndromes    referred to in this chapter are in evidence in    your country? Where possible, try to give    some specific examples. 5. Using the suggested websites as a guide,    produce a summary of the environmental    problems associated with two megacities,    one from the developed world and a second    from the developing world. 3. Using the IUCN website, list the top 10    endangered species in 2003. Which of the    environmental syndromes referred to in this    chapter are likely to have been an    influence on the current status of these    species?

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FURTHER READING

Many interesting books explore the impact of urban areas on the natural and semi-natural
environment. Two of the more recent of these are recommended for follow up reading.

• Bridgman, H., Warner, R. and Dodson, J. (1995) Urban Biophysical Environments (Meridian Australian Geographical Perspectives). Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
  This is a very accessible and readable introduction to the impacts of urbanization on key processes associated with physical geography. It uses a range of examples from Australia to illustrate the ideas described in the book, but the ideas and concepts are generic to any urban area.
  
• McCall, G. J. H., de Mulder, E. F. J. and Marker, B. R. (1996) Urban Geoscience. Rotterdam: A. A. Balkema.
  A collection of essays about different aspects of the urban–environment relationship. The book is oriented towards the geologist but provides a good grounding for the physical geographer.
  
  For further reading on the nature and characterization of environmental syndromes the reader is directed to:
  
• WBGU – Wissenschaftlicher Beriat der Bundesregierung Globale Umweltveränderungen (German Advisory Council on Global Change WGBU) (1996) World in Transition:
  The Research Challenge Annual Report 1996. Internet reference http://www.wbgu.de. Last accessed December 2003
  English version of this website is available through a link on the homepage.