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Scientific Tools for Assessing Environmental Problems in Agricultural Areas JAN Institute of Landscape Ecology (CSAV) CURRENT ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS At present the environment can be defined as a regional systemâ a unit formed by nature, by activities of individuals, and by activities of society. Its character varies according to the quantity and quality of these three basic components. The environment may be close to natural conditions or alienated from them. It may be characterized by harmonious relations and interactions or by conflicts and antag- onisms. It may correspond with man's needs or endanger his very existence. In any place and at any time, the environment reflects the in- fluence of these three basic environmental components: nature, indi- viduals, and society. We thus focus on these components in all fields of environmental research. This approach is based on the experience that an environment favorable to man originates from the harmony of the functions of the geobiosphere, technosphere, and sociosphere which form the anthropo-ecological environmental system. Intensive development of any of these three components requires adequate protection and development of the other components if the total anthropo-ecological system is not to lose its environmen- tal value for man. Areas with considerable hypertrophy of one or two of the basic environmental components cannot be considered environments for progressive activities, although they can be special compositional parts of higher units which carry out the functions of the anthropo-ecological system. A current environmental problem 58
60 is the disturbance of the priority given to the geobiosphere, techno- sphere, and sociosphere in the total anthropo-ecological system of the earth or in those parts which are described as ecologically impacted. In terms of these anthropo-ecological concerns, a landscape ecolog- ical approach to the evaluation of geographic areas and of natural segments of interest has been developed. AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPE CHARACTERISTICS Agricultural activities have always been primarily biological ac- tivities. However, as a result of the use of production principles, industrial technologies, and modern management methods, agricul- tural production has recently become more similar to industrial activ- ities. Specialization, chemical use, mechanization, and automation have invaded agriculture. Agricultural/industrial complexes have been established as a part of an integrated system connected through foreign trade policies with complexes in other countries. This industrialization of agriculture has brought about numer- ous negative phenomena which are very similar to the environmental impacts of industrial activities. The concentration and specialization of agricultural production, the intensification of technological mea- sures, the increased use of commercial fertilizers and pesticides with decreased use of farmyard manure, and the use of heavy and effective agricultural machinery have resulted in large amounts of concen- trated wastes. Concurrently, there has been an increase in smells and noise, waste heat emissions, pollution of surface and subsurface waters, and high energy consumption. Mechanization causes soil and water pollution from crude oil products and air pollution from combustion products. Intensification of all production, processing, and transport technologies increases the extent and consequences of disturbances and breakdowns. Changes in agricultural activities and management are closely relatedâboth as a cause and consequenceâto changes in the qualifi- cations of farmers, the increase in their living standard, the changes in their lifestyle, and the increase and diversification of their needs and demands. These factors result in substantial changes in agricul- tural landscape environmental parameters. From the anthropo-ecological view point there is a consider- able disproportion in the development of the structures and functions of the technosphere and sociosphere within the total an- thropo-ecological system of the agricultural landscape, which is in
61 turn responsible for the decline of the geobiosphere structure. This development means a decrease in the environmental value of the agricultural landscape. Selection, manipulation of genes, and other methods influencing the very fundamentals of agricultural production mean a high rate of artificiality. Nevertheless, the biotechnological character of this production is maintained. The decreasing share of natural, unimpacted geobiospheric com- ponents in the composition and function of the environment within agricultural landscapes, together with agricultural/industrial tech- nologies, results in undesirable disturbances and ecological crises. These disturbances limit the net effect of agricultural production and lead to high inputs of finances, materials, energy, and work to stabilize the anthropogenic infrastructure of an agricultural area. Ac- cording to present scientific/technological development strategy, sta- bilization measures are necessarily implemented through new tech- nological devices which are foreign to nature and thus increase the share of the technosphere structures in the composition and function of the anthropo-ecological system within agricultural areas. Post-war agriculture accomplished valuable goals. At the same time, it brought about numerous negative phenomena, and the effects are already quite obvious. Their future consequences cannot be fully estimated at present. TOOLS FOR ASSESSING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES Undesirable phenomena connected with the changed character of agricultural production are readily solved if their impacts are of direct concern to the viability of the agricultural activities. They are addressed by specialized research and control institutions. The effort is concentrated on departmental goals, mainly on the increase of qualitative, quantitative, and economic effectiveness of agriculture and food production. These institutions must solve more and more ecological problems connected with internal conflicts among agricul- tural activities. At the same time, they are forced to respect even those impacts which disturb the landscape and limit the possibilities of use other than for agriculture. The solution and prevention of these impacts are obviously among the principal national interests. Therefore, protection of the landscape must be directed and managed
62 through standards, legislation, and decisions above the department level. In Czechoslovakia, the problem of environmental protection in general, including the environment of agricultural areas, is managed under the direction of the State Commission for Scientific, Techno- logical, and Investment Development. Knowledge of the development and function of the environmental components obtained through rou- tine monitoring by specialized institutions and knowledge obtained through basic and applied research under the State Plan for Science and Technology Development form the scientific basis for decisions and management strategies in the sphere of environmental problems. The tools for the recognition of the quality of the environment, particularly in the agricultural landscape, are chosen on the basis of the complexity of the problem, i.e., the structure and scope of particular interactions of the technosphere, geobiosphere, and socio- sphere components and their influences with respect to particular environmental concerns. With regard to the technosphere, we investigate land-use struc- ture, i.e., the proportion of land-use types and the location of areas with various land-use types. Attention is focused mainly on the uses and on the impact of user technologies on ecology. From this basic information we derive knowledge as to human influences on environ- mental components. This knowledge is then processed to develop appropriate approaches for the optimization of anthropo-ecological system unit structure and function. Proposals are then sent to ap- propriate departments and to the State Commission for Scientific, Technological, and Investment Development where they are used for decisions which determine the intensity of resource use. Since the environment has a complex character, research must be based largely on models. This requires broad use of various indi- cators of synergistic environmental factors. It is possible to indicate, for example, the influence of environmental quality on plants and an- imals, on biological populations and communities, and on ecosystems of various localities. When compared with historical series of mea- surements and observations, the data obtained enable us to derive the development trends of the environment. Within the complex of environmental abiotic components, we investigate and use as indicators the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of water and the water regime in soil, especially in differently used areas and in watersheds. The air and soil are similarly
63 investigated, mainly with regard to the synergism of the changes caused by natural or anthropogenic influences. Indicators of changes in environmental value are not limited to the biological characteristics of plants and animals and the charac- teristics of water, soil, and air. They also include related indicators of the effects on man and the sociosphere. These indicators are selected from the characteristics of health conditions and from demographic, social, economic, and other characteristics of the population. The technosphere is the third sphere where the complex char- acteristics of the synergistic effects of agriculture are considered. We pursue the complex expression of the synergism of the impacts brought about by agriculture on other activities which share re- source use in a landscape. As indicators we utilize, for example, losses related to the landscape potential, damage and reparations assessments, and induced production losses. The indicator method of estimating the value of the environ- ment is advantageous in that it expresses the complex impact of various influences. The disadvantage is its inability to specify the influences of decisive importance within this complex of phenomena. Therefore, the results of indicator research of environmental values stimulate specific hydrobiological, pedological, ecotoxicological, ra- dioecological, and other research activities. These are conducted in cooperation with specialized institutes of basic and applied research. They are aimed at recognition of the mechanisms of undesirable en- vironmental processes. Thus, it is possible to propose principles for ecological management of both agriculture and technology. Knowledge obtained by environmental quality indicators and by special research on the mechanisms of various technological impacts on the environment in the agricultural landscape is synthesized and used for anthropo-ecological optimization of regional system struc- tures and functions. The basis of the anthropo-ecological optimiza- tion of a regional system consists of the following objectives: ⢠proposals for changes in the land-use structure; ⢠proposals for technological changes, or for ecologically compati- ble technologies; ⢠proposals concerning the protection of those landscape compo- nents which are important from the viewpoint of special con- cerns such as ecostabilization, genetic fund preservation, mois- ture regime, sanitation, amelioration, and aesthetics;
64 ⢠projects on forming regional systems of anthropo-ecological sta- bility of landscape structures and functions aimed at prevention of ecological crises and disturbances. The goal of environmental research and management consists of maintaining the landscape potential for production and residen- tial use. Current methods applied in environmental research rely heavily on computerized data, automated monitoring, and remote sensing. By using automated image analysis, it is possible to in- crease considerably the effectiveness of geoecological investigations. This permits simultaneous multifactor analytical use of a dense series of observations and measurements and dynamics research of positive and negative phenomena. These methods are continually being im- proved in Czechoslovakia and promise greater effectiveness in future geoecological investigations.
