ENVIRONMENTAL

SYSTEMS

Dr I. Gwitira

Email: gwitirai@gis.uz.ac.zw/gwitsakuely@gmail.com
Recap
 Introduction
 All environmental processes are driven by
energy associated with the flow of matter
(e.g. water and nutrients)
 This implies that environmental systems
have boundaries
 Within the defined boundary a system has

three properties:
 Introduction
 Elements, i.e. components of the system
 Attributes of the elements which can be
measured, e.g. number, temperature, volume,
area etc
 Relationships between elements which define the
organisation of the system

 The relationships between elements and

attributes can be cause and effect
 Introduction
 Environmental systems are characterised
by positive and negative feedbacks
 Negative feedback is the action by which

the system controls and corrects anything

that disturbs it
 Environmental systems exhibit change:

 i.e.,
they have a tendency to evolve and the
change in certain directions
 Introduction
 Change in a certain direction is enforced by
positive feedback mechanisms
 Positive feedbacks results in the system to

losing its balance

 Positive feedbacks are associated with the

thresholds
 Introduction
 Thresholds are state variables which when
they assume certain values, are capable of
initiating sudden or dramatic changes in the
system
 Classification of
Environmental Systems

8
 Classification of Environmental
Systems
 There are basically four main classes of
environmental systems:
 morphological,

 cascading,

 process-response and
 control systems
 Morphological systems
 Relations between individual components
are built on observed associations to provide
positive and negative feedbacks
 The emphasis is placed on relationships
between state variables (A, B, C)
A

B C
 Morphological systems

 Morphological systems determine possible effects

of changes e.g. the effect of lion population on
population of impala
 An increase in the population of the lion will
reduce the number of Impalas while a decrease in
lion population will result in a gradual increase in
impala population
 This is a system where we understand the
relationships between elements and their
attributes in based only on measured features or
correlations
Morphological systems
 Morphological systems

 We understand the form or morphology a

system has based on the connections
between its elements

 We do not understand exactly how the

processes work to transfer energy and/or
matter through the connections between
the elements
 Morphological systems
 Any change in the level of one component
may cause associated changes in other
components
 Such a system vary in the number of
components they have, the strength of the
links between them and the arrangement of
the links into positive or negative feedback
loops
 Cascading system
 These are systems linked by flows of mass
or energy e.g. flow of energy in an
ecosystem
 In these systems the output from one
component becomes an input for another
and the inputs and outputs can be
controlled by regulators
 Cascading system
 Feedback between components occur from
the sequence of inputs and outputs which
may be lagged in time e.g. in the
hydrological cycle
 Cascading system

 In the diagram below, I is the input, A-the

regulator and O-the output

I A O
 Atmospheric
moisture
0.001%

Hydrological Soil moisture

0.005%

cycle

Capillary rise
Infiltration

Evaporation, Sublimation, Transpiration

Groundwater

Precipitation (Rain, Snow etc

0.62%

Seepage
Glaciers and
Spring flow
Ice caps
2.15%
Melt water

Surface water
0.017

Stream flow

Oceans 97.2%
Cascading system
 Water circulates as the main input and the
outputs from one store becomes an input
for the other process
 An example is that after infiltration water
percolates and eventually becomes
groundwater
 As water circulates through the
hydrological cycle it changes from one
state to the other that is gas, liquid and
solid
 Process-Response

 It consists of part cascading and part

morphological system
 We can model the processes involved in
the movement, storage, and
transformation of energy and/or matter
between system elements
 Process-Response
 We also understand fully the form of the
system in terms of measured features and
correlations
 e.g. relationship between wave power
(energy input –cascading system) and the
angle of the slope of the beach (a structural
output and hence part of a morphological
system)
Process-Response system

I A O

B C
Process-Response system

 The cascading system connects the

throughput of energy and matter on the
other hand and the morphology of the
system i.e. linking process to form
 An example is that of a river channel
 Process-Response system
 Channel erosion increases valley-sides and
slope angles which in turn increases slope
erosion ultimately resulting in an increase in
bed load amount
 Increase in bed load amount reduces
channel erosion because the water will be
saturated with sediments
 The river will have less energy to erode thus
it will require a new lease of life to start
eroding again e.g. through rejuvenation
Process-Response system: Slope
system

Slope erosion Increases Stream bedload amount

Increases Reduces

Valley- side
Increases Channel erosion
slope angle
 Control systems
 These are close to process-response
systems but include a human controlling
factor e.g. a coastal defence as a human
intervention
 This system can be intelligently manipulated

by the action of humans e.g. fire

26
 Control systems
 For fire biomass accumulates from the trees
and grass to build up combustible material
and once there is a trigger to start the fire all
the biomass will be burnt
 This reduces the chances of occurrence of

another fire until the vegetation has dropped

leaves and grass has dried up
 Control systems

This becomes a cascading system under

natural conditions.
 Human beings can then devise ways of

controlling this natural system by regular

preventive burning every five years and this
keeps the fires under some control
 Control systems

I A O

B C
Control systems:
Fire Burnt-over land

Bush fire

Regrowth of vegetation
Litter (fuel)
accumulation

Growing forest land

SYSTEMS APPROACH
 Introduction
 The environment as a system consists of
interconnected sub-systems
 A system is composed of related and

interdependent elements
 These elements interact to form a unitary

whole
 Systems Approach
 The systems approach breaks down the
complex environment into a number of more
or less discrete systems
 Each system comprise of inputs, processes
and outputs which are interconnected
 Systems Approach
 The systems approach is based on two
assumptions:
 The real world can be subdivided into discrete
functioning system;
 It is possible to determine inputs and outputs and
interrelationships of a system
 Introduction
 Therefore a system is an assemblage or
combination of parts forming a complex
whole
 The Systems approach is therefore based
on the understanding that everything is inter-
related and interdependent
 The real world is complex hence the need
for a systems approach to understand it
 Introduction
 The systems approach therefore explores
ways in which different parts of a system
adjust to each other and to external factors
 In this approach emphasis is on
understanding:
 the structure of, and
 the relationships between and within different
elements of the environment
 Introduction
 From a systemic perspective, disaster
management involves multiple
interdependent systems
 This also involves:

 preparedness,

 response,

 recovery, and
 mitigation, aiming to reduce the negative impacts and
consequences of disasters on communities
 Systems Approach
38
 Four major concepts underlie the systems
approach:
 Specialization: A system is divided into smaller
components allowing more specialized
concentration on each component

 Grouping: To avoid generating greater

complexity with increasing specialization, it
becomes necessary to group related disciplines
or sub-disciplines
 Systems Approach
 Systems approach hinges on a collection
of various elements that are connected
and organized
 Elements come together to achieve
specific objectives through control and
distribution of material resources, energy
and information
 Systems Approach
 Coordination: For the grouped components and
subcomponents of a system it is necessary to
coordinate the interactions among groups
 Emergent properties: Once a system has been
divided into subsystems (there is need to
understand "emergent properties" of a system;
 that is recognizing why the system as a whole is
greater than the sum of its parts
 Systems Approach
 The systems approach considers two basic
components: elements and processes
 ELEMENTS are measurable things that can be
linked together
 PROCESSES change elements from one form to
another
 They may also be called activities, relations, or functions
 Systems Approach
 Today, the world faces a myriad of disasters:
 Droughts;

 Floods;

 Climate change
 Landslides

 There is need for appropriate tools to assist

in dealing with the complexity of disaster
management
THANK YOU
TATENDA
SIYABONGA