How people influence connectivity among ecosystems

The world is becoming highly interconnected through the movement of people and transport of goods locally to globally.Among ecologists,there is an increasing realization that these connections can have profound influences on the long-term dynamics of ecological systems.

The transport of many types of materials,including gases,minerals and even organisms,can affect natural systems.This movement result in "greenlash," which occurs when evironmental changes localized to a small geographic area have far-reaching effects in other areas.For example,a drought in the 1930s caused farmers to abandon their farms across the U.S.Midwest.The absence of crops intensified local soil erosion,leading to powerful dust storms.Large amounts of wind-swept dust traveled across the continent,caousing the infamous Dust Bowl and affecting air qualit,public health and patterms of human settlement throuhout the country.

Becouse of increasing globalization,people often inadvertently introduce non-native plants,animals and diseases into new locations.Invasive species and pathogens can create large,expensive problems:the U.S. currently spends over $120 billion per year on measures to prevent and eradicate invasive species.Understanding ecosystem connectivity across a range of scales--from local to regional to continental--will help scientists predict where invasie species are likely to go next.

To prevent it from happening,we need to provide information about processes of connetivity among ecosystems that span a vast scale of space and time.Our observations will characterize ecological processes from the genomic to the continental and document changes from seconds to decades.Additionally,long-term studies should include data from social and behavioral science to allow incorporation of human movement patterns into their scientific models,which will lead to more accurate predictions of future ecological change.

　翻译:

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　人类如何影响个生态系统之间的联系

　　由地域性到全球性的人类活动及货物运输正在使世界成为一个紧密联系的整体.生态学家们越来越强烈的意识到,这些联系会对生态系统的长期动态产生深远的影响.

　　多种物质的运输,包括气体,矿物质甚至生物体,都可能影响自然环境.这种活动导致了"绿色冲击",即指局部环境的改变对其他地区环境所产生的深远影响.比如,２０世纪３０年代的干旱迫使美国中西部地区的农民背井离乡;农作物的缺少加剧了当地突然的侵蚀,继而引发了严重的沙尘暴;大量风沙席卷整个美国大陆,形成了臭名昭著的干旱尘暴区,并对全国范围内的空气质量,公共健康以及人类的居住方式造成了负面影响.

　　由于全球化的日益加强,人们常会不经意地将外来的动植物和疾病带入到新的环境中.外来入侵物种和病原体会导致严重的问题,而人类为此所付出的代价巨大:美国目前每年投入１２００多亿美元,以各种措施防止并消除外来物种的入侵.了解生态系统在各个不同范围之间(从本地到一个大区域再到欧洲)的联系,将有助于科学家对未来的外来物种入侵趋势作出预测.

　　为了防止外来物种入侵,我们需要提供相关信息,来了解在广泛时空范围内生态系统的相互联系的过程.我们对生态进程的观察要包括从微小的染色体组到洲际间物种的联系,文献记载的时间要包括从秒这样瞬间的单位到数十年的跨度.除此之外,长期的研究还应涵盖社会科学与行为科学,以使人类活动方式与科学模式相契合,从而实现对未来生态变化更精确的预测.
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