Holistic community
A holistic community (also referred to as closed or unitary) is an ecosystem where the species within the community are interdependent on each other for keeping balance and stability of the system. These communities are described as working like a superorganism, meaning that every species plays an important part in the overall well being of the ecosystem in which the community resides; much like the organelles within a cell, or even the cells making up one organism. Holistic communities have diffused boundaries, and an independent species range. Co-evolution is likely to be found in communities structured after this model, as a result of the interdependence and high rates of interaction found among the different populations. It is said that species compositions of communities change sharply at environmental edges (known as ecotones).
Background
The ideas of a holistic community were introduced by plant ecologist Frederic Clements in 1916. These notions were countered by Henry Gleason in 1917, when he proposed the individualistic/open community concept (in applications to plants). Neither of these ecological concepts have been found to exist in entirety, both are theories which can be applied to communities. For example, a community's composition can be better explained by holism than individualism, or vice versa. This ecological concept is based on the broader concept of holism, which describes the functionality of any system as having many individual parts, all of which are extremely important to the system's viability.
"A community has been viewed as a superorganism with an integrity analogous to that of cells in an organism. This is the holistic or unitary view of a community, and one championed by Clements (1916). He regarded the community to be a highly integrated unit that operated very much within itself with little interaction with surrounding communities - a closed community."[1]
"The holistic model considers all living beings as its subjects who are manifestations of the Absolute and part of the whole. It includes all relations that arise between them. The most efficient satisfaction of their interest is the most important designation of the holistic system(holistic community). The holistic community is equally responsible for human development and for the harmonious evolution of all other subjects of the holistic model. The subjects of the holistic model are the following:
1. Humankind 2. Animals 3. Plants 4. Planet Earth 5. Extraterrestrial beings 6. Celestial bodies
This characteristic illustrates that the holistic model is universal and exceeds just human relations. It is not just humanistic but also respectful for all life in general. The necessity to identify the subjects in the frame of the whole is the first condition for the proper satisfaction of their interests. Without differentiating them and without knowing well how they function, it is impossible to conduct rational action which aims to fulfill the needs of everyone in the system and to refine their environment."[2]
See also
References
- ^ "Tropical Ecosystems and Ecological Concepts". google.com.
- ^ Milanov, Aleksandar (12 August 2018). Holistic Society (First ed.). Sofia, Bulgaria: New Age citizens Foundation. pp. 24–26. ISBN 9786199083420.