or other vertebrates may even higher the beauty (4). The attractiveness of landscapes
with these attributes is indicated with examples like gardening across the world, by
touristic places like coastal regions, lake shores, or high mountain areas with
colourful meadows and small lakes or streamlets. Openness and structural diversity
can be combined to half-open landscapes with high attractiveness (Bourassa 1988;
Christ et al. 2003), which are relevant for the biodiversity as well. Clearly, many if
not most ecosystems of dense forest or ocean do not represent these properties. Thus,
beautiful landscapes may support biodiversity and species conservation in some but
not all cases. However, we want to pronounce that also the beauty of the landscape
belongs to human resources. Furthermore, the heterogeneity in space and the
character of a landscape including artificial light and noise is also relevant for the
orientation of birds and mammals, for example. Thus, also other species may be
attracted by the beauty of landscapes.
6 Carbon Cycle as an Example for Limits and Challenges
of Anthropogenic Influences
The carbon cycle, which is seriously impacted by humans, may surve as an example
for the limits and challenges of resource use optimization, of the relationship
between culture and nature, and between human decisions and effects on the
environment.
Carbon is the most important chemical element of living organisms, the carbon
cycle describes the fluxes between and within the reservoirs of the atmosphere,
biosphere, pedosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere. Active pools are open reservoirs with an input and output of carbon.
The numbers in Table 1 show that the amount of carbon in the atmosphere is
relatively small compared to the carbon storage in the ocean or soils, for example.
The amount in living organisms is a little bit smaller than the amount in the
atmosphere, the storage in terrestrial soils may be two or even three times larger.
The annual net uptake in terrestrial soils sums up to c. 2.6–3 Pg C/year and, thus,
seems to be slightly larger than the net ocean uptake of c. 1.9–3 Pg C/year. Both
processes already lower the increase of the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.
Therefore, not only is CO 2 increasing in the atmosphere, but also the carbon storage
in the ocean and in terrestrial soils. The still dramatic increase of carbon in the
atmosphere results mainly from use of fossil fuels, cement production and land use
change.
As a result of an increasing carbon pool in the atmosphere (2–4.4 PgC/year) the
temperatures and sea level are rising in average. However, there are great regional
differences in both, changing sea level and warming (World Meteorological Organization 2018).
If humans want to reduce the carbon content in the atmosphere or they want to
reduce the increasing rate of carbon in the atmosphere they in general have to change
Resources for Humans, Plants and Animals: Who Is the Ruler of the Driver? And:. . .
91
with these attributes is indicated with examples like gardening across the world, by
touristic places like coastal regions, lake shores, or high mountain areas with
colourful meadows and small lakes or streamlets. Openness and structural diversity
can be combined to half-open landscapes with high attractiveness (Bourassa 1988;
Christ et al. 2003), which are relevant for the biodiversity as well. Clearly, many if
not most ecosystems of dense forest or ocean do not represent these properties. Thus,
beautiful landscapes may support biodiversity and species conservation in some but
not all cases. However, we want to pronounce that also the beauty of the landscape
belongs to human resources. Furthermore, the heterogeneity in space and the
character of a landscape including artificial light and noise is also relevant for the
orientation of birds and mammals, for example. Thus, also other species may be
attracted by the beauty of landscapes.
6 Carbon Cycle as an Example for Limits and Challenges
of Anthropogenic Influences
The carbon cycle, which is seriously impacted by humans, may surve as an example
for the limits and challenges of resource use optimization, of the relationship
between culture and nature, and between human decisions and effects on the
environment.
Carbon is the most important chemical element of living organisms, the carbon
cycle describes the fluxes between and within the reservoirs of the atmosphere,
biosphere, pedosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere. Active pools are open reservoirs with an input and output of carbon.
The numbers in Table 1 show that the amount of carbon in the atmosphere is
relatively small compared to the carbon storage in the ocean or soils, for example.
The amount in living organisms is a little bit smaller than the amount in the
atmosphere, the storage in terrestrial soils may be two or even three times larger.
The annual net uptake in terrestrial soils sums up to c. 2.6–3 Pg C/year and, thus,
seems to be slightly larger than the net ocean uptake of c. 1.9–3 Pg C/year. Both
processes already lower the increase of the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.
Therefore, not only is CO 2 increasing in the atmosphere, but also the carbon storage
in the ocean and in terrestrial soils. The still dramatic increase of carbon in the
atmosphere results mainly from use of fossil fuels, cement production and land use
change.
As a result of an increasing carbon pool in the atmosphere (2–4.4 PgC/year) the
temperatures and sea level are rising in average. However, there are great regional
differences in both, changing sea level and warming (World Meteorological Organization 2018).
If humans want to reduce the carbon content in the atmosphere or they want to
reduce the increasing rate of carbon in the atmosphere they in general have to change
Resources for Humans, Plants and Animals: Who Is the Ruler of the Driver? And:. . .
91