ABSTRACT
As humans have become major biogeochemical agents at the scale of the planet, the global vision of ecology cannot ignore industrial activity. By studying local ecosystems at smaller scales it remains possible to define the limits of the system in such a way as to exclude or externalise human activity. An analysis of material fluxes at the planetary scale reveals the growing impact of human — and particularly industrial — activity as compared with the fluxes generated by purely natural processes. The ecosystem concept, introduced by A. G. Tansley in reaction to contemporary works on vegetation dynamics, became the core of a second branch of ecological research, particularly after the work by R. Lindeman and E. P. Odum. An analysis of material fluxes at the planetary scale reveals the growing impact of human — and particularly industrial — activity as compared with the fluxes generated by purely natural processes.
