Global Environmental Systems—A Spatial Framework for Better Understanding the Changing World

Purely natural land formations are increasingly rare in today’s world, as most areas have been shaped, to varying degrees, by human influence over time. To better understand ongoing changes in the natural environment, we adopted an approach that involves identifying global systems with a significant...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Aleš Hrdina, Dušan Romportl
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-02-01
Series:Environments
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/11/2/33
Description
Summary:Purely natural land formations are increasingly rare in today’s world, as most areas have been shaped, to varying degrees, by human influence over time. To better understand ongoing changes in the natural environment, we adopted an approach that involves identifying global systems with a significant anthropogenic component. In this study, we developed a new classification of Global Environmental Systems based on over 20 high-resolution datasets, covering abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic conditions. We created abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic classifications, each with ten classes. The combinations of these classes result in 169 distinct classes of Global Environmental Systems. This classification provides a suitable spatial framework for monitoring land use dynamics, biodiversity changes, global climate change impacts, and various processes exhibiting complex spatial patterns.
ISSN:2076-3298