MINIREVIEWS Exploring the Basic Ecological Unit: Ecosystem-like Concepts in Traditional Societies

Ancient conceptualizations of ecosystems exist in several Amerindian, Asia-Pacific, European, and African cultures. The rediscovery by scientists of ecosystem-like concepts among traditional peoples has been important in the appreciation of traditional ecological knowledge among ecologists, anthropolo-gists, and interdisciplinary scholars. Two key charac-teristics of these systems are that (a) the unit of nature is often defined in terms of a geographical boundary, such as a watershed, and (b) abiotic components, plants, animals, and humans within this unit are considered to be interlinked. Many traditional ecological knowledge systems are compat-ible with the emerging view of ecosystems as unpre-dictable and uncontrollable, and of ecosystem pro-cesses as nonlinear, multiequilibrium, and full of surprises. Traditional knowledge may complement scientific knowledge by providing practical experi-ence in living within ecosystems and responding to ecosystem change. However, the ‘‘language’ ’ of tra-ditional ecology is different from the scientific and usually includes metaphorical imagery and spiritual expression, signifying differences in context, mo-tive, and conceptual underpinnings. Key words: traditional ecological knowledge; hu-man ecology; ecological anthropology; ecosystem; watershed