Alternative site for the Global ecosystem typology with additional information for ecosystem profiles and indicative maps.
This site is maintained by jrfep
Intensive land-use systems include major anthropogenic enterprises of cropping, pastoralism, plantation farming and urbanisation. Maintenance of these systems is contingent on continuing human interventions, including alterations to physical structure of vegetation and substrates (e.g. clearing, earthworks, drainage), supplementation of resources (e.g. irrigation, fertilisers), introduction and control of biota. These interventions maintain disequilibrium community structure and composition, low endemism and low functional and taxonomic diversity. Target biota are genetically manipulated (by selective breeding or molecular engineering) to promote rapid growth rates, efficient resource capture, enhanced resource allocation to production tissues and tolerance to harsh environmental conditions, predators and diseases. Non-target biota include widely dispersed, cosmopolitan opportunists with short life-cycles. Many intensive land use systems are maintained as artificial mosaics of contrasting patch types at scales of metres to hundreds of metres. Typically, but not exclusively, they are associated with temperate or subtropical climates natural availability of freshwater and nutrients (from fertile soils) on flat to undulating terrain accessible by machinery., On global and regional scales intensive land-use systems are engaged in climate feedback processes via alterations to the water cycle and release of greenhouse gases from vegetation, soils, livestock and fossil fuels. On local scales, temperatures may be modified by human-built structures (heat-island effects) or artificially controlled.