Record Details
A systems analysis model for minimizing the flow of biotically productive land into irreversible uses
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | A systems analysis model for minimizing the flow of biotically productive land into irreversible uses |
| Names |
Hollingshead, Anne Huston, 1925-
(creator) Highsmith, Richard M. Jr (advisor) |
| Date Issued | 1970-08-06 (iso8601) |
| Note | Graduation date: 1971 |
| Abstract | Many of the natural resource problems facing man in the present era are so large and complicated that no one discipline provides an adequate approach for their solutions. As an example, the relationships of man to the land resource base can best be understood when they are considered holistically rather than in fragments. General systems analysis offers an appropriate scientific method to use when trying to solve these problems, for there are many variables which must be considered. A systems model which can be used as a framework toward sound decision-making regarding land uses at all levels of government is presented in this thesis in order that several goals can be achieved: provision for keeping options open for as many choices as possible for land uses in the future; innovations and incremental decision-making to be contained within a large, long-term framework; and provision for rational land uses--ecologically manageable, economically sound, and culturally permissible. The first phase of the study entails a review of the literature on General System Theory, a theory based upon similarities in structure or organization of systems, not upon similarities of substantitve matter. In addition, major land uses are described and placed in a continuum which ranges from the most reversible land uses (those which provide for biotic production) to those uses which are the most irreversible. The second phase of the study is concerned with identifying the variables (inputs) which are considered in building the model and with understanding the relationships which exist between the variables. Each variable is placed within a subsystem, i.e. , economic, political, geometric, land-capability, or behavioral. The relationships between other variables in its subsystem are ascertained for each input as well as its relationships with variables in other subsystems. Primacy is of great significance in systems analysis, and an important step is the determination of those variables which are of greatest concern in minimizing the flow of biotically productive land into irreversible uses. The third phase comprises the building of the general model, the interlinking of all the variables from the five subsystems into one complex system; it is a unique system of its own and is termed the Man/ Land system. The political and land-capability subsystems are pictured on the large model as they should be in order that land waste be minimized, and the behavioral and economic systems are pictured as they exist right now. Thus, the model is not a description of the present state of affairs. Its purpose is to show the flows between the subsystems. The final phase of the study is an analysis of the general model which suggests that there exists a hierarchy of subsystems within the Man/Land system--a priority listing--if the goal of man to conserve his biotically productive land is to be achieved. Finite space and land capability impose a set of natural boundaries upon man and occupy first place in the hierarchy. Knowledge of man's physical and spatial world affects the behavioral subsystem, which occupies the second place in the hierarchy. Attitudes and customs which reflect that man is a part of nature rather than dominant over nature influence the political subsystem, third in the hierarchy. It, in turn, sets the limits within which the economic system can operate, a structure based upon conservation rather than exploitation. The entire system is based upon an ecosystem approach, for although there is a hierarchy of priorities for emphasis in decision making, all of the variables are interrelated. The foregoing hierarchy is a radical departure from American priorities at the present time. |
| Genre | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Topic | Land research |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/45934 |
