Objects of monitoring are natural, anthropogenic, natural-anthropogenic ecological systems.

Since the ecological crisis of the planet’s ecosphere in the last, fourth, period developed unevenly – depending on the extent of the impact of various anthropogenic factors, its duration can be divided into three stages:

1. The first stage (1945-1970) is characterized by an increase in the arms race by all developed countries, the predatory destruction of natural resources around the world, and the development of ecological crises within North America, Europe, and certain regions of the former USSR.

2. The second stage (1970-1980) was marked by the rapid development of the ecological crisis in the world (in Japan, most regions of the former USSR, South America, Asia, and Africa), and the intensive growth of pollution of the oceans and outer space. This is a stage of very wide lab report writer free online chemicalization, maximum world production of plastics, the development of global militarism, the real threat of global catastrophe (due to nuclear war) and the emergence of a powerful international state and public movement to save lives on the planet …

3. The third stage (from 1980 to the present) is characterized by changing attitudes of people on the planet to nature, the comprehensive development of environmental education in all countries, a broad social movement for environmental protection, the emergence of a huge number of “green” (organizations, associations, societies), the emergence and development of alternative energy sources, the development of dechimization and resource-saving technologies, the adoption of new national and international laws on nature protection. At this stage, demilitarization has also begun in the most developed countries.

Recently, man acts as a powerful geological force that changes the state of the ecosphere of the entire planet. The scale of human activity is impressive in its size. Unfortunately, this activity mainly has a negative impact on nature.

Global environmental problems. Among the many problems that must be solved by the environment, scientists identify the main, global environmental problems (according to the UN program):

global conversion of human consciousness, the development of completely new moral foundations, a complete change of life paradigm, the transformation of humanity into a single biosocial organism with a collective intellect and an extremely high information system; the problem of population, food production, demographic crisis; greenhouse effect; acid rains; ozone hole; corrosion of materials in the open air; photochemical smog in industrial cities, etc. complete utilization of production waste; the problem of environmentally friendly “energy”; dechimization of agriculture and preservation of forests, hydrosphere; the problem of environmentally friendly “transport” (urbanization, the problem of settlements); demilitarization (environmental consequences of wars); resource conservation and reclamation of the lithosphere; achieving a planetary consensus on the relationship of humanity with nature.

Methods of ecological research. Environmental monitoring. At the highest levels of the organization of living matter, where biological systems interact with the inanimate environment, influencing each other, ecology acts as a clearly defined scientific discipline with its own research methods and its own scientific conceptual apparatus.

She borrows many research methods from the biological sciences: biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, morphology, as well as from the sciences that study the natural environment (soil science, hydrography, climatology, etc.).

Research methods of modern ecology are very diverse. These are new physical, chemical, biophysical, biochemical, bioindication, radiobiological, meteorological and cybernetic methods, ground, air and space ecomonitoring, the latest computers with their capabilities of analysis, taxonomy, ecosystem modeling, forecasting.

Environmental research requires systematic compliance with four successive stages, which constitute the process of formation of scientific knowledge:

observation; formulation based on observations of the theory of the regularity of the studied phenomenon; verification of the theory by the following observations and experiments; observing whether predictions based on this theory are true.

The methodological basis of ecology as a science of ecosystems is a systems approach. A systematic approach to the study of ecosystems requires the solution of three main tasks:

study of its components and interacting with it objects of the environment; establishing the structure of ecosystems, ie a set of internal connections and relationships, as well as links between the ecosystem and the environment; finding the nature of changes in the components of the ecosystem and the relationships between them under the influence of external factors.

Methods of ecology can be divided into three main groups:

Methods used to collect information about the state of ecological objects: plants, animals, microorganisms, ecosystems, biosphere. Methods of processing the received information, convolution, compression and generalization. Methods of interpretation of the obtained factual materials.

The three main methods are most widely used:

method of ecological observation; field biometric method; method of experiment in the field and laboratory; modeling method.

As a result of observations and experiments at the disposal of the ecologist accumulates a set of scientific facts. But the results of any observation cannot be taken as a scientific fact. An important criterion for the reliability of the results of observations and experiments is their reproducibility. It is achieved, as a rule, by repeated repetitions of observations and experiments. The results of such repeated observations or records together constitute a so-called sample. Appropriate statistical processing of research data allows to assess the level of statistical reliability of the results and consider them a scientific fact.

A certain source of facts for the ecologist is literature data and official information.

The technique of processing the collected information depends on the research methodology. Part of the information can be processed directly on the object of research, but the main – in-house conditions. Today, computer information processing is widely used.

When drawing up the results of monitoring, the method of ecological mapping is used, important information about the state of the environment is given by bioindication (biomonitoring).

Pollution of the natural environment and the needs of nature protection have led to the need to organize the accounting of the size of anthropogenic changes in the natural environment and their manifestations in some regions. This task is solved through monitoring.

Environmental monitoring is a scientific and information complex system of observations, assessment and forecast of the state of the environment and changes in the biosphere and its individual components under the influence of anthropogenic actions.

The term (from the Latin “monitor” – which warns) was first used before the UN Conference on the Environment, held in 1972 in Stockholm (Sweden). The United Nations Secretariat for the Environment has identified environmental monitoring as a system of repeated observations of environmental elements in space and time with established goals and programs.

The purpose of monitoring is to collect specific information, conduct experiments, and model processes as a basis for forecasting.

Objects of monitoring are natural, anthropogenic, natural-anthropogenic ecological systems.

Monitoring allows you to solve a wide range of problems and tasks:

identifying the relationship of sources of environmental pollution with the objects on which they operate; identification of channels for the spread of pollutants in the natural environment; selection of indicators that would best show the state of the environment.

In the monitoring process the following are registered:

ecosystems that exist in the area; type of economic use of the territory; degree and forms of degradation of the natural environment – change of relief, erosion, etc.; physical and chemical condition of air, water and soil; biological diversity and status of indicator species, if any; radioactive contamination; sanitary condition.

There are the following types of monitoring:

1. Depending on the level:

Sanitary and hygienic monitoring is a system of monitoring the quality of the environment, mainly from the point of view of public health, the degree of pollution of the environment with harmful toxic substances and its impact on humans, vegetation and animals.

Sanitary and hygienic monitoring determines the presence of physical types of pollution (electromagnetic, noise), pollution by allergens, pathogenic microorganisms, odors; the content of oxides of sulfur, nitrogen, carbon, heavy metal compounds, and the radiation state in the atmosphere is controlled.

In water bodies the degree of their pollution by various organic substances, oil products is defined. Sanitary norms and indicators that characterize the state of the environment in terms of its possible impact on the human body are used for observations.

Ecological monitoring monitors the state of ecological systems (biogeocenoses) and natural complexes, changes in the state of certain types of natural resources (water, land, plants, wildlife resources, etc.).

In environmental monitoring today there is no single system of indicators and standards for the normal state of natural resources. In this regard, the degree of disturbance of natural complexes, ecosystems and other components of the biosphere is determined by comparing their performance with similar performance of systems and components of the biosphere. The degree of anthropogenic action is determined, for example, by the pollution of surface water, reducing soil fertility.

The degree and nature of disturbances in natural complexes are assessed by comparing them with similar ecosystems of stationary research sites or natural areas (reserves), which are specially protected.

Biosphere (global) monitoring is designed to monitor the background state of the environment in small areas. The following are registered:

radiation level; the presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; ozone; change of climatic characteristics; the degree of pollution of the oceans and other parameters.

The Global Monitoring Program (Global Monitoring System for Environment) was adopted in Nairobi by the 1974 International Meeting.