Gaia as a complex adaptive system

被引:59
作者
Lenton, TM [1 ]
van Oijen, M [1 ]
机构
[1] Ctr Ecol & Hydrol, Edinburgh Res Stn, Penicuik EH26 0QB, Midlothian, Scotland
关键词
Gaia theory; complexity theory; Earth system; Daisyworld; feedbacks; adaptive change;
D O I
10.1098/rstb.2001.1014
中图分类号
Q [生物科学];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
We define the Gaia system of life and its environment on Earth, review the status of the Gaia theory, introduce potentially relevant concepts from complexity theory, then try to apply them to Gaia. We consider whether Gaia is a complex adaptive system (CAS) in terms of its behaviour and suggest that the system is self-organizing but does not reside in a critical state. Gaia has supported abundant life for most of the last 3.8 Gyr. Large perturbations have occasionally suppressed life but the system has always recovered without losing the capacity for large-scale free energy capture and recycling of essential elements. To illustrate how complexity theory can help us understand the emergence of planetary-scale order, we present a simple cellular automata (CA) model of the imaginary planet Daisyworld. This exhibits emergent self-regulation as a consequence of feedback coupling between life and its environment. Local spatial interaction, which was absent from the original model, can destabilize the system by generating bifurcation regimes. Variation and natural selection tend to remove this instability. With mutation in the model system, it exhibits self-organizing adaptive behaviour in its response to forcing. We close by suggesting how artificial life ('Alife') techniques may enable more comprehensive feasibility tests of Gaia.
引用
收藏
页码:683 / 695
页数:13
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