Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 3
Environmental Stressors as an Integrative
Approach to Landscape Assessment
Jirí Andel, Martin Balej, and Tomáš Oršulák
3.1 Stressors and Stress in a Landscape
The genesis of the term stress is closely associated with research in the psycho-
logical and biological disciplines (e.g. Shanteau & Dino, 1993). Generally, stress
is a difficult concept to define. Early definitions varied in the extent to which they
emphasized the responses of the individual, or the situations that caused disrup-
tions of ongoing behaviour and functioning (Evans & Cohen, 1987). Appley and
Trumbull (1967), McGrath (1970) and Mason (1975) have summarized several
objections to each of these approaches to defining stress. Stress is best considered as
a complex rubric reflecting a dynamic, recursive relationship between environmen-
tal demands, individual and social resources to cope with those demands, and the
individual's appraisal of that relationship (Evans & Cohen, 1987). A stress-inducing
factor is called a stressor. Stress is a manifestation of a stressor within a system. Four
general types of environmental stressors have been identified in psychological the-
ory: cataclysmic events, stressful life events, daily hassles, and ambient stressors
(Baum, Singer, & Baum, 1982; Cambell, 1983; Lazarus & Cohen, 1977.)
Similar to the definition of stress in psychology, we can designate as a stressor
any force or system of forces producing pressure, tension or causing deformity that
is detrimental to the system it acts upon. In the context of environmental sciences,
stress within an environmental system composed of biotic, abiotic and human ele-
ments can be defined as any deformity present in the system. Stress (or pressure,
strain, disturbing force, obstacle or difficulty) can thus be defined as any stimu-
lus the intensity of which is in excess of the norm (physical, ecological, social or
economic). In the normal fluctuation of a phenomenon, stress can be represented
by an exceptionally strong/weak intensity or unusual frequency. Individual types of
environmental systems may react in varying ways to different stressful stimuli. In
the initial phase of stress response, a system operates on the principle of resilience,
followed by the phase of resistance. In the final phase the system either breaks down
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