Grand Challenges for Biological and Environmental Research: A Long-Term Vision

Abstract

CoverImages on the cover represent a broad range of natural systems that drive the science supported by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research within the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. These systems are not only structurally and spatially complex with many different interacting parts spanning molecular to global scales, but they also are dynamically complex, encompassing processes that occur over time scales ranging from nanoseconds to centuries.Image credits: Ball-and-stick representation of atoms within a molecule from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Ribosome molecular complex image from Ditlev Brodersen, Aarhus University. Microscopic image of fungal hyphae on a root surface, copyright Merton Brown, Visuals Unlimited. Forest ecosystem image from the U.S. National Park Service. Mountain and Earth images from iStockphoto. Cover developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Governing Harmonious Human Engagement with the Spatial Capital

“…There is a need to analyse and compare potential approaches to organize land use, water use, and energy systems, in ways that achieve sustainable energy, food, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning [127]. Loss of genetic and species diversity and homogeneity of landscapes diminish options for management, and increase vulnerability of ecosystem services [128].…”

“…The impacts different patterns of land-use have on both society and the environment also must be tested and assessed. All this would not be possible without providing richer opportunities for scientific collaborations [127].…”

The way forward to strengthen human nature entente: an educated human presence at all the interfaces of this relationship

“…Most of the contemporary scientific approaches completely deconstruct the natural systems, and characterize their constituent parts: totally detached from the whole. These types of courses are susceptible to failure in coping with the scales of phenomena we are facing today (Wu 2006;Arkin et al 2010). Natural systems are actually working on multiple levels of biological organisation.…”

“…Natural systems are actually working on multiple levels of biological organisation. Even if all components of a natural system are well characterized, it produces unanticipated functions and attributes at different levels of its biological organization (Arkin et al 2010). Knowledge of the components of a natural system is not thus enough to predict all the functions of a natural system.…”

“…It can cause a great shift in the continued provision of goods and services, which are essential to the human civilization (Lubchenco et al 1991;. Now we need to seek a multidisciplinary course for our compartmentalized sciences that should be able to span the spatial and temporal dimensions of the natural systems (Arkin et al 2010). This understanding has been used in composing the structures of all dimensions of human world.…”