# Anthroposystem > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Anthroposystem > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Anthroposystem.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthroposystem > Source revision: 1320363618 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) The term **anthroposystem** is used to describe the anthropological analogue to the [ecosystem](/source/Ecosystem). In other words, the anthroposystem model serves to compare the flow of materials through human systems to those in naturally occurring systems. As defined by Santos, an anthroposystem is "the orderly combination or arrangement of physical and biological [environments](/source/Natural_environment) for the purpose of maintaining human civilization...built by man to sustain his kind."[1] The anthroposystem is intimately linked to [economic](/source/Economic_system) and [ecological](/source/Ecosystem) systems as well. ## Description Both the anthroposystem and ecosystem can be divided into three groups: producers, [consumers](/source/Heterotroph), and [recyclers](/source/Recycling). In the ecosystem, the producers or [autotrophs](/source/Autotroph) consist of plants and some [bacteria](/source/Bacteria) capable of producing their own food via [photosynthesis](/source/Photosynthesis) or [chemical synthesis](/source/Chemical_synthesis), the consumers consist of animals that obtain energy from grazing and/or by feeding on other animals and the recyclers consist of [decomposers](/source/Decomposer) such as [fungi](/source/Fungus) and bacteria. In the anthroposystem, the [producers](/source/Factors_of_production) consist of the [energy production](/source/Energy_production) through [fossil fuels](/source/Fossil_fuel), manufacturing with non-fuel [minerals](/source/Mineral) and growing food; the [consumers](/source/Consumer) consist of humans and domestic animals and the recyclers consist of the [decomposing](/source/Decomposing) or [recycling](/source/Recycling) activities (i.e. [waste water treatment](/source/Sewage_treatment), metal and solid waste recycling). The ecosystem is [sustainable](/source/Sustainability) whereas the anthroposystem is not. The ecosystem is a [closed loop](/source/Closed-loop_controller) in which nearly everything is recycled whereas the anthroposystem is an [open loop](/source/Open-loop_controller) where very little is recycled. In contrast to the ecosystem, the anthroposystem's producers and consumers are significantly more spatially displaced than those in the ecosystem and thus, more energy is required to transfer matter to a producer or recycler. Currently, a large majority of this energy comes from non-renewable fossil fuels. Additionally, recycling is a naturally occurring component of the ecosystem, and is responsible for much of the [resources](/source/Natural_resource) used by the system. Under the anthroposystem [model](/source/Model_(abstract)), however, recycling does not naturally occur. Outside input is relied on for material and energy supplies, and recycling systems that do exist are artificially created. The process of improving the flow of energy, such that waste can be reused as input resources, is known as [industrial ecology](/source/Industrial_ecology). A matrix can be used to describe the anthropological network of producers, consumers and recyclers and the movement of materials between each. However, the matrix model of the anthroposystem - based on a model for the ecosystem - fails in acknowledging the physical redistribution of mobilized matter. In developing the anthroposystem model, there is a [trade-off](/source/Trade-off) between simplicity and completeness. A simple representative model can be created involving only producers, consumers, and recyclers, but this is an open, incomplete system. More components and analogues (such as a matrix that encompasses the producers, consumers and recyclers) can be added to the system to make a more complete model, but the model loses simplicity in the process. Though the anthroposystem concept is flawed in this manner, it is a very good starting point for analyzing human activities and their effects on the environment. When viewing the Earth as one large anthroposystem, we are essentially eliminating the uncertainty in material flow. All goods (i.e. fossil fuels) will still exist in the system but in a new form (i.e. [pollutants](/source/Pollutant)). Therefore, the Laws of [Conservation of Matter](/source/Law_of_conservation_of_matter) and [Conservation of Energy](/source/Law_of_conservation_of_energy) can be applied to analyze how material flow will impact the environment. Contemporary discussions of the anthroposystem emphasize that modern human activities produce discrete and cumulative changes to Earth's systems. These changes are seen as the result of both intentional and unintentional human actions that constitute a rapidly evolving anthroposystem. Though concerns about such transformation have existed for decades, there are current concerns about their potential irreversibility and whether human intervention can moderate the anthroposystem to sustain ecological and societal stability.[2] ## References 1. Santos, Miguel A. & Filho, Walter Leal (2005). ["An analysis of the relationship between sustainable development and the anthroposystem concept"](http://capita.wustl.edu/me449-06/reports/Santos_Anthroposystem.pdf). *International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development*. **4** (1): 78. Inderscience Publishers. [Bibcode:2005IJESD...4...78S](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005IJESD...4...78S). [doi:10.1504/ijesd.2005.006775](https://doi.org/10.1504/ijesd.2005.006775). [ISSN 1474-6778](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1474-6778). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20061024092131/http://capita.wustl.edu/me449-06/reports/Santos_Anthroposystem.pdf) 2006-10-24 at the Wayback Machine. 1. Evans, Brian. "Are we contributing to a benign Anthroposystem in our Cities?." Activities of the Geneva UN Charter Centres of Excellence (2024): 3-26. - [Husar](https://web.archive.org/web/20061026040549/http://capita.wustl.edu/me449-06/reports/Ecosystem_Biosphere.pdf) - Ayres, Robert (1994). *Industrial metabolism : restructuring for sustainable development* (in Romanian). Tokyo: United Nations University Press. ISBN 978-92-808-0841-4. [OCLC 44965463](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44965463) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Anthroposystem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthroposystem) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthroposystem?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.