DPSIR Concepts: State

The pressures exerted by society may lead to unintentional or intentional changes in the State of the ecosystem.

Usually these changes are unwanted and are seen as negative (damage, degradation, etc.).  The pressures exerted by society may directly impact the ecosystem, such as harvesting or dredging, or may be transported and transformed through a variety of natural processes to indirectly cause changes in ecosystem conditions.

The State is the condition of the abiotic and biotic components of the ecosystems in a certain area in terms of

• Physical variables - the quantity and quality of physical phenomena such as temperature or light availability
• Chemical variables – the quanity and quality of chemicals such as atmospheric CO₂ concentrations or nitrogen levels
• Biological variables – the condition at the ecosystem, habitat, species, community, or genetic levels, such as fish stocks or biodiversity