The ecosystem-movements, connections, tensions and translations

- Revisit the work of early 20th century ecologist A.G. Tansley.
- Examine the emergence, histories and geographies of the ecosystem concept.
- Examine the ecosystem idea as it is used in current resource issues in Canada.
- Demonstrate the contested nature of ecological terms.
- Contextualize, historicize, and politicize scientific language and concepts.

'Ecosystem', a term brought into scientific usage by English ecologist Arthur George Tansley in 1935, became a key concept for the development of ecology and nature management. In the twenty-first century, its uses continue to proliferate. For Tansley, the ecosystem was an interacting and interdependent system of organic and inorganic components. Within it, human activity was to be regarded as the most powerful biotic factor 'which increasingly upsets the equilibrium of preexisting ecosystems and eventually destroys them, at the same time forming new ones of a very different nature …' The influences on Tansley's thinking have been detailed in terms of physics, psychoanalysis, politics, and philosophy. This paper summarizes select debates regarding the emergence of the idea and its use and abuse vis-a-vis the politics of society and nature. It briefly traces the geography of the concept as it was taken up by Americans, becoming the basis of 'systems ecology,' and having varied applications in, for instance, forestry, fisheries, avian conservation, and environmental history. We end by looking at recent shifts in the British Columbian forest sector, resulting from the unprecedented range and impact of wood-boring beetle populations, where the ecosystem circulates as a highly politicized and contested term. Although we find that humans have figured differently over time and place in relation to the concept's complex imaginary, it is important to recognize that with the term ecosystem Tansley also was addressing his own question, 'Is man part of 'nature' or not?' We conclude by highlighting potential connections to the other constructs addressed by other authors in this special issue, and suggest ways that key insights from Tansley's work might contribute to just ecosystem futures.