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Paperback
Published: 30th November 2003
ISBN: 9780691092898
Number Of Pages: 504
Quantitative models are crucial to almost every area of ecosystem science. They provide a logical structure that guides and informs empirical observations of ecosystem processes. They play a particularly crucial role in synthesizing and integrating our understanding of the immense diversity of ecosystem structure and function. Increasingly, models are being called on to predict the effects of human actions on natural ecosystems. Despite the widespread use of models, there exists intense debate within the field over a wide range of practical and philosophical issues pertaining to quantitative modeling. This book--which grew out of a gathering of leading experts at the ninth Cary Conference--explores those issues.
The book opens with an overview of the status and role of modeling in ecosystem science, including perspectives on the long-running debate over the appropriate level of complexity in models. This is followed by eight chapters that address the critical issue of evaluating ecosystem models, including methods of addressing uncertainty. Next come several case studies of the role of models in environmental policy and management. A section on the future of modeling in ecosystem science focuses on increasing the use of modeling in undergraduate education and the modeling skills of professionals within the field. The benefits and limitations of predictive (versus observational) models are also considered in detail. Written by stellar contributors, this book grants access to the state of the art and science of ecosystem modeling.
"In the book, a group of excellent ecologists share with you their experience of working with ecological models, their insights into various modeling issues, and their visions of future directions... Experienced modelers or experimentalists with strong interests in modeling can learn a great deal from this book."--Yiqi Luo, Ecology
| Acknowledgments | |
| List of Contributors and Participants | |
| Models in Ecosystem Science | p. 1 |
| The Role of Quantitative Models in Science | p. 13 |
| The Status of Dynamic Quantitative Modeling in Ecology | p. 32 |
| The utility of Simple Models in Ecosystem Science | p. 49 |
| In Praise of Mechanistically Rich Models | p. 63 |
| Modeling for Synthesis and Integration: Forests, People, and Riparian Coarse Woody Debris | p. 83 |
| The Role of Models in Prediction for Decision | p. 111 |
| Propagation and Analysis of Uncertainty in Ecosystem Models | p. 139 |
| Bayesian Approaches in Ecological Analysis and Modeling | p. 168 |
| Model Validation and Testing: Past Lessons, Present Concerns, Future Prospects | p. 184 |
| Standards of Practice for Review and Publication of Models: Summary of Discussion | p. 204 |
| The Collision of Hypotheses: What Can Be Learned from Comparisons of Ecosystem Models? | p. 211 |
| Evaluating and Testing Models of Terrestrial Biogeochemistry: The Role of Temperature in Controlling Decomposition | p. 225 |
| Representing Biogeochemical Diversity and Size Spectra in Ecosystem Models of the Ocean Carbon Cycle | p. 254 |
| The Mass Balances of Nutrients in Ecosystem Theory and Experiments: Implications for the coexistence of Species | p. 272 |
| The Role of Models in Ecosystem Management | p. 299 |
| The Role of Models in Addressing Critical N Loading to Ecosystems | p. 308 |
| The Role of Models in Addressing Coastal Eutrophication | p. 327 |
| Quantitative Models in Ecological Toxicology: Application in Ecological Risk Assessment | p. 344 |
| Effects of Plant Invaders on Nutrient Cycling: Using Models to Explore the Link between Invasion and Development of Species Effects | p. 363 |
| Predicting the Ecosystem Effects of Climate Change | p. 385 |
| The Role of Modeling in Undergraduate Education | p. 413 |
| Increasing Modeling Savvy: Strategies to Advance Quantitative Modeling Skills for Professionals within Ecology | p. 428 |
| The Limits to Models in Ecology | p. 437 |
| The Need for Fast-and-Frugal Models | p. 455 |
| On the Benefits and Limitations of Prediction | p. 461 |
| A Community-Wide Investment in Modeling | p. 466 |
| Index | p. 471 |
| Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved. |
ISBN: 9780691092898
ISBN-10: 0691092893
Audience:
Tertiary; University or College
Format:
Paperback
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 504
Published: 30th November 2003
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: US
Dimensions (cm): 23.47 x 15.6
x 2.97
Weight (kg): 0.68
