From the preface by Joel E. Cohen: "A century from now humanity will live in a managed - or mismanaged - global garden. We are debating the need to preserve tropical forests. Farming of the sea is providing an increasing part of our fish supply. We are beginning to control atmospheric emissions. In 100 years, we shall use novel farming practices and genetic engineering of bacteria to manipulate the methane production of rice fields. The continental shelf will be providing food, energy, possibly even living space. To make such intensive management possible will require massive improvements in data collection and analysis, and especially in our concepts. A century hence we will live on a wired earth: the oceans and the crust of the earth will receive the same comprehensive monitoring now devoted to weather. As the peoples of currently developing countries increase their levels of wealth, the need for global management will become irresistible as impatience with the accidents of nature and intolerance of mismanagement of the environment - especially of living resources - grow. Our control of physical perturbations and chemical inputs to the environment will be judged by the consequences to living organisms and biological communities. How can we obtain the factual and theoretical foundation needed to move from our present, fragmented knowledge and limited abilities to a managed, global garden?" This problem was addressed in the lectures and workshops of a summer school on patch dynamics at Cornell University. The school emphasized the analysis and interpretation of spatial patterns in terrestrial and marine environments. This book contains the course material of this school, combining general reviews with specific applications.

Ecologists are aware of the importance of natural dynamics in ecosystems. Historically, the focus has been on the development in succession of equilibrium communities, which has generated an understanding of the composition and functioning of ecosystems. Recently, many have focused on the processes of disturbances and the evolutionary significance of such events. This shifted emphasis has inspired studies in diverse systems. The phrase "patch dynamics" (Thompson, 1978) describes their common focus. The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and Patch Dynamics brings together the findings and ideas of those studying varied systems, presenting a synthesis of diverse individual contributions.

Population theory.

This book presents current meta-ecosystem models and their derivation from classical ecosystem and metapopulation theories. Specifically, it reviews recent modelling efforts that have emphasized the role of nonlinear dynamics on spatial and food web networks, and which have cast their implications within the context of spatial synchrony and ecological stoichiometry. It suggests that these recent advances naturally lead to a generalization of meta-ecosystem theories to spatial fluxes of matter that have both a trophic and non-trophic impact on species. Ecosystem dynamics refers to the cycling of matter and energy across ecological compartments through processes such as consumption and recycling. Spatial dynamics established its ecological roots with metapopulation theories and focuses on scaling up local ecological processes through the limited movement of individuals and matter. Over the last 15 years, theories integrating ecosystem and spatial dynamics have quickly coalesced into meta-ecosystem theories, the focus of this book. The book will be of interest to graduate students and researchers who wish to learn more about the synthesis of ecosystem and spatial dynamics, which form the foundation of the theory of meta-ecosystems.

Nearly one-third of the land area on our planet is classified as arid or desert. Therefore, an understanding of the dynamics of such arid ecosystems is essential to managing those systems in a way that sustains human populations. This second edition of Ecology of Desert Systems provides a clear, extensive guide to the complex interactions involved in these areas. This book details the relationships between abiotic and biotic environments of desert ecosystems, demonstrating to readers how these interactions drive ecological processes. These include plant growth and animal reproductive success, the spatial and temporal distribution of vegetation and animals, and the influence of invasive species and anthropogenic climate change specific to arid systems. Drawing on the extensive experience of its expert authors, Ecology of Desert Systems is an essential guide to arid ecosystems for students looking for an overview of the field, researchers keen to learn how their work fits in to the overall picture, and those involved with environmental management of desert areas. - Highlights the complexity of global desert systems in a clear, concise way - Reviews the most current issues facing researchers in the field, including the spread of invasive species due to globalized trade, the impact of industrial mining, and climate change - Updated and extended to include information on invasive species management, industrial mining impacts, and the current and future role of climate change in desert systems

A new tool for analyzing urban land cover that integrates design practices and ecological knowledge for understanding cities as complex, patchy and dynamic systems This atlas is a unique conceptual tool to describe and analyze cities as complex systems, using a new, hybrid approach to urban land cover classification. As an impetus to bring ecologists and urban designers together, it builds on over a decade of shared knowledge from the Baltimore Ecosystem Study to inspire ecologically motivated design practice. Rather than separating human-constructed environments from predominantly biological and geological ones, this book integrates built and ecological structures and shows how this integration can contribute to the scholarship of ecology and the practice of design. The atlas displays maps and tables depicting these hybrid land cover classes and the relationships between them; information on how the specific patch arrangements evolved over time; and speculations on how cover might change through design, disturbance, or succession. Interdisciplinary and strikingly illustrated, the atlas is a new way to study, measure, and view cities with a more effective interaction of scientific understanding and design practice.

An analysis and synthesis of the ecology of heterogeneous land areas.