TAILIEUCHUNG - A New Ecology - Systems Perspective - Chapter 4

4 Ecosystems have directionality “From the way the grass bends, one can know the direction of the wind.” (Chinese Quotation) All nature is but art unknown to thee; All chance, direction which thou canst not see; All discord, harmony not understood; All partial evil, universal good; And, spite of pride | 4 12 2007 17 23 Page 59 4 Ecosystems have directionality From the way the grass bends one can know the direction of the wind. Chinese Quotation All nature is but art unknown to thee All chance direction which thou canst not see All discord harmony not understood All partial evil universal good And spite of pride in erring reasons spite One truth is clear Whatever IS is RIGHT. Alexander Pope 1773 SINCE THE BEGINNINGS OF ECOLOGY Ecosystems have directionality This is an extraordinary statement although the reader might at first wonder why. After all one observes directional behavior everywhere A billiard ball when struck by another ball will take off in a prescribed direction. Sunflowers turn their heads to face the sun. Copepods migrate up and down in the water column on a daily basis. Yet despite these obvious examples scientists have increasingly been trained to regard instances of directionality in nature as having no real basis epiphenomenal illusions that distract one from an underlying static isotropic reality. Before embarking on how ecological direction differs from directionality observed elsewhere it is worthwhile describing the ecological notion of succession Odum 1959 . The classical example in American ecology pertains to successive vegetational communities Cowles 1899 and their associated heterotrophs Shelford 1913 research conducted on the shores of Lake Michigan. Both Cowles and Shelford had built on the work of the Danish botanist Eugenius Warming 1909 . Prevailing winds blowing against a shore will deposit sand in wave-like fashion. The most recent dunes have emerged closest to the lake itself while progressively older and higher dunes occur as one proceeds inland. The assumption here much like the famed ergodic assumption in thermodynamics is that this spatial series of biotic communities represents as well the temporal evolution of a single ecosystem. The younger presumably less-mature community consisted of beach

TỪ KHÓA LIÊN QUAN
TAILIEUCHUNG - Chia sẻ tài liệu không giới hạn
Địa chỉ : 444 Hoang Hoa Tham, Hanoi, Viet Nam
Website : tailieuchung.com
Email : tailieuchung20@gmail.com
Tailieuchung.com là thư viện tài liệu trực tuyến, nơi chia sẽ trao đổi hàng triệu tài liệu như luận văn đồ án, sách, giáo trình, đề thi.
Chúng tôi không chịu trách nhiệm liên quan đến các vấn đề bản quyền nội dung tài liệu được thành viên tự nguyện đăng tải lên, nếu phát hiện thấy tài liệu xấu hoặc tài liệu có bản quyền xin hãy email cho chúng tôi.
Đã phát hiện trình chặn quảng cáo AdBlock
Trang web này phụ thuộc vào doanh thu từ số lần hiển thị quảng cáo để tồn tại. Vui lòng tắt trình chặn quảng cáo của bạn hoặc tạm dừng tính năng chặn quảng cáo cho trang web này.