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Author: Craig R. Allen Publisher: Columbia University Press ISBN: 0231516827 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 287
Book Description
Following the publication of C. S. Holling's seminal work on the relationship between animal body mass patterns and scale-specific landscape structure, ecologists began to explore the theoretical and applied consequences of discontinuities in ecosystems and other complex systems. Are ecosystems and their components continuously distributed and do they adhere to scaling laws, or are they discontinuous and more complex than early models would have us believe? The resulting propositions over the structure of complex systems sparked an ongoing debate regarding the mechanisms generating discontinuities and the statistical methods used for their detection. This volume takes the view that ecosystems and other complex systems are inherently discontinuous and that such fields as ecology, economics, and urban studies greatly benefit from this paradigm shift. Contributors present evidence of the ubiquity of discontinuous distributions in ecological and social systems and how their analysis provides insight into complex phenomena. The book is divided into three sections. The first focuses on background material and contrasting views concerning the discontinuous organization of complex systems. The second discusses discontinuous patterns detected in a number of different systems and methods for detecting them, and the third touches on the potential significance of discontinuities in complex systems. Science is still dominated by a focus on power laws, but the contributors to this volume are convinced power laws often mask the interesting dynamics of systems and that those dynamics are best revealed by investigating deviations from assumed power law distributions. In 2008, a grand conference on resilience was held in Stockholm, hosting 600 participants from around the world. There are now three big centers established with resilience, the most recent one being the Stockholm Resilience Center, with others in Australia (an international coral reef center), Arizona State University's new sustainability center focusing on anthropology, and Canada's emerging social sciences and resilience center. Activity continues to flourish in Alaska, South Africa, and the Untied Kingdom, and a new center is forming in Uruguay.
Author: Craig R. Allen Publisher: Columbia University Press ISBN: 0231516827 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 287
Book Description
Following the publication of C. S. Holling's seminal work on the relationship between animal body mass patterns and scale-specific landscape structure, ecologists began to explore the theoretical and applied consequences of discontinuities in ecosystems and other complex systems. Are ecosystems and their components continuously distributed and do they adhere to scaling laws, or are they discontinuous and more complex than early models would have us believe? The resulting propositions over the structure of complex systems sparked an ongoing debate regarding the mechanisms generating discontinuities and the statistical methods used for their detection. This volume takes the view that ecosystems and other complex systems are inherently discontinuous and that such fields as ecology, economics, and urban studies greatly benefit from this paradigm shift. Contributors present evidence of the ubiquity of discontinuous distributions in ecological and social systems and how their analysis provides insight into complex phenomena. The book is divided into three sections. The first focuses on background material and contrasting views concerning the discontinuous organization of complex systems. The second discusses discontinuous patterns detected in a number of different systems and methods for detecting them, and the third touches on the potential significance of discontinuities in complex systems. Science is still dominated by a focus on power laws, but the contributors to this volume are convinced power laws often mask the interesting dynamics of systems and that those dynamics are best revealed by investigating deviations from assumed power law distributions. In 2008, a grand conference on resilience was held in Stockholm, hosting 600 participants from around the world. There are now three big centers established with resilience, the most recent one being the Stockholm Resilience Center, with others in Australia (an international coral reef center), Arizona State University's new sustainability center focusing on anthropology, and Canada's emerging social sciences and resilience center. Activity continues to flourish in Alaska, South Africa, and the Untied Kingdom, and a new center is forming in Uruguay.
Author: David Waltner-Toews Publisher: Columbia University Press ISBN: 0231507208 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 674
Book Description
Is sustainable development a workable solution for today's environmental problems? Is it scientifically defensible? Best known for applying ecological theory to the engineering problems of everyday life, the late scholar James J. Kay was a leader in the study of social and ecological complexity and the thermodynamics of ecosystems. Drawing from his immensely important work, as well as the research of his students and colleagues, The Ecosystem Approach is a guide to the aspects of complex systems theories relevant to social-ecological management. Advancing a methodology that is rooted in good theory and practice, this book features case studies conducted in the Arctic and Africa, in Canada and Kathmandu, and in the Peruvian Amazon, Chesapeake Bay, and Chennai, India. Applying a systems approach to concrete environmental issues, this volume is geared toward scientists, engineers, and sustainable development scholars and practitioners who are attuned to the ideas of the Resilience Alliance-an international group of scientists who take a more holistic view of ecology and environmental problem-solving. Chapters cover the origins and rebirth of the ecosystem approach in ecology; the bridging of science and values; the challenge of governance in complex systems; systemic and participatory approaches to management; and the place for cultural diversity in the quest for global sustainability.
Author: T. F. H. Allen Publisher: University of Chicago Press ISBN: 022648968X Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 424
Book Description
Ecosystems are incredibly complex, non-linear structures and self-organized entities; they cannot be described by simple models or by statistical approaches. Within each ecosystem are scores of individuals interacting continuously with others and with their biotic and abiotic surroundings, over vast geographic spaces, and over varying time scales as well. To approach the enormity of this complexity, ecologists have developed tools to simplify and aggregate information, and among them is Hierarchy Theory. Instead of analyzing the whole structure to understand the functions of the system, Hierarchy Theory analyzes hierarchical levels only and the interactions between them. It draws upon two different paradigms of complexity, reductionism and holism, adapting the most useful features of each into a viable means of studying ecosystems. It reduces the amount of data the researcher has to deal with, and it explicitly considers the relevant entities and interconnections of a larger complex system according to a specific research question. Originally published in 1982, Hierarchy was the first book to apply the tool to ecological systems. In the three decades since its publication, the work has influenced myriad large scale research initiatives in ecology, and this new, thoroughly revised edition reflects the assimilation of the theory in ecological research, and its successful application to the understanding of complex systems.
Author: Jon Norberg Publisher: Columbia University Press ISBN: 9780231508865 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 340
Book Description
Complexity theory illuminates the many interactions between natural and social systems, providing a better understanding of the general principles that can help solve some of today's most pressing environmental issues. Complexity theory was developed from key ideas in economics, physics, biology, and the social sciences and contributes to important new concepts for approaching issues of environmental sustainability such as resilience, scaling, and networks. Complexity Theory for a Sustainable Future is a hands-on treatment of this exciting new body of work and its applications, bridging the gap between theoretical and applied perspectives in the management of complex adaptive systems. Focusing primarily on natural resource management and community-based conservation, the book features contributions by leading scholars in the field, many of whom are among the leaders of the Resilience Alliance. Theoreticians will find a valuable synthesis of new ideas on resilience, sustainability, asymmetries, information processing, scaling, and networks. Managers and policymakers will benefit from the application of these ideas to practical approaches and empirical studies linked to social-ecological systems. Chapters present new twists on such existing approaches as scenario planning, scaling analyses, and adaptive management, and the book concludes with recommendations on how to manage natural resources, how to involve stakeholders in the dynamics of a system, and how to explain the difficult topic of scale. A vital reference for an emerging discipline, this volume provides a clearer understanding of the conditions required for systems self-organization, since the capacity of any system to self-organize is crucial for its sustainability over time.
Author: Eoin Flaherty Publisher: Springer ISBN: 1137549785 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 265
Book Description
This book introduces a new approach to environmental sociology, by integrating complexity-informed social science, Marxian ecological theory, and resilience-based human ecology. It argues that sociologists have largely ignored developments in ecology which move beyond functionalist approaches to systems analysis, and as a result, environmental sociology has failed to capitalise not only on the analytical promise of resilience ecology, but on complementary developments in complexity theory. By tracing the origins and discussing current developments in each of these areas, it offers several paths to interdisciplinary dialogue. Eoin Flaherty argues that complexity theory and Marxian ecology can enhance our understanding of the social aspect of social-ecological systems, whilst a resilience approach can sharpen the analytical power of environmental sociology.
Author: Stanislaw Sieniutycz Publisher: Elsevier ISBN: 0443192375 Category : Technology & Engineering Languages : en Pages : 188
Book Description
Complexity and Complex Ecological Systems covers the basic aspects of analysis, synthesis and optimization of ecological systems. The book focuses on the study of environmental systems, presenting how organisms behave and live with each other in unique physical environs. It covers ecology-related topics, such as biological diversity in fluid systems, living complexity behavior, and organismic changes in unique environments, as well as other ecological problems such as biological organization, life with each other, energy degradation, gradient reduction, organisms' adaptation, population dynamics, spatial patterns, ecological integrity, sustainability and environmental strategies. This complexity-oriented book complements Sieniutycz' recently published books Complexity and Complex Thermo-Economic Systems and Complexity and Complex Chemo-Electric Systems.
Author: Scott E. Page Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 1400835143 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 304
Book Description
This book provides an introduction to the role of diversity in complex adaptive systems. A complex system--such as an economy or a tropical ecosystem--consists of interacting adaptive entities that produce dynamic patterns and structures. Diversity plays a different role in a complex system than it does in an equilibrium system, where it often merely produces variation around the mean for performance measures. In complex adaptive systems, diversity makes fundamental contributions to system performance. Scott Page gives a concise primer on how diversity happens, how it is maintained, and how it affects complex systems. He explains how diversity underpins system level robustness, allowing for multiple responses to external shocks and internal adaptations; how it provides the seeds for large events by creating outliers that fuel tipping points; and how it drives novelty and innovation. Page looks at the different kinds of diversity--variations within and across types, and distinct community compositions and interaction structures--and covers the evolution of diversity within complex systems and the factors that determine the amount of maintained diversity within a system. Provides a concise and accessible introduction Shows how diversity underpins robustness and fuels tipping points Covers all types of diversity The essential primer on diversity in complex adaptive systems
Author: Ricard Solé Publisher: Princeton University Press ISBN: 140084293X Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 384
Book Description
Can physics be an appropriate framework for the understanding of ecological science? Most ecologists would probably agree that there is little relation between the complexity of natural ecosystems and the simplicity of any example derived from Newtonian physics. Though ecologists have long been interested in concepts originally developed by statistical physicists and later applied to explain everything from why stock markets crash to why rivers develop particular branching patterns, applying such concepts to ecosystems has remained a challenge. Self-Organization in Complex Ecosystems is the first book to clearly synthesize what we have learned about the usefulness of tools from statistical physics in ecology. Ricard Solé and Jordi Bascompte provide a comprehensive introduction to complex systems theory, and ask: do universal laws shape the structure of ecosystems, at least at some scales? They offer the most compelling array of theoretical evidence to date of the potential of nonlinear ecological interactions to generate nonrandom, self-organized patterns at all levels. Tackling classic ecological questions--from population dynamics to biodiversity to macroevolution--the book's novel presentation of theories and data shows the power of statistical physics and complexity in ecology. Self-Organization in Complex Ecosystems will be a staple resource for years to come for ecologists interested in complex systems theory as well as mathematicians and physicists interested in ecology.
Author: Charles G. Curtin Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1108244335 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 595
Book Description
From climate change to species extinction, humanity is confronted with an increasing array of societal and environmental challenges that defy simple quantifiable solutions. Complexity-based ecology provides a new paradigm for ecologists and conservationists keen to embrace the uncertainty that is pressed upon us. This book presents key research papers chosen by some sixty scholars from various continents, across a diverse span of sub-disciplines. The papers are set alongside first person commentary from many of the seminal voices involved, offering unprecedented access to experts' viewpoints. The works assembled also shed light on the process of science in general, showing how the shifting of wider perspectives allows for new ideas to take hold. Ideal for undergraduate and advanced students of ecology and conservation, their educators and those working across allied fields, this is the first book of its kind to focus on complexity-based approaches and provides a benchmark for future collected volumes.
Author: Stanislaw Sieniutycz Publisher: Elsevier ISBN: 0443192383 Category : Technology & Engineering Languages : en Pages : 190
Book Description
Complexity and Complex Ecological Systems is an extension of Elsevier’s 2021 book Complexity and Complex Chemo-Electric Systems directed toward the analysis and synthesis of diverse ecological processes running in heterogeneous macrosystems. Contemporary advanced techniques such as averaged analysis, food webs approaches, and classical optimization results along with some numerical algorithms are commonly used in ecosystems. This book treats ecological systems as specific functional integrities. In Complexity and Complex Ecological Systems, one can observe how various types of ecological heterogeneities can contribute to flows of living and inanimate parts of the moving pseudo-continuum. This book is a valuable reference for scientists, engineers, and graduate students of environmental, chemical, and biological engineering, helping them better understand complex macroscopic systems and enhance their technical skills in theoretical and practical research. Covers the basic aspects of modeling, analysis, synthesis, and optimization of ecological systems Contains theory of selected ecosystems and explanations of how it can be used in applications Includes original drawings and drafts that illustrate the properties of diverse ecosystems Written by an expert in advanced methods of biophysics and macroscopic physics
Author: Craig R. Allen
Author: Craig R. Allen
Author: David Waltner-Toews
Author: T. F. H. Allen
Author: Jon Norberg
Author: Eoin Flaherty
Author: Stanislaw Sieniutycz
Author: Scott E. Page
Author: Ricard Solé
Author: Charles G. Curtin
Author: Stanislaw Sieniutycz