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Section I - History and concepts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Göran I. Ågren  and
Folke O. Andersson
Göran I. Ågren
Affiliation:
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Folke O. Andersson
Affiliation:
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
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Summary

History and concepts

Understanding the environment has always been important for mankind. In this section we briefly trace how this has led to the development of modern ecology. We will also define the scientific arena of ecology and in particular that of ecosystem ecology and how it relates to other scientific disciplines. Ecosystem ecology relies on some fundamental cornerstones: mass balance, limiting nutrients, optimality and steady state. These concepts are explained and used to demonstrate our philosophical attitude towards the discipline.

Type
Chapter
Information
Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology
Principles and Applications
 , pp. 7
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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