Radionuclides in the environment : International Conference on Isotopes in Environmental Studies : Aquatic Forum 2004

Description

0i_Front-matter......Page 1 Fundamentals of Ecosystem Science......Page 2 Copyright......Page 3 Preface......Page 4 What is an Ecosystem?......Page 6 What Is in an Ecosystem?......Page 11 Ecosystems Perform Functions......Page 12 Why Do Scientists Study Ecosystems?......Page 14 Natural History......Page 15 Cross-Ecosystem Comparison......Page 16 What Do Ecosystem Scientists Measure?......Page 17 Balances: Mass and Charge......Page 19 Tracers......Page 20 From There to Here: A Short History of the Ecosystem Concept in Theory and Practice......Page 22 References......Page 25 Introduction......Page 27 References......Page 28 Introduction......Page 29 Components of Primary Production......Page 30 Measuring Primary Production......Page 35 Terrestrial Methods......Page 36 Regulation of Primary Production......Page 38 Rates and Patterns of Primary Production......Page 44 Fates of Primary Production......Page 48 A Tale of Scale......Page 50 Summary......Page 51 References......Page 52 References for Table 2.1......Page 53 The Energy Budget of Consumers......Page 54 Definition of Secondary Production......Page 59 Methods to Estimate Secondary Production......Page 60 Controls and Prediction of Secondary Production......Page 62 Production of an Individual Species of Consumer......Page 63 Production of a Guild of Consumers......Page 65 Production of the Entire Community of Consumers......Page 67 Conclusion......Page 70 References......Page 73 Introduction......Page 76 Decomposition of Plant-Derived Particulate Matter......Page 79 Organisms Responsible for Decomposition......Page 82 Controls on Decomposition......Page 85 Interactions with Other Element Cycles......Page 91 The Future......Page 92 References......Page 93 5 Element Cycling......Page 96 What is an Element Cycle?......Page 97 The Importance of Chemical Properties......Page 100 Move, Stick, and Change: A Simple Framework for Elemental Cycling......Page 103 Some Characteristics Important for Understanding an Element’s Role in Ecosystems......Page 106 References......Page 107 Biogeochemistry of Carbon......Page 108 Anoxygenic Photosynthesis......Page 109 Oxic Respiration......Page 110 Anaerobic Respiration......Page 111 Inorganic Carbon in Waters......Page 112 Inorganic carbon on Land and Sediments......Page 113 Clay Formation......Page 114 The Present-Day Global Carbon Cycle and the Greenhouse Effect......Page 115 The Role of the Oceans......Page 117 The Holocene PreIndustrial Global Carbon Budget......Page 118 The Global Carbon Balance at Longer Timescales......Page 120 The Carbon Cycle in Selected Ecosystems......Page 122 A Temperate Hardwood Forested Ecosystem......Page 123 A Tidal, Freshwater River......Page 125 Small Mesotrophic Lakes......Page 127 The Case of the Amazon......Page 129 References......Page 131 The Global Picture......Page 135 Nitrogen Fixation......Page 138 Nitrogen Mineralization and Immobilization......Page 141 Nitrification......Page 143 Denitrification......Page 144 Other Dissimilatory Processes (DNRA and Anammox)......Page 145 Pools and Fluxes......Page 146 Ecosystem Development......Page 147 Site Controls......Page 149 Lakes and Oceans......Page 150 Ground Water......Page 153 Nitrogen Balances: The Enigma of Missing Nitrogen......Page 154 References......Page 155 Background......Page 157 The Importance of Phosphorus in Terrestrial Ecosystems......Page 158 The Importance of Phosphorus in Freshwater Systems......Page 159 The Global Phosphorus Cycle......Page 161 Human Alteration of the Global Phosphorus Cycle......Page 163 The Phosphorus Cycle at the Watershed Scale......Page 169 Terrestrial Systems......Page 170 Aquatic Systems......Page 172 Managing Human Interaction with the Phosphorus Cycle......Page 174 References......Page 175 Synthesis......Page 177 Introduction......Page 179 Budgets and Boundaries......Page 180 Inclusiveness and Flexibility......Page 185 Generality and Prediction......Page 187 References......Page 188 Introduction......Page 189 The Nature of Heterogeneity......Page 190 Boreal Forest Fire Mosaics......Page 193 Pit and Mound Microtopography......Page 194 Stream Patchiness......Page 195 Marine Benthos......Page 196 Management and Built Patches......Page 197 Patch Dynamics and the Linkage of Time and Space......Page 199 Causes and Trends of Temporal Heterogeneity......Page 200 Conceptual Refinements for Temporal Heterogeneity: Pulses and Presses......Page 201 Internal and External Heterogeneity......Page 203 First Principles for Assessing Heterogeneity......Page 206 Conclusions: ecosystems in time and SPACE......Page 207 References......Page 209 What Do We Mean by “Control”?......Page 212 Both Abiotic and Biotic Control Are Important......Page 213 Control Can Follow Various Mathematical Functions......Page 220 Feedbacks Are Almost Always Important......Page 222 Human Activities Control Many Ecosystems......Page 224 Complications......Page 225 References......Page 227 Case Studies......Page 228 Reference......Page 229 12 From Global Environmental Change to Sustainability Science: Ecosystem Studies in the Yaqui Valley, Mexico......Page 230 The Yaqui Valley Case Study......Page 231 The Yaqui Valley......Page 232 Fertilizer Use and Nitrogen Cycling in the Yaqui’s Ecosystems......Page 233 Beyond the Simple Answer......Page 235 Lessons from the Yaqui Valley Ecosystems Study......Page 236 References......Page 237 Discovery......Page 239 It’s the Deer......Page 240 It’s the Mice......Page 241 It’s the Population Dynamics......Page 242 It’s the Community Dynamics......Page 243 It’s Biodiversity......Page 244 It’s the Ecosystem......Page 245 References......Page 246 14 Understanding Ecosystem Effects of Dams......Page 248 References......Page 252 15 Acid Rain......Page 254 References......Page 259 16 Streams and Their Valleys......Page 260 References......Page 270 Introduction......Page 272 Urbanization......Page 273 Contaminants of Emerging Concern and New Technologies......Page 274 Challenges Associated with Global Change......Page 275 Restoration Ecology......Page 276 Integration of Humans into Ecosystems......Page 277 Establishing New Links between Scales in Ecological Research......Page 280 Sensors......Page 281 Manipulating and Analyzing Large Data Sets......Page 283 The Changing Culture of Science......Page 284 References......Page 287 References......Page 290 Glossary......Page 295 Index......Page 298