Overview

This work synthesizes diverse literature on scale in ecology. It gathers contributions from a wide range of disciplines, including soil science, plant ecology, animal ecology and aquatic ecology, to assist ecologists in developing new strategies for more accurate interpretations of data using a variety of scales. The contributors address theoretical and methodological ramifications of the standardization of scale within a broad multidisciplinary context. The essays present evidence that the integration of scale concepts into ecological study is of imminent global concern, showing that the understanding of such issues as global warming, the protection of biological diversity and ecosystem management is affected by the interpretation of scale. In one essay on the frequency of forest fires in eastern North America, researchers show how they can arrive at dramatically different conclusions simply by changing the temporal unit of measurement. Reassessing variables of time in any such study can entirely change an ecologist's perspective on a system's stability. Identifying scales of measurement, analysis and inference is fundamental to the ability to analyze and predict patterns and processes in ecology. This book offers perspectives on the application of these concepts in both theoretical and applied ecology, to provide a broad-based understanding for resource managers and other ecological professionals.

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9780231105033

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DAVID L. PETERSON is a research biologist at the U.S. Geological Servey Biological Resources Division and Survey and professor at the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington. He is coeditor with D. R. Johnson of Human Ecology and Climate Change: People and Resources in the Far North, and with C. V. Climas of The Role of Restoration in Ecosystem Management.V. THOMAS PARKER is professor of biology at San Francisco State University. He is coeditor, with M. A. Leck, and R. L. Simpson of Ecology of Soil Seed Banks.

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