Today:

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• Today
• Ecosystem Ecology
• Overview
• Brief history
• Unique CSU role

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L. Slobodkin once said that ecology without
species is the ultimate abomination.

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(No Transcript)
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There are many ecologists who feel, like
Slobodkin, that ecosystems are simply collections
of species, and the properties of the constituent
species are what determines the nature of the
ecosystem
A different school of thought holds that the
species that we see are the ones that fit into
the ecosystem, and that it is the ecosystem that
determines what species belong to it.
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What is Ecosystem Ecology?   The study of the
movement of energy and materials, including
water, chemicals, nutrients, and pollutants,
into, out of, and within ecosystems (Aber
Melillo) vs.  
The study of the interactions among organisms and
their environment as an integrated system (Chapin)
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What is studied? Ecosystem structure what is
there and how much (C, N stocks, biomass,
inorganic and organic pools) Ecosystem
processes Transfers of energy and materials from
one pool to another Can be transfers within the
ecosystem, or transfers between the ecosystem and
its surroundings (e.g., other ecosystems) For
example, photosynthesis is a key ecosystem
process, providing the energy feeding the entire
system Respiration another key ecosystem
process returns CO2 to the atmosphere Weathering,
Evapotranspiration, Nutrient uptake,
Decomposition, Herbivory
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As with communities and populations, delineating
ecosystem boundaries can be arbitrary   How do we
decide where to draw the lines around an
ecosystem?  
Depends on the scale of the question being asked
Small scale e.g., soil core, appropriate for
studying microbial interactions with the soil
environment, microbial nutrient transformations,
trace gas fluxes...   Stand an area of
sufficient homogeneity with regard to vegetation,
soils, topography, microclimate, and past
disturbance history to be treated as a single
unit. This is appropriate for studying
whole-ecosystem gas exchange (e.g. CO2 or H2O
exchange), net primary productivity,
plant-soil-microbial nutrient and carbon fluxes
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Natural Boundaries sometimes, ecosystems are
bounded by naturally-delineated borders (lawn,
agricultural field, lake) and appropriate
questions include whole-lake trophic dynamics and
energy fluxes (e.g. Lindeman)
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Much like other sub-disciplines, early ecosystem
studies assumed -- Equilibrium
1) closed systems dominated by internal elemental
cycling 2) self-regulation and deterministic 3)
stable end points or cycles 4) absence of human
influence and disturbance
Contemporary non-equilibrium view
recognizing 1) losses and gains 2) dynamics
influenced by external internal factors 3) no
stable equilibrium 4) disturbance a natural
component of their dynamics 5) human activities
have a pervasive influence
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Historical players Tansley term coined and
concept introduced in 1935but
Stephen Forbes 1887. Midwestern ecologist,
founder of the Illinois State Natural History
Survey, studied lakes and noted that in lakes
matter circulates, and controls operate to
produce an equilibriumIn this microcosm, nothing
can be fully understood until its relationship to
the whole is clearly seenThe lake appears as an
organic system, a balance between building up and
breaking down...
Forbes ideas were not well-known or influential
because he published in the Peoria Science
Association Bulletin (later Bulletin of the
Illinois Natural History Survey).
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Lindeman Trophic dynamic aspect of Ecology
(1942). Trophic relationships and energy flow
Eugene Odum Fundamentals of Ecology textbook
(1953) placed ecosystem and biogeochemical cycles
at the beginning of the book instead of the
traditional chapters on organisms, populations,
communities and their interactions.
Side note Text was prompted and written partly
as a consequence of a disagreement in the Zoology
Dept. at U. GeorgiaOdum tried to include Ecology
in the core curriculum in the late 1940-50s but
was voted downa criticism of his colleagues was
that Ecology had no principles. Odum compiled a
list of what he felt were principles in Ecology
and these became his chapters.
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Odums text led with his view of the Ecosystem
concept any entity or natural unit that
includes living and non-living parts interacting
to produce a stable system in which exchange of
materials between the living and non-living parts
follows circular paths is an ecosystem. The
ecosystem is the largest functional unit in
ecology.
Howard Odum (younger brother) played a key role
in this texthe was studying under Hutchinson at
the time Eugene credited Hutchinsons ideas
(via Howards class notes!) as having a huge
influence. Howard also reviewed all the chapters
and contributed one on systems ecology.
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Why did interest in ecosystem ecology take off?
The ecosystem concept became popular after WWII
it involved information theory and used computers
and modelingit was machine theory applied to
nature! The concept promised an understanding of
complex systems and was to provide a means of
managing the environment through an understanding
of the structure and function of ecological
systems. It extended the holistic concept to the
modern world -- Golley 1993.
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Important individuals in Ecosystem Ecology
Historically Tansley Lindeman H. Jenny E. Odum H.
Odum
Contemporary W. Schlessinger (Institute of
Ecosystem Studies) J. Mellilo (Woods Hole) P.
Vitousek (Stanford) P. Matson (Stanford) G.
Likens (Hubbard Brook and Inst. of Ecosystem
Studies) J. Meyer (Georgia) S. Carpenter
(Wisconsin)
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How are ecosystems conceptualized for study?
Ecosystem processes are controlled by state
factors, interactive controls, and feedbacks
State factors set boundary conditions Hans
Jenny (1941) Climate broad geographic influence
on biome distribution Parent material local
influence on soil type Potential biota which
organisms can occupy a site Topography
microclimate Time evolution, weathering
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Interactive controls factors that both control
and are controlled by ecosystem characteristics.
Resources energy and materials used to support
organisms growth and maintenance Modulators
physical and chemical properties that affect
organisms activity, but are neither consumed
nor depleted Disturbance Biotic Community Human
Activities  
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Although ecosystems in their entirety are very
complex, most ecosystem ecologists will
specialize on a specific process or
component. This specialization is why system
modelers are so important to the field.
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Important Ecosystem Sites, Programs and
Events Atomic Energy Commission. Strong supporter
of Ecosystems Research from the
1950s-1960s Radioactive tracers tracked through
various ecosystem components and trophic levels,
there were many radiation experiments in
ecosystems!
IBP 1964 - 1974 LTER - 1981 Association for
Ecosystem Research Centers - 1985
Hubbard Brook Coweeta Experimental Forest Savanna
River Ecology Lab radiation studies
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The CSU story(from Golley 1993)
International Biological Program Original
theme Biological basis of human
welfare. Original action areas conservation,
human genetics and improvements in the use of
natural resources
Morphed into Understanding biological
productivity as a basis for human
well-being Ultimately, a largely ecosystems
program studying productivity at the biome level.
US efforts led originally by E. Odum Grassland
biome studies led by CSUs George Van Dyne
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George Van Dyne
Described as a workaholic and very
enthusiastic 35 when he was appointed Director
of the Grassland Biome program in 1967
He taught himself computer programming at nights
and on weekends in grad school and had been on
the faculty (Animal husbandry) at CSU, and
Montana State before moving to Oak Ridge Natl.
lab and Univ. of Tennessee (before returning to
CSU)
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Very Quantitative in all aspects of his
life Success grant and publications (things
you could measure) Management style memos and
tables of organization, not personal
relations Expertise by 1967 was clearly modeling
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The grassland biome group at CSU
Asked for 2 million (in 1967 12 million
today!) to study producers, consumers,
decomposers, abiotic drivers at one intensive and
many extensive grassland sites modeling would
integrate the work 80 investigators involved and
over 60 identified projects
Not funded! Revised version of 700,000 was
funded a year later. Later requested 2.2 million
(for a 1 year period 36 million today for a
standard 3-yr grant!) to study various states of
the grassland ecosystems to determine
interrelationships of structure and function, to
determine the variability and magnitude of rates
of energy flow and nutrient cycling, and to
encompass these parameters and variables in an
overall systems framework and mathematical model.
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Or give us enough , we will measure everything
important, build a model and understand all
important components of grasslands related to
productivity!
About ½ the funding requested was ultimately
receiveda huge investment for one biome, and
unprecedented in ecology even for today
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Ultimately, lots of fundingbut problems quickly
arose
- Management of large numbers of scientists and
technicians was impossible - Inherent conflict
between goals of individual projects of the
investigators and the overall project goals arose
- Top-down dictates bothered ecologists who were
used to being in charge
- Ecologists tired of being technicians and
left - Students were hired but not well-trained,
and data quality suffered Thus, research was
increasingly criticized
- Bickering between those in IBP and those
outside increased and funding from NSF was
decreased
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- Gaps between specialists who studied key
systems components and modelers widened there
were no people between them to interpret the data
- Integrators (senior scientists) were hired,
but it didnt help
Van Dyne went on sabbatical (1972) after several
years of working 7 days a week While on
sabbatical, one of the senior scientists wrote a
renewal proposal with de-centralized leadership
and more independent projects
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When he returned, Van Dyne was furious and went
to NSF demanding that he be restored to full
authorityhe was denied and came back and told
the staff that, despite just being awarded 2
million, the program was shutting down and they
should look for jobs! CSU asked him to resign
and he lost the program completely in 1974 Other
senior scientists continued with parts of the
program and Van Dyne remained involved till 1976
Eventually, Van Dyne, who wife left him during
the turmoil, died of a heart attack at 49 in the
CSU Range Science Dept in 1981.
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IBP Program in general and the grassland project
in particular couldnt live up to its promises
and was viewed from the outside as a failure
Not fair -- much good science resulted at the
ecosystem component and process level, but the
promised whole-system model and complete
understanding was never achieved (despite 16.3
million from 1968-1976 - 80 million in todays
dollars).
Other biome programs (tundra, desert, coniferous
and deciduous forest) were organized differently
and independently so integration among biome
programs was difficult (1800 scientists were
involved!). Other biome programs failed in their
own ways as well
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Positives - Good science, tremendous model
development - Ecosystems Studies Program at NSF
resulted from IBP - NREL at CSU was established
and benefited greatly, and today continues the
modeling and systems approach
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Future of Ecosystem Ecology? Earth System and
Global Change Impact of human activities on
Earth has led to the need to understand how
ecosystem processes affect not only the land
surface but the atmosphere and oceans as
well NEON! (more later)