The Total Human Ecosystem: Integrating Ecology and Economics

Ecosystem Valuation: Combining Economics, Philosophy, and Ecology

Integrating Ecology and Economics in the Study of Ecosystem Services: Some Lessons Learned

This paper discusses both the opportunities for and the challenges associated with integrating economics and ecology in the study of ecosystem services. We distinguish between integration in positive versus normative analysis. There is rapid growth in positive research that combines the two disciplines to provide insight and better understanding of the bidirectional linkage between economic and...

Integrating microbial ecology into ecosystem models: challenges and priorities

Microbial communities can potentially mediate feedbacks between global change and ecosystem function, owing to their sensitivity to environmental change and their control over critical biogeochemical processes. Numerous ecosystem models have been developed to predict global change effects, but most do not consider microbial mechanisms in detail. In this idea paper, we examine the extent to whic...

Ecosystem Ecology

Floristic succession in the boreal forest can have a dramatic influence on ecosystem nutrient cycling. We predicted that a decrease in plant and microbial demand for nitrogen (N) during the transition from midto late-succession forests would induce an increase in the leaching of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), relative to dissolved organic nitrogen (DON). To test this, we examined the chemi...

Ecosystem Ecology

Amazonian forest fragments and secondgrowth forests often differ substantially from undisturbed forests in their microclimate, plant-species composition, and soil fauna. To determine if these changes could affect litter decomposition, we quantified the mass loss of two contrasting leaf-litter mixtures, in the presence or absence of soil macroinvertebrates, and in three forest habitats. Leaf-lit...