In abstract terms, ecosystem ecology is about determining when two ecosystems, superficially different, are alike in some deeper way. An external observer can choose any ecosystem property as being important. In contrast, two ecosystems are equivalent from the point of view of the organisms they contain if and only if for each species, the proportional population growth rate does not differ bet...

Restoration of the myriad communities of bottomland hardwood and wetland forests and of the diverse communities of fire-dominated pine forests is the subject of intense interest in the Southern United States. Restoration practice is relatively advanced for bottomland hardwoods and longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.), and less so for swamps and shortleaf pine (P. echinata Mill.). Most bottomla...

Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Australian Government or the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this publication are factually correct, the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility...

The paradigm of dynamical systems as frame of description has been extremely successful for a variety of controlled systems. The ingredients of such an approach are an (assumed or known) fixed number of degrees of freedom, a phase space, state variables, and a (usually differential) equation of motion governing the temporal evolution of the system, or its movement in phase space along certain t...

We present an extremely minimal ecosystem model which takes account of thermodynamic constraints on the organisms’ metabolism. This suggests a way to test the application of a hypothesised principle of Maximum Entropy Production to ecosystems. It also puts definite physical bounds on the rates at which matter can flow through the system and paves the way for more detailed models that have therm...

Glyphosate is the main nonselective, systemic herbicide used against a wide range of weeds. Its worldwide use has expanded because of extensive use of certain agricultural practices such as no-till cropping, and widespread application of glyphosate-resistant genetically modified crops. Glyphosate has a reputation of being nontoxic to animals and rapidly inactivated in soils. However, recent evi...

The major role in global net CO2 fixation plays photosynthesis of green plants, algae and cyanobacteria, but other microorganisms are also important concerning autotrophy; i.e. autotrophic microorganisms can be found in most bacterial groups (Eubacteria) and there are even numerous representatives within the Archaea. CO2 fixation is not only one of the world’s most important biogeochemical proc...

The emergence of new technologies is relentless. While there are many studies that have examined the transformative value, impact, and adoption, our understanding of the underlying ecosystem that shapes the emergence of these new technologies is surprisingly limited. Motivated by the call for pursuing contemporary information systems (IS) research that captures market realities and provides pra...

Cyber Mission Resilience (CMR) is a significant step in the evolution of IT security. Not only does it reduce the complexity and cost of securing today’s IT systems, it helps prioritize security-related activities. The focus on mission resilience extends the scope of past security practices while simultaneously honing in on mission-critical systems, networks, and processes. This article explore...