Ecosystem ecology
Figure 1. A riparian forest in the White
Mountains, New Hampshire (USA).
Ecosystem ecology is the integrated study
of biotic and abiotic components of ecosys-
tems and their interactions within an ecosys-
tem framework. This science examines how
ecosystems work and relates this to their
components such as chemicals, bedrock, soil,
plants, and animals.
Ecosystem ecology examines physical and
biological structures and examines how these
ecosystem characteristics interact with each
other. Ultimately, this helps us understand
how to maintain high quality water and eco-
nomically viable commodity production. A
major focus of ecosystem ecology is on func-
tional processes, ecological mechanisms that
maintain the structure and services produced
by ecosystems. These include primary pro-
ductivity (production of biomass), decomposi-
tion, and trophic interactions.
Studies of ecosystem function have greatly
improved human understanding of sustain-
able production of forage, fiber, fuel, and
provision of water. Functional processes are
mediated by regional-to-local level climate,
disturbance, and management. Thus ecosys-
tem ecology provides a powerful framework
for identifying ecological mechanisms that in-
teract with global environmental problems,
especially global warming and degradation of
surface water.
Ecosystems and scale
Ecosystems are difficult entities to define
theoretically or to delineate in space.[1] For
example, consider the forest in Figure 1.
When standing on the stream bank, one can
easily see two ecosystems: an aquatic one
where fish, insects, and algae interact, and a
terrestrial one with trees, insects, and per-
haps herbivores and predators such as deer
and coyote.
Although these communities appear dis-
tinct they interact intimately. Insects may be
aquatic for certain parts of their life-cycle
and emerge to become herbivores of the ve-
getation and prey for many predators. Ripari-
an trees utilize stream water for growth and
their leaf litter is an important flux of energy
and nutri