A New Ecology: Systems Perspective, Second Edition

Gives an overview of the commonalities of all ecosystems from a variety of properties, including physical openness, ontic openness, directionality, connectivity, a complex dynamic for growth and development, and a complex dynamic response to disturbances.

Each chapter details basic and characteristic properties that help the reader understand how they can be applied to explain a wide spectrum of current ecological research and environmental management applications.

Contains revised, updated or redeveloped chapters that include the most current research and technology.

Reviews universal traits of ecosystems from multiple perspectives, giving the reader a complete overview of the systems perspective of ecology.

Offers broad examples of ecology as a systems science, from the history of science, to philosophy and the arts.

Brings together the systems perspective in a framework of four columns for greater understanding, including thermodynamics, network theory, hierarchy theory and biochemistry.

Contains new chapter on the application of the theory to environmental management.