Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The role of dispersal and how it can be formalised by using different dispersal
kernels is the topic of Chap. 16 by Garnier and Lecomte, which tests hypotheses
on the conditions that support the survival of organisms in structured landscapes.
They explain models that have been developed to understand the spread of oilseed
rape along road verges and the invasion of grasslands by pines. The models are
applicable largely for European and Northern-American habitats.
In Chap. 17, Kubicek and Borell investigate the importance of path depen-
dency and ecosystem phase shifts for tropical coral reefs, which are among the most
diverse ecosystems worldwide and are currently severely threatened by anthropo-
genic impacts. Here, standard model types are reviewed on how effectively they can
be used to understand the main driving forces of tropical coral reefs, interacting
sensitively between resilience and phase shifts.
Environmental Management and the Integrative
Power of Modelling
Modelling plays an increasingly important role for management and ecological
conservation. When phenomena are investigated that occur over a wide range of
hierarchical ecosystem levels or over several spatial and temporal scales, modelling
is often the only solution to analyse and understand the ongoing dynamics. Further-
more, applying empirical experiments on the landscape level is not always a
possible option. In this context, ecological modelling offers many possibilities for
management and planning. Moreover, ongoing research models collect data that
derive from many different sources, sometimes over decades, and display different
statistical properties.
In Chap. 18, Jopp, DeAngelis and Trexler investigate the possible conse-
quences of changing and reducing the water table in the fluctuating marshlands of
the South-Florida Everglades and how changes may affect the trophic structure.
A special contribution is Chap. 19 by Nielsen and Jørgenson which presents a
case study on the modelling activities on the Danish post-glacial Lake Glumsø.
Here, the advancements of ecological modelling can be seen over more than three
decades: moreover, this research project had profound impacts on the advancement
of ecological modelling as a scientific discipline.
In Chap. 20 Gallego uses model-coupling to understand the complex dynamics
of marine zoo- and ichthyoplankton and what importance these dynamics have for
the dramatic stock collapses of cod in the Northern Atlantic.
In Chap. 21, Jopp and DeAngelis demonstrate the integrative power of model-
ling for the comprehensive Everglades restoration plan. The plan aims to support
the recovery of many endangered species and biodiversity of the overall landscape
of the Everglades and its neighbouring ecosystems in southern Florida. Here,
ecological modelling plays a central role for science-based decision making, and
hence, ecosystem restoration.
