Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
emissions, is the theme for the fourth essay on acid rain. Here, Gene Likens follows this
story from the discovery of acid rain in North America in 1963 to its effects on aquatic eco-
systems, to the passage of the U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments in 1990, to subsequent
impacts on terrestrial ecosystems. Ecosystem complexity and interaction among various
element cycles provide the grist for this essay.
Judy Meyer has done novel studies of the role and importance of stream and river eco-
systems for decades. In the fifth essay, she elucidates the vital role and intimate intercon-
nections that these fluvial ecosystems contribute to an integrated, functioning landscape.
The “interactions between streams and their valleys”—ecosystems functioning separately
and together—is the theme of her essay.
Many important lessons can be learned from the results as well as the scientific
approaches underpinning these essays, including:
Tackling ecosystem complexity provides increased knowledge about key ecological
interactions.
Experimental manipulation of entire ecosystems and long-term research and monitoring
often yield new insights about how ecosystems are structured, function, and change
with time.
The result of ecosystem research, because often it is synonymous with a system of great
human concern, typically has high management relevance in helping managers and
decision-makers find solutions to environmental problems.
Individual ecosystems are connected to other ecosystems of the biosphere through
movements of air, water, and animals across their boundaries.
The sum is greater than the parts in providing ecological understanding.
We trust that these five essays will help bring into focus the realities and value of
research in the complex world of human interests and management needs. There are
many other topics that could have been selected, but we hope that the diverse subjects
presented here will entice you to explore further the multitudinous interfaces between eco-
system science and its applications to real-world, environmental problems. Enjoy!
Reference
Tansley, A.G., 1935. The use and abuse of vegetational concepts and terms. Ecology 16, 284
307.
