Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER
17
Fronti
ers in Ecosystem S
cience
Heather A. Bechtold, Jorge Dur
´
n, David L. Strayer,
Kathleen C. Weathers, Angelica P. Alvarado,
Neil D. Bettez, Michelle A. Hersh,
Robert C. Johnson, Eric G. Keeling,
Jennifer L. Morse, Andrea M. Previtali, and Alexandra Rodr´guez
Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Millbrook, New York
INTRODUCTION
It is easy when reading a textbook such as this one to think of the contents of an intel-
lectual field as fixed and finished—that ecosystem science contains 36 key concepts and
facts and will always contain just these 36 facts. However, ecosystem science is a rapidly
developing field of which the ultimate shape and contributions are not yet clear. A text-
book on ecosystem science written 10 or 50 years from now will certainly not contain the
same content as the topic in your hands. It is not even possible for today's ecosystem
scientists to provide a definitive list of the key unsolved questions in the field, nor to fully
anticipate the contents of those future textbooks.
In part, change will come through advances in the subjects contained in this topic.
Scientists will make more and better measurements of primary production, nitrogen
cycling, and so on, and existing theories will be tested and refined or rejected. More excit-
ing and less predictable, though, entire areas of ecosystem science will appear, flourish,
and/or disappear. We offer a few examples of areas that seem poised for rapid progress
and that hopefully show the vitality of the field. We organize these examples into four
broad categories according to the factors (or drivers) that may lead to progress: the pres-
sure of new environmental problems, conceptual advances, technological innovation, and
the changing culture of science.
