Suchergebnisse

Introduction: Ecosystem Understanding Is a Key to Understanding Cities -- Introduction: Ecosystem Understanding Is a Key to Understanding Cities -- The Importance of Understanding Urban Ecosystems: Themes -- Why Is Understanding Urban Ecosystems an Important Frontier for Education and Educators? -- The Role of Understanding Urban Ecosystems in Community Development -- Why Is Understanding Urban Ecosystems Important to People Concerned About Environmental Justice? -- Why Is Developing a Broad Understanding of Urban Ecosystems Important to Science and Scientists? -- Foundations and Frontiers from the Natural and Social Sciences: Themes -- Natural Ecosystems in Cities: A Model for Cities as Ecosystems -- An Ecosystem Approach to Understanding Cities: Familiar Foundations and Uncharted Frontiers -- Understanding Urban Ecosystems: An Ecological Economics Perspective -- Social Science Concepts and Frameworks for Understanding Urban Ecosystems -- The Future of Urban Ecosystem Education from a Social Scientist's Perspective: The Value of Involving the People You Are Studying in Your Work -- A Social Ecology Approach to Understanding Urban Ecosystems and Landscapes -- The Historical Dimension of Urban Ecology: Frameworks and Concepts -- Urban Ecosystems, City Planning, and Environmental Education: Literature, Precedents, Key Concepts, and Prospects -- A Human Ecology Model for the Tianjin Urban Ecosystem: Integrating Human Ecology, Ecosystem Science, and Philosophical Views into an Urban Eco-Complex Study -- Foundations and Frontiers from Education Theory and Practice: Themes -- Psychological and Ecological Perspectives on the Development of Systems Thinking -- Toward Ecology Literacy: Contributions from Project 2061 Science Literacy Reform Tools -- An Interdisciplinary Approach to Urban Ecosystems -- Children for Cities and Cities for Children: Learning to Know and Care About Urban Ecosystems -- "Ecological Thinking" as a Tool for Understanding Urban Ecosystems: A Model from Israel -- Systems Thinking and Urban Ecosystem Education -- Approaches to Urban Ecosystem Education in Chicago: Perspectives and Processes from an Environmental Educator -- "Campus Ecology" Curriculum as a Means to Teach Urban Environmental Literacy -- Ecosystem Management Education: Teaching and Learning Principles and Applications with Problem-Based Learning -- Using the Development of an Environmental Management System to Develop and Promote a More Holistic Understanding of Urban Ecosystems in Durban, South Africa -- Visions for the Future of Urban Ecosystem Education: Themes -- Urban Ecosystems and the Twenty-First Century—A Global Imperative -- Out the Door and Down the Street—Enhancing Play, Community, and Work Environments as If Adulthood Mattered -- Integrating Urban Ecosystem Education into Educational Reform -- The Contribution of Urban Ecosystem Education to the Development of Sustainable Communities and Cities -- Perspectives on the Future of Urban Ecosystem Education: A Summary of Cary Conference VIII -- Urban Ecosystem Education in the Coming Decade: What Is Possible and How Can We Get There?.

Quantitative models are crucial to almost every area of ecosystem science. They provide a logical structure that guides and informs empirical observations of ecosystem processes. They play a particularly crucial role in synthesizing and integrating our understanding of the immense diversity of ecosystem structure and function. Increasingly, models are being called on to predict the effects of human actions on natural ecosystems. Despite the widespread use of models, there exists intense debate within the field over a wide range of practical and philosophical issues pertaining to quantitative modeling. This book--which grew out of a gathering of leading experts at the ninth Cary Conference--explores those issues. The book opens with an overview of the status and role of modeling in ecosystem science, including perspectives on the long-running debate over the appropriate level of complexity in models. This is followed by eight chapters that address the critical issue of evaluating ecosystem models, including methods of addressing uncertainty. Next come several case studies of the role of models in environmental policy and management. A section on the future of modeling in ecosystem science focuses on increasing the use of modeling in undergraduate education and the modeling skills of professionals within the field. The benefits and limitations of predictive (versus observational) models are also considered in detail. Written by stellar contributors, this book grants access to the state of the art and science of ecosystem modeling