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Intro -- Fundamentals of Ecosystem Science -- Copyright -- Contents -- Contributors -- Preamble to the 2nd Edition -- Preface -- Section I: Introduction -- Chapter 1: Introduction to Ecosystem Science -- What Is an Ecosystem? -- What Are the Properties of Ecosystems? -- What Is in an Ecosystem? -- Ecosystems Have Structure -- Ecosystems Perform Functions -- Ecosystem Structure and Function Are Controlled by Many Factors -- Ecosystems Change Through Time -- How Do We Classify or Compare Ecosystems? -- Why Do Scientists Study Ecosystems? -- How Do Ecosystem Scientists Learn about Ecosystems? -- Approaches for Learning about Ecosystems -- Natural History -- Long-Term Studies -- Cross-Ecosystem Comparison -- Experiments -- Theory and Conceptual Models -- What Do Ecosystem Scientists Measure? -- Some Tools in the Ecosystem Scientists Toolbox -- Balances: Mass and Charge -- Tracers -- Spatial Data -- From There to Here: A Short History of the Ecosystem Concept in Theory and Practice -- References -- Further reading -- Section II : Ecological Energetics -- Introduction -- Units Used in Studies of Ecological Energetics -- References -- Chapter 2: Primary Production: The Foundation of Ecosystems -- Introduction -- Components of Primary Production -- Measuring Primary Production -- Aquatic Methods -- Terrestrial Methods -- Primary Production Methods: Advances -- Regulation of Primary Production -- Rates and Patterns of Primary Production -- Fates of Primary Production -- A Tale of Scale -- Summary -- References -- References for Table 2.1 -- Chapter 3: Secondary Production and Consumer Energetics -- Introduction -- Consumer Energetics -- The Energy Budget of Consumers -- Secondary Production -- Definition of Secondary Production -- Methods to Estimate Secondary Production -- Controls and Prediction of Secondary Production.

Ecosystem Function in Heterogeneous Landscapes addresses how interactions among ecosystems affect the functioning of individual ecosystems and the larger landscape. This groundbreaking synthesis unites ecosystem ecology's knowledge of system function with landscape ecology's knowledge of spatial structure. The book elucidates challenges of working in spatially heterogeneous systems, approaches used in other disciplines and in different ecosystem types, and the importance of spatial heterogeneity in conservation resource management.

Agricultural land use is typically associated with high stream nutrient concentrations and increased nutrient loading to lakes. For lakes, evidence for these associations mostly comes from studies on individual lakes or watersheds that relate concentrations of nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P) to aggregate measures of agricultural land use, such as the proportion of land used for agriculture in a lake's watershed. However, at macroscales (i.e., in hundreds to thousands of lakes across large spatial extents), there is high variability around such relationships and it is unclear whether considering more granular (or detailed) agricultural data, such as fertilizer application, planting of specific crops, or the extent of near-stream cropping, would improve prediction and inform understanding of lake nutrient drivers. Furthermore, it is unclear whether lake N and P would have different relationships to such measures and whether these relationships would vary by region, since regional variation has been observed in prior studies using aggregate measures of agriculture. To address these knowledge gaps, we examined relationships between granular measures of agricultural activity and lake total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations in 928 lakes and their watersheds in the Northeastern and Midwest U.S. using a Bayesian hierarchical modeling approach. We found that both lake TN and TP concentrations were related to these measures of agriculture, especially near-stream agriculture. The relationships between measures of agriculture and lake TN concentrations were more regionally variable than those for TP. Conversely, TP concentrations were more strongly related to lake-specific measures like depth and watershed hydrology relative to TN. Our finding that lake TN and TP concentrations have different relationships with granular measures of agricultural activity has implications for the design of effective and efficient policy approaches to maintain and improve water quality. ; U.S. National Science Foundation's Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems (CNH) Program [1517823]; U.S. National Science Foundation's Macrosystems Biology Program [EF-1638679, EF-1638554, EF-1638539, EF-1638550]; USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project [1013544]; Hatch Appropriations [PEN04571, 1003346] ; This work was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation's Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems (CNH) Program (award 1517823) and Macrosystems Biology Program (awards EF-1638679, EF-1638554, EF-1638539, and EF-1638550). PAS was also supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project 1013544. ARK supported by Hatch Appropriations under Project #PEN04571 and Accession #1003346. We thank Sarah Collins for early input on the design and motivation for this study. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Author contributions: J. Stachelek conceived of the study, built models, analyzed data, and wrote the paper. C. C. Carey, A. R. Kemanian, and P. A. Soranno contributed to the conception of the manuscript and edited the paper. W. Weng, K. M. Cobourn, T. Wagner, K. C. Weathers, and P. A. Soranno provided interpretation of results and edited the paper. ; Public domain authored by a U.S. government employee

Recent technological developments have increased the number of variables being monitored in lakes and reservoirs using automatic high frequency monitoring (AHFM). However, design of AHFM systems and posterior data handling and interpretation are currently being developed on a site-by-site and issue-by-issue basis with minimal standardization of protocols or knowledge sharing. As a result, many deployments become short-lived or underutilized, and many new scientific developments that are potentially useful for water management and environmental legislation remain underexplored. This Critical Review bridges scientific uses of AHFM with their applications by providing an overview of the current AHFM capabilities, together with examples of successful applications. We review the use of AHFM for maximizing the provision of ecosystem services supplied by lakes and reservoirs (consumptive and non consumptive uses, food production, and recreation), and for reporting lake status in the EU Water Framework Directive. We also highlight critical issues to enhance the application of AHFM, and suggest the establishment of appropriate networks to facilitate knowledge sharing and technological transfer between potential users. Finally, we give advice on how modern sensor technology can successfully be applied on a larger scale to the management of lakes and reservoirs and maximize the ecosystem services they provide.

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