A percolation model of ecological flows

Conference · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1988

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2804-2_12· OSTI ID:6720701

Gardner, R H; Turner, M G; Dale, V H; O'Neill, R V

The boundary zone between adjacent communities has long been recognized as a functionally important component of ecosystems. The diversity and abundance of species, the flow and accumulation of material and energy, and the propagation of disturbances may all be affected by landscape boundaries. However, the spatial arrangement of different habitats and their boundaries has received little direct study. The difficulty in studying landscape boundaries has been due, in part, to the variety of responses of organisms to ecotones. Therefore, definitive tests of relationships between ecological processes and the pattern of landscape boundaries will be greatly assisted by developing a standard against which comparisons can be made. Neutral models can define this standard by producing the expected'' Poisson distribution have been well established, but a general approach for relating ecological processes and landscape patterns must still be defined. The purpose of this chapter is to illustrate how neutral models that are developed from percolation theory can be used to address the problem How do ecological system boundaries influence biotic diversity and the flow of energy, information and materials '' 26 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/ER
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6720701
• Report Number(s): CONF-8812141-1; ON: DE90014211
• Resource Relation: Journal Volume: 92; Conference: Scope workshop, landscape boundaries: consequence for biotic diversity and ecological flows, Paris (France), 12-16 Dec 1988
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ENERGY
FLOW MODELS
MATERIALS
PLANTS
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
SPECIES DIVERSITY
COMMUNITIES
ECOLOGY
FLUID FLOW
HABITAT
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
POISSON EQUATION
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
DISTRIBUTION
ECOSYSTEMS
EQUATIONS
PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
540210* - Environment
Terrestrial- Basic Studies- (1990-)