Includes bibliographical references (p. [304]-319) and index.

"Human activities impact the environment and modify the cycles of important elements such as carbon and nitrogen from local to global scales. In order to maintain long-term and sustainable use of the world's natural resources it is important that we understand how and why ecosystems respond to such changes. This book explains the structure and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, using examples ranging from the Arctic to the tropics to demonstrate how they react under differing conditions. This knowledge is developed into a set of principles that can be used as starting points for analysing questions about ecosystem behaviour. Ecosystem dynamics are also considered, illustrating how ecosystems develop and change over a range of temporal and spatial scales and how they react to perturbations, whether natural or man-made. Throughout the book, descriptive studies are merged with simple mathematical models to reinforce the concepts discussed and aid the development of predictive tools"-- Prologue: environmental changes and ecosystem effects: two historical examples -- Part I. History and Concepts: 1. History of ecosystem; 2. Ecology, ecosystem and ecosystem science; 3. Ecosystem ecology: cornerstones and scientific methodology -- Part II. Ecosystem Structure and Function: 4. Ecosystem structure: site factors, soil and vegetation; 5. Energy and water; 6. Plant production; 7. Soil organic matter dynamics; 8. Organisms and ecosystem processes; 9. Element cycles; 10. Principles -- Part III. Ecosystem Dynamics at Different Time Scales: 11. Tectonic to orbital changes; 12. Millennial to centennial or postglacial changes; 13. Centennial to annual changes -- Part IV. Applications: 14. Air pollution and forest ecosystems; 15. Global change -- Epilogue: society and terrestrial ecosystem ecology -- Appendices: Appendix 1. Abbreviations; Appendix 2. Glossary; Appendix 3. Some useful values and symbols used to represent them; Appendix 4. Information and data on selected datasystems.