Ecosystem Functioning

by Kurt Jax

• ISBN13: 9780521879538
• ISBN10: 0521879531
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-11-01
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

In the face of decreasing biodiversity and ongoing global changes, maintaining ecosystem functioning is seen both as a means to preserve biological diversity as well as for safeguarding human wellbeing by securing the services ecosystems provide. The concept today is prominent in many fields of ecology and conservation biology, such as biodiversity research, ecosystem management, or restoration ecology. Although the idea of ecosystem functioning is important, the concept itself remains rather vague and elusive. This book provides a novel analysis and integrated synthesis of different approaches to conceptualizing and assessing ecosystem functioning. It links the natural sciences with methodologies from philosophy and the social sciences, and introduces a new methodology for a clearer and more efficient application of ecosystem functioning concepts in practice. Special emphasis is laid on the social dimensions of the concept and the ways it influences research practice. Several case studies relate theoretical analyses to practical application.

Author Biography

Kurt Jax is a Senior Scientist at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ-in Leipzig, Germany, and Professor of Ecology at the Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management of the Technische Universitt Mnchen.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
Setting the scene: the context of investigating ecosystem functioning	p. 9
Case study: exotic species and ecosystem functioning on Navarino Island	p. 9
The fields of application for 'ecosystem functioning'	p. 22
Conclusions from this chapter	p. 27
What do we need for a functioning ecosystem? The debate on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning	p. 29
A brief look at the history of the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning debate	p. 31
Two diversity debates in ecology	p. 32
Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning research: some general trends	p. 37
Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: what do we measure?	p. 39
Biodiversity and ecosystem, processes	p. 39
From ecosystem processes to overall ecosystem functioning	p. 50
Excursus: ecosystem functioning, functional groups, and functional diversity	p. 53
Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: some consensus and many open questions	p. 55
Conclusions from this chapter	p. 57
Becoming general: what is ecosystem functioning?	p. 59
At the heart of the problem: the meanings of 'functioning'	p. 60
From function to functioning	p. 61
Excursus: ecosystem services	p. 66
Function and functioning: teleology looming	p. 72
Two different views on wholes and parts	p. 72
Ecosystem functioning and teleology	p. 74
Functions in organisms, societies, and ecosystems	p. 76
The meanings of 'ecosystem'	p. 83
Case study: destroying or maintaining a functioning ecosystem? Wildlife management in Yellowstone National Park	p. 84
A tool for clarifying and visualising different ecosystem definitions: the SIC scheme	p. 101
Conclusions from this chapter	p. 110
General conclusions	p. 110
Ecosystem functioning as a conceptual cluster: related terms and concepts	p. 112
Ecosystem functioning: science meets society	p. 113
Between constructivism and scientific realism: determining the limits of ecosystem functioning	p. 113
Are ecosystems mere constructs?	p. 113
Implications for ecosystems and their functioning	p. 118
Does the variety of ecosystem concepts promote environmental relativism?	p. 123
Case study: alternative stable states as distinct modes of ecosystem functioning	p. 126
Values, norms, and ecosystem functioning: a necessary and difficult unity	p. 134
Case study: societal choices and ecosystem management: the Ecosystem Approach of the Convention on Biodiversity	p. 138
The development of ecosystem management approaches	p. 138
The Ecosystem Approach of the Convention on Biodiversity	p. 139
'Ecosystem functioning' in the Convention on Biodiversity Ecosystem Approach	p. 142
Conclusions: the roles of science and society in assessing ecosystem functioning	p. 145
General conclusions	p. 145
A network of hybrid concepts	p. 147
Assessing ecosystem functioning: some existing approaches	p. 150
Ecosystem functioning: the baseline	p. 150
Existing approaches for assessing ecosystem functioning: ecosystem integrity, ecosystem health, ecosystem stability, and ecosystem resilience	p. 153
Ecosystem integrity and health	p. 153
Case study: assessing 'good ecological status' in the European Water Framework Directive	p. 161
Ecosystem stability and resilience	p. 168
Other approaches	p. 177
Conclusions from this chapter	p. 179
Putting ecosystem functioning concepts into practice: a classification and some guidelines	p. 182
Ecosystem functioning concepts in practice: a classification	p. 182
Ecosystem functioning and the generic-type ecosystem	p. 185
Ecosystem functioning and the process-focused-type ecosystem	p. 187
Ecosystem functioning and the physiognomic-type ecosystem	p. 191
Ecosystem functioning and the species-specific-type ecosystem	p. 195
What is the use in describing different ecosystem functioning types?	p. 196
Some guidelines for conceptualising and assessing ecosystem functioning	p. 197
Choices	p. 198
Procedures	p. 205
Case study: ecological restoration and ecosystem functioning	p. 207
Restoration of post-mining sites in Lower Lusatia	p. 211
Beyond Lusatia: ecological restoration and ecosystem functioning	p. 223
Conclusions and outlook	p. 226
Ecosystem functioning as a research programme?	p. 227
Is ecosystem functioning good?	p. 229
The role(s) of scientists in ecosystem functioning research (and beyond)	p. 231
How useful is the ecosystem functioning concept?	p. 233
References	p. 236
Index	p. 269
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