FOR2060 1nd Edition Lecture 3 Outline of Last Lecture I. The History of Humans and ForestsA. Stone Tools and Fire II. Dawn of Agriculture III.15th-18th Century Forests IV.Industrial Revolution V.Development of Forestry A.What is Forestry?B.Preforestry C.Stage 1: Administrative Forestry D.Stage 2: Ecologically Based Forestry E. Stage 3: Social Forestry VI. What is a Forest?A. Determinism VII. Interactions and Interdependence Between Vegetation, Soil, and Other FactorsVIII.The Basis of Modern Forest Management Outline of Current Lecture I. Biological Organization II. AutecologyIII. Population Ecology IV. Community Ecology V. Ecosystem EcologyA. What is an ecosystem?B. StructureC. FunctionD. Complexity E. Interaction and Interdependence F. Temporal ChangeCurrent LectureI. Biological Organization These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.In ecology we are mainly interested in the ecosystem, community, population, and organisms. The other biological organizations are covered by chemistry, biology, and other sciences. The order we care about: ecosystem ecology, community ecology, population ecology, and autecology. II. Autecology Autecology is the study of the life history and response to its environment of a single individual or species. You learn about the life history, resource requirements, temperature tolerance, habitat preferences, etc. This is the first step in determining if something will grow. III. Population EcologyPopulation Ecology is the study of the abundance, distribution, productivity, and/or dynamics ofa group of organisms of the same type in a given area. This covers the population’s interactions with the environment as well as with each other. IV. Community Ecology Community Ecology is the description and qualification of some aspect of a natural assemblage of different species. This is the study of how different species interact with each other. V. Ecosystem Ecology Ecosystem Ecology involves all components of the biotic community and the abiotic environment. This covers energy flow and nutrient cycling since both are biotic/abiotic interactions. An ecosystem has been defined by many different people. According to Arthur Tansley, an ecosystem “includes not only the organism-complex, but the whole complex of physical factors forming what we call the environment.” This definition is called the ecosystem concept and it is not a very useful definition – but it is a start. Ray Lindeman defined an ecosystem as “any system composed of physical, chemical and biological processes active withinany space-time unit.” This ecologist has added space and time to the definition. The Odum Brothers are the fathers of modern ecology and pioneers of ecosystem science. They put emphasis on the energy flow and thermodynamics. According to Eugene Odum, an ecosystem is“any unit that includes all the organisms in a given area interacting with the physical environment so that a flow of energy leads to a clearly defined trophic structure, biotic diversity,and material cycles.” Robert Whitaker defined an ecosystem as “a functional system that includes an assemblage of interacting organisms and their environment, which act on them and on which they act.”Today’s definition of an ecosystem is more straightforward. An ecosystem is an ecological system consisting of all of the organisms in an area and the physical environment with which they interact. An ecosystem is more of a concept as opposed to a specific physical entity. The Structure of an ecosystem describes who and what is there. It tells us the biotic and abiotic communities and what makes them up. The function tells us the role of the biotic and abiotic components. It describes the exchange of matter and energy between living and nonliving components – it is a physical-chemical system. The complexity consists of structural complexity, functional complexity, and high level biological integration. The interaction and interdependence of an ecosystem describes how the change in any one attribute will result in a subsequent change in others. These interactions led some to think of ecosystems as a “superorganism,” but this idea has no been rejected. The temporal change says that ecosystemsare not static. Ecosystems exchange matter and energy continuously, so the structure, function, complexity, and the interactions will change over