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Quantifying Ecosystem Maturity — a Case Study

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Eco Targets, Goal Functions, and Orientors

Abstract

In this paper Odum’s maturity concept, which is one of the basic sources of the orientor and goal function approach, is analyzed on the basis of empirical data from the terrestrial sites of the project “Ecosystem Research in the Bornhöved Lakes District”. The maturity concept is linked with the thermodynamic non-equilibrium principle. Both theories are tested on three levels: ecosystems, plant community succession, and microbial processes. Specific indicators are used to test the hypotheses. Instead of a continuous long-term observation of one ecosystem, different neighboring developmental stages are compared. In all cases it is obvious that the empirical data support the hypotheses: There are ecosystem properties which are regularly optimized throughout a normal ecosystem development. These potential indicators can be taken to proof the ecological significance of the non-equilibrium principle of thermodynamics.

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Authors
  1. Werner L. Kutsch
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  2. Oliver Dilly
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  3. Wolf Steinborn
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  4. Felix Müller
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ökologie-Zentrum, Universität Kiel, Schauenburger Straße 112, D-24118, Kiel, Germany

    Felix Müller  & Maren Leupelt  & 

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Kutsch, W.L., Dilly, O., Steinborn, W., Müller, F. (1998). Quantifying Ecosystem Maturity — a Case Study. In: Müller, F., Leupelt, M. (eds) Eco Targets, Goal Functions, and Orientors. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-58769-6_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-58769-6_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-63720-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-58769-6

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