Introduction
Ecology is a component of Encyclopedia of Environmental and Ecological Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias.
Ecology is the study of the interrelationships between living organisms and their environment. The term "ecology" was introduced by Ernst Haeckel, at the end of the nineteenth century. Since that time spectacular advances have been made. Much has been learned about the relationship between organisms and environmental factors, and about the processes that regulate the abundance and distribution of species. The Theme on Ecology with contributions from distinguished experts in the field discusses the Science of Ecology for a Sustainable World.
The two volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.
Editor(s) Biography
Antonio Bodini is a researcher in the Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Parma. He graduated in Biological Sciences and successfully completed his Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences by discussing a thesis on the applications of qualitative modeling in ecology. He spent two years in the Department of Population Sciences, Harvard University (Boston) working as a postdoctoral fellow with Professor Richard Levins on the use of qualitative modeling in ecology. In summer 1997 he worked as visiting scientist at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (University of Maryland) on the applications of network analysis to ecosystem ecology. Ecosystem ecology is his main field of research. In this framework his interests focus also on the applications of ecosystem analysis to environmental impact assessment. In the context of sustainable development he has been exploring the possibility to extend ecosystem network analysis to urban ecosystems, in which flows are expressed in terms of unusual currencies such as water, wastes, inorganic nutrients, etc. His interests are also in the field of mathematical ecology, ecological economics, and political ecology. He presently teaches environmental impact assessment to undergraduate students in the Science Faculty at the University of Parma.
Stefan Klotz is head of the Department of Community Ecology at the UFZ-Center of Environmental Research Leipzig/Halle Ltd, Germany. He graduated in Biological and Chemical Sciences and successfully completed his Ph.D. in Ecology by a thesis dealing with Plant Ecology and Biogeography of urban regions. Plant Ecology, Community Ecology, and Biogeography are the main fields of his research. In this framework his interests focus also on succession, plant-animal interactions, and especially on biological invasions. In the context of global change he has been exploring the possibility of extending plant ecological and biogeographical analysis to artificial landscapes, in which extinctions and immigrations are very important and dynamic processes. He is involved in inter-disciplinary research projects on the influence of landscape structure and land use intensity on biodiversity patterns, on the role of disturbances on species composition, and on ecological processes behind immigrations of alien species. He presently teaches Nature Conservation and Biogeography to undergraduate students in the Faculty of Agriculture in Halle and the Faculty of Geography in Leipzig.
