BCSSS

International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

2nd Edition, as published by Charles François 2004 Presented by the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science Vienna for public access.

About

The International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics was first edited and published by the system scientist Charles François in 1997. The online version that is provided here was based on the 2nd edition in 2004. It was uploaded and gifted to the center by ASC president Michael Lissack in 2019; the BCSSS purchased the rights for the re-publication of this volume in 200?. In 2018, the original editor expressed his wish to pass on the stewardship over the maintenance and further development of the encyclopedia to the Bertalanffy Center. In the future, the BCSSS seeks to further develop the encyclopedia by open collaboration within the systems sciences. Until the center has found and been able to implement an adequate technical solution for this, the static website is made accessible for the benefit of public scholarship and education.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

ECOSYSTEMS DYNAMICS 1)2)

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According to B.C. PATTEN, as quoted by A. CASELLES MONCHO and J.L. USO DOMENECH "… ecosystems dynamics in non perturbed states is approximatively linear, although its internal processes were nonlinear" (1993, p.438).

"Non perturbed" should be understood as "not much perturbed", i.e. perturbed in a limited stable range. This is the case of mature ecosystems (formerly described as climax). Moreover: "Biotic components of an ecosytem have limited resources". This explains why stable ecosystems, when seriously perturbed, may irreversibly collapse (The case for example of overexploited tropical rain forests, or overfished oceanic areas).

And: "Non perturbed dynamics is produced in a bounded range of operations… and: Operations occur in a bounded range of values" (Ibid).

This aspect has been tackled in a different way by W.R. ASHBY, who describes "equilibrial densities" and "terminal equilibrium" and uses MARKOV chains and Markovian matrixes to modelize such equilibria (1956, p.177).

Ecosystems can also undergo strong perturbations, which may put an end to their homeostasis. One case is the appearance of a mutant population that deeply affects the global equilibrium of the system. In such a case it will self-reorganize in a new way, probably at a higher level of organization.

Another case is the destruction of an important component. This may lead to a crash, i.e. to a globally lower level of organization. In many cases the introduction of an alien component may bring such a havoc: For example goats or rats and cats on formerly isolated ecosystems.

Categories

  • 1) General information
  • 2) Methodology or model
  • 3) Epistemology, ontology and semantics
  • 4) Human sciences
  • 5) Discipline oriented

Publisher

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(2020).

To cite this page, please use the following information:

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (2020). Title of the entry. In Charles François (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics (2). Retrieved from www.systemspedia.org/[full/url]

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