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The Rise of the Concept of Scale in Ecology

2001; Oxford University Press; Volume: 51; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0545

1525-3244

David C. Schneider,

Fire effects on ecosystems

Recognition of the concept of scale occurred rapidly in the 1980s, but the concept itself is far older. The last quarter of the 20th century witnessed major changes in the science of ecology, including increases in skill and rigor in the design of field experiments, the growth of mathematically based theory, computer-mediated advances in analytical capacity, and the accelerating capacity to acquire and retrieve data. These changes were accompanied by growing recognition of the problem of scale (Wiens 1989, Steele 1991, Levin 1992). The problem has three components. First, pressing problems in ecology often exist at the scale of decades and large ecosystems. Second, most variables can only be measured directly in small areas, over short periods of time. Relatively few variables, such as ocean color, can be measured at fine resolution over large areas via remote sensing. Most variables, and in particular most rates, can be measured only on site. Third, patterns measured at small scales do not necessarily hold at larger scales; nor do processes prevailing at small scales necessarily prevail at large scales. Consequently, pressing problems in ecology cannot be automatically addressed by scaling locally measured variables directly to larger areas and longer times.