2018
Overview
Ecosystem ecology is the study of how living organisms interact with one another and with their physical environment at the level of whole ecosystems, with particular emphasis on the flow of energy and the cycling of nutrients and matter. Rather than focusing on individual species in isolation, it considers communities of plants, animals, and microorganisms together with the soil, water, air, and climate that sustain them, examining processes such as primary production, decomposition, water and nutrient movement, and the responses of ecosystems to disturbance. This perspective is essential for understanding how ecosystems function, how they support life, and how they are affected by human activities and environmental change. Within the study of plant and animal ecology, ecosystem-level research often centers on aquatic and terrestrial systems where water quality and nutrient dynamics shape ecological health. Work relevant to this field has examined how the replenishment of water from a major river affects the water quality of a lake wetland, illustrating how external inputs and management interventions can influence the condition of an ecosystem. This page gathers peer-reviewed, open-access research within the broad field of plant and animal ecology relevant to ecosystem ecology.
Research published in this journal
1 peer-reviewed article, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.