Introduction
xxiii
Canadian rainforests , even though they represent significant elements of
regional biodiversity. Logging is generally thought to have the potential
of constraining species diversity in the high-latitude rainforests. New
governmental initiatives are being implemented to develop better guidelines to more effectively conserve biodiversity in this region.
In concluding the book, we draw a number of lessons from these
comparative studies. While the biotic and abiotic patterns along the
coasts of North and South America are generally understood, more
detailed field studies and analyses are needed to understand the complex
interactions between and within physical domains and biological communities. Natural systems are complex, and a small change can bring
about large changes in ecosystem functioning and structure, depending
on the state of the ecosystem. One of the best ways (and possibly the
only way) to study such problems in their natural setting is to undertake regional comparative studies such as the ones described here .
These studies must be interdisciplinary in nature , because expertise and
paradigms from many disciplines must be brought to bear on the scientific problems arising from the linkages between ecosystem processes.
Furthermore, this work must be done within a framework that allows for
the propagation of perturbations from one scale to another, with movement from and to smaller scales. Finally, the human dimension must be
incorporated into this research . Humans are the principal disturbers of
ecosystems. However, through their institutional policies and personal
actions, they can also address and correct the imbalances and disturbances that they have introduced . Consequently, our conclusions call for
a stronger socioeconomic component in future regional comparative
global-change studies so that more positive forces of change can be
identified and studied .
Richard G. Lawford
Paul B. Alaback