key questions and the boundaries between disciplines needs to be flexible
at a level that has never been required in the past. The world is changing
too rapidly for science to address the challenges of global change with
traditional, incremental approaches.” Models offer the opportunity to deal
with complexities and interactions without getting bogged down in details.
In particular, future modeling efforts need to deal with
• Scales—Models can integrate processes that operate on very different
temporal and spatial scales.
• Feedbacks—Incorporating feedbacks between different aspects of the
environment that operate at different scales is one of the biggest challenges
of interdisciplinary research.
• Multiple criteria—Environmental research has been constrained by
efforts to meet a single criterion (e.g., protection of one species or keeping particulates below a certain level). Developing approaches allow the
consideration of several criteria and their interactions at the same time (e.g.,
simultaneously satisfying requirements dealing with air, water, noise, and
biotic species). Acceptable resource management practices will be those
that maintain standards within all these categories. Exploration of alternative future conditions can define conditions under which multiple goals can
be met under a suite of resource constraints.
Today, ecological models are becoming more an integral part of resource
management. A host of tools is available for developing, testing, and implementing these models. Yet models are still not used as often as they could
be. This limited use suggests a need for
• Understanding that models can be a part of the resource management
process that includes exploration and refinement of management options
• Greater use of models to help improve ecological understanding
• Enhancing communication between the modeler and resource manager
at all stages of model development and application
The challenge continues to be to develop and use credible models that
range the gamut from improving ecological understanding to being useful
for decision making.
Acknowledgments. Reviews of an earlier draft of this chapter by Tom
Ashwood and Robert Holst were quite helpful. Development of the chapter
was funded by contracts to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
from the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program
(SERDP), Army Research Office, and Engineering Research and
Development Center of the Corps of Engineers as well as by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service. ORNL is managed
by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract
DE-AC05-00OR22725.
16. New Directions in Ecological Modeling for Resource Management
319
at a level that has never been required in the past. The world is changing
too rapidly for science to address the challenges of global change with
traditional, incremental approaches.” Models offer the opportunity to deal
with complexities and interactions without getting bogged down in details.
In particular, future modeling efforts need to deal with
• Scales—Models can integrate processes that operate on very different
temporal and spatial scales.
• Feedbacks—Incorporating feedbacks between different aspects of the
environment that operate at different scales is one of the biggest challenges
of interdisciplinary research.
• Multiple criteria—Environmental research has been constrained by
efforts to meet a single criterion (e.g., protection of one species or keeping particulates below a certain level). Developing approaches allow the
consideration of several criteria and their interactions at the same time (e.g.,
simultaneously satisfying requirements dealing with air, water, noise, and
biotic species). Acceptable resource management practices will be those
that maintain standards within all these categories. Exploration of alternative future conditions can define conditions under which multiple goals can
be met under a suite of resource constraints.
Today, ecological models are becoming more an integral part of resource
management. A host of tools is available for developing, testing, and implementing these models. Yet models are still not used as often as they could
be. This limited use suggests a need for
• Understanding that models can be a part of the resource management
process that includes exploration and refinement of management options
• Greater use of models to help improve ecological understanding
• Enhancing communication between the modeler and resource manager
at all stages of model development and application
The challenge continues to be to develop and use credible models that
range the gamut from improving ecological understanding to being useful
for decision making.
Acknowledgments. Reviews of an earlier draft of this chapter by Tom
Ashwood and Robert Holst were quite helpful. Development of the chapter
was funded by contracts to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
from the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program
(SERDP), Army Research Office, and Engineering Research and
Development Center of the Corps of Engineers as well as by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service. ORNL is managed
by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract
DE-AC05-00OR22725.
16. New Directions in Ecological Modeling for Resource Management
319