The ecosystem concept: A search for order

Frank B. Golley

doi:10.1007/bf02347157

journal article Aug 01, 1991

The ecosystem concept: A search for order

Frank B. Golley

Ecological Research Vol. 6 No. 2 pp. 129-138 · Wiley

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Abstract

Abstract
The development of the ecosystem concept illustrates the search for order in science and shows how individuals and the social‐cultural environment of the science influence concept evolution. Ecosystem was coined in 1935 and replaced a variety of inappropriate terms which all referred to a system of biotic and inorganic interactions in nature. It was popularized after the second World War and became a dominant paradigm in ecology world wide. As such, it dominated the development of productivity studies within the International Biological Program. The ecosystem concept became mature when it was realized that the ecosystem was an object that could be studied directly, using conventional scientific methods. Currently the ecosystem concept exists along side a variety of ecological concepts which represent the guiding research foci of ecological subfields.

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Metrics

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Citations

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References

Details

Published: Aug 01, 1991
Vol/Issue: 6(2)
Pages: 129-138
License: View

Authors

F

Frank B. Golley

Institute of Ecology University of Georgia Athens Georgia 30602 USA

Cite This Article

Frank B. Golley (1991). The ecosystem concept: A search for order. Ecological Research, 6(2), 129-138. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02347157

The ecosystem concept: A search for order

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