Ecological indicators for the nation / Committee to Evaluate Indicators for Monitoring Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments, Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology [and] Water Science and Technology Board, Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources, National Research Council.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee to Evaluate Indicators for Monitoring Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Indicators (Biology).

Environmental monitoring.

Physical Description:

xvi, 180 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : National Academy Press, [2000]

Contents:

Scales and Applicability of Indicators 2

Criteria for Evaluating Indicators 3

The Committee's Conceptual Model for Choosing Indicators 6

Policy Perspectives 7

The Recommended Indicators 7

Timing and Cost of Implementing the Committee's Recommendations 13

Local and Regional Indicators 14

Care and Handling of Environmental Data 17

Research 17

Why Are Ecological Indicators Needed? 18

Key Ecological Processes and Products That People Value 22

Establishing Baselines to Evaluate Trends 23

Evaluating Indicators 25

Realistic Expectations about the Value of Indicators 26

2 The Empirical and Conceptual Foundations of Indicators 27

Scientific Underpinnings of Indicators 29

Using Multiple Approaches 31

Historical and Paleoecological Data As Aids to Indicator Development 31

Sources of Information about Current Ecological Processes 34

Models to Assess Ecosystem Functioning 43

The Committee's Conceptual Model for Choosing Indicators 48

3 A Framework for Indicator Selection 51

Criteria for Evaluating Indicators 52

Information Handling and Calibration 58

Data Quality Control, Archiving, and Assignment of Responsibilities 59

Use of the Committee Framework 62

4 Indicators for National Ecological Assessments 64

The Extent and Status of the Nation's Ecosystems 67

Indicators of Ecological Capital: A. Biotic Raw Materials 75

Indicators of Ecological Capital: B. Abiotic Raw Materials 83

Indicators of the Performance of the Nation's Ecosystems 90

Indicators of Nutrient-Use Efficiency and Nutrient Balances in Agroecosystems 104

Research Needs 113

5 Local and Regional Indicators 116

Productivity Indicators 117

Forests as an Example 117

Indicators of Species Diversity 123

A Variability, Complexity, and the Design of Sampling Procedures 151

B Markov Matrices of Landscape Change 159.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 131-148) and index.

ISBN:

0309068452

OCLC:

43207085