Ecosystem simulation models

Environmental Fate. Having characterized the entry of materials into the environment, we move into the second step of our procedure. The goal at this stage of analysis is to define ambient concentration of the material or its products in areas of concern for receptor (e.g., people, materials or ecosystem components) exposure. A family of computer simulation models has been developed for calculating the ambient levels of a... 

Ito A. and Oikawa T. (2002). A simulation model of the carbon cycle in land ecosystems (Sim-CYCLE) A description based on dry-matter production theory and plot scale validation. Ecological Modelling, 151, 143-176. 

SIMulation model of carbon CYCle in Land Ecosystems... 

Buzzelli, C.P. (1998) Simulation modeling of littoral zone habitats in lower Chesapeake Bay. I. An ecosystem characterization related to model development. Estuaries 21, 659-672. 

Walsh, J. J. (1975). Spatial simulation model of the Peru upweUing ecosystem. Deep Sea Res. 22, 201-236. 

In addition to providing estimates of risks, simulation models also can be useful in discussing the results of the risk characterization to the risk manager. This dialogue is particularly effective when the relationship between risks to certain measurement endpoints and the assessment endpoint are not readily apparent (e.g., certain indirect effects and large-scale ecosystem-level disturbances). 

Sensitivity analyses were carried out with both of these simulation models to examine which factors were most important in regulating UV damage in aquatic ecosystems. Both models found that changes in UV attenuation by the water column due primarily to mixing processes are of primary importance in determining UV damage [40,41]. Over the range of DOM concentrations for the marine systems tested by Huot et al. (0-0.5 g m, much lower than most freshwater systems), variations in DOM were found to be of little importance. 

Park R. et al, (1974). A generalized model for simulating lake ecosystems. Simulation, 23, 33-50. 

Since saturation of a reproducing population density is what happens in real ecosystems rather than unlimited reproduction, (2.55) is often used as a simulation model, the first time more than 100 years ago by VERHULST (1845, 1847). The stabilization tendency of reverse rates in autocatalytic reactions and their indirect but meaningful ecological implications is quite a general phenomenon as we will see later in Chapter 6. Corresponding terms as generated by the reverse rates of reaction fluxes such as (2.53) are less familiar in population dynamics... 

Cole et al. chose a natural ecosystem for their simulation modelling studies of the soil P cycle. 

Marshall, W.K., and J.R. Roberts. 1977. Simulation modelling of the distribution of pesticides in ponds. In J.R. Roberts, R. Greenhalgh, and W.K. Marshall (Eds.), Proceedings of a symposium on fenitrothion. The long-term effects of its use in forest ecosystems. National Research Council of Canada, Publication No. 16073. 

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