Among the most dif?cult problems in the life sciences is the challenge to understand the details of how ecosystems/watersheds/landscapes function. Yet, the welfare of all life, not just the human species, depends upon the s- cessful functioning of diverse and complicated ecosystems, each with va- ous dimensions and compositions. Central to this working is the dominance, and to a major extent control, of ecosystems by organisms, which means that these systems are constantly changing as the component organisms change and evolve. Such changes increase the challenge to understand the functioning...

Among the most dif?cult problems in the life sciences is the challenge to understand the details of how ecosystems/watersheds/landscapes function. Yet, the welfare of all life, not just the human species, depends upon the s- cessful functioning of diverse and complicated ecosystems, each with va- ous dimensions and compositions. Central to this working is the dominance, and to a major extent control, of ecosystems by organisms, which means that these systems are constantly changing as the component organisms change and evolve. Such changes increase the challenge to understand the functioning...