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Science 21 July 1995:
Vol. 269. no. 5222, pp. 334 - 341
DOI: 10.1126/science.269.5222.334
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Articles

Ecology and Climate: Research Strategies and Implications

Terry L. Root 1 and Stephen H. Schneider 2

1 School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
2 Department of Biological Sciences and Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA, and at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Post Office Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307, USA.

Natural and anthropogenic global changes are associated with substantial ecological disturbances. Multiscale interconnections among disciplines studying the biotic and abiotic effects of such disturbances are needed. Three research paradigms traditionally have been used and are reviewed here: scale-up, scale-down, and scale-up with embedded scale-down components. None of these approaches by themselves can provide the most reliable ecological assessments. A fourth research paradigm, called strategic cyclical scaling (SCS), is relatively more effective. SCS involves continuous cycling between large- and small-scale studies, thereby offering improved understanding of the behavior of complex environmental systems and allowing more reliable forecast capabilities for analyzing the ecological consequences of global changes.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
From the Cover: Human-modified temperatures induce species changes: Joint attribution.
T. L. Root, D. P MacMynowski, M. D. Mastrandrea, and S. H. Schneider (2005)
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Human-modified ecosystems and future evolution.
D. Western (2001)
PNAS 98, 5458-5465
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Climate Extremes: Observations, Modeling, and.
D. Easterling, G. Meehl, Parmesan, S. Changnon, T. Karl, and L. Mearns (2000)
Science 289, 2068-2074
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Infectious diseases: an ecological perspective.
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BMJ 311, 1681-1684
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Big Questions for a Small Planet.
R. B. Gallagher, J. Fischman, and P. J. Hines (1995)
Science 269, 283
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)