Download or read book Fundamental Processes in Ecology written by David M Wilkinson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006-08-10 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book presents a way to study ecosystems that is not yet available in current textbooks but is resonant with current thinking in the emerging fields of geobiology and Earth System Science. It asks and endeavours to answer the question, "what are the really fundamental characteristics of living systems that might allow them to sustain life?" The author goes on to show how the idea of fundamental ecological processes can be developed at the systems level, specifically their involvement in control and feedback mechanisms. This is not a popular science book about Gaian theory, instead it is written as a text and is directed at a predominantly scientific audience.