Amazon Site Review

Basic Accounting for Ecosystem Managers and Philosophers, April 11, 2005

Reviewer: Mishtu Banerjee from Richmond, British Columbia Canada

This is a book that begins simply with a few core ideas about how to monitor and track the flow of matter through ecosystems. Anyone with a background in either accounting or macro-economics will immediately see that Ulanowicz's simple calculations tracking energy flow through ecosystems, parrallel our best practices for tracking monetary flow through corporations and economies. Within this clear and quantifiable framework, The Ascendent Perspective then develops some less than obvious biological/economic notions: Throughput (the amount of energy flowing through an ecosystem), Overhead (alternate energy pathways) and Ascendency (orderliness of energy flows). With just these three termsm, Ulanowicz develops a convincing and empirically testable model of the growth and development of ecosystems,through four stages(i) growth, (ii) development, (iii) maturation and finally (iv) senescence. The model is illustrated with long-term ecological data from estuary ecosystems, which centered at the confluence of marine and freshwater, are notably complex and difficult to characterize. In the context of the case studies, concepts such as eutrophication (systems with too much nutrient inflow), ecosystem flexibility, and stability are introduced and illustrated as representing particular patterns of ecosystem growth. The focus on quantification, and large-scale, long-term behavior of ecosytems makes this book particularly suitable for environmental managers planning long term monitoring systems towards natural resource sustainability. Finally I have to mention the most counter-intuitive part of this small book. Beginning with some strictly mechanistic ideas and "ecosytem accounting" practices, the book gradually develops a counter-intuitively non-mechanistic model of ecosystems, and neatly links the observed behavior of ecosystems to some very old philosophical ideas such as Aristotles model of causation, and newer philosophical notions such as Poppers account of propensities (a probabilistic view of systems dynamics). You may not agree with Ulanowicz's ultimate conclusions -- but it's fascinating to watch the chain of reasoning unfold, one small step at a time -- beginning with some non-controversial methods for measuring ecosystems to increasingly surprising conclusions based on the methods. Less than 200 pages with no complex calculations -- it took me only a few hours to read the book -- but I found myself thinking about (and arguing for and against) its conclusions weeks afterwards. If you're interested in ecosystems, sustainability, complexity and prefer good questions rather than simple answers -- this is a book whose questions will engage you for a long time.

-- MishtuBanerjee - 23 Apr 2005
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