I recommend reading Naeem's 2002 Ecosystem Consequences of
Biodiversity Loss: the evolutions of a paradigm. Ecology 83(6):
1537-1552. In it Shahid goes back to the time of the Greeks to
explore the concept of ecosystems.
Cheers,
Fabrice
On Jul 9, 2006, at 4:05 PM, Warren W. Aney wrote:
> I just ran across this bit of writing from almost 2,000 years ago:
>
> "All that is born, all that is created,
> all the elements of nature
> are interwoven and united with each other.
> All that is composed shall be decomposed:
> everything returns to its roots:
> matter returns to the origins of matter."
>
> This is part of the fragmentary Gospel of Mary found in Cairo in
> 1896 but
> only recently studied and translated (this translation of the
> Coptic is by
> Jean-Yves Leloup). Authorities say it was probably written during the
> second century C.E.
>
> I was amazed that someone thought and wrote along these lines so
> long ago.
> It succinctly describes what an ecosystem is, using terms
> suggestive of more
> modern concepts such as biolgical communities, species interactions,
> mutualism, biogeochemical cycling, and decomposition regimes.
>
> Does anyone know of other ancient writings that come this close to
> today's
> concepts of how an ecosystem operates? Or is this unique?
>
> We tend to think that much of this understanding arose only within
> the last
> 100 years.
>
> Warren W. Aney
> Senior Wildlife Ecologist
> 9403 SW 74th Ave
> Tigard, OR 97223
> (503)246-8613 (voice)
> (503)246-2605 (fax)
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] (email)
*****************************************************
Fabrice De Clerck PhD
Landscale Ecologist/Ecologo de Paisaje
Dept. Agricultura y Agroforesteria
CATIE 7170, Turrialba, Costa Rica
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Phone: (506) 558-2596
Fax: (506) 558-2046
Web: www.catie.ac.cr
Adjunct Associate
Tropical Agriculture Program
The Earth Institute at Columbia University
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Skype: fadeclerck
Web:www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/mvp/
*******************************************************
"Everything not given is lost"
