The allocation of the net primary productivity (NPP) of an ecosystem between canopy, woody tissue and fine roots is an important descriptor of the functioning of that ecosystem, and an important feature to correctly represent in terrestrial ecosystem models. Here, we collate and analyse a global dataset of NPP allocation in tropical forests, and compare this with the representation of NPP alloc...

BACKGROUND Vaccination is a complex ecosystem with several components that interact with one another and with the environment. Today's vaccine ecosystem is defined by the pursuit of polio eradication, the drive to get as many of the new vaccines to as many people as possible and the research and development against immunologically challenging diseases. Despite these successes, vaccine ecosystem...

There is a pressing need to integrate biophysical and human dimensions science to better inform holistic ecosystem management supporting the transition from single species or single-sector management to multi-sector ecosystem-based management. Ecosystem-based management should focus upon ecosystem services, since they reflect societal goals, values, desires, and benefits. The inclusion of ecosy...

The Maximum Respiration Hypothesis (MRH) asserts that matured ecosystems organize their configuration to maximize community respiration. Hence the object of the hypothesis is not individual living organisms but the whole ecosystem. In this paper we use two types of ecosystem models to show how the MRH works in ecosystems. The first is a simple theoretical model that consists of two compartments...

The internet revolution is sweeping every aspect of business, and E-business development needs sound ecological environment. The competition in the e-business was not among enterprises but among the ecosystems. This paper focuses on problems of E-business construction for enterprises in different niches in the perspective of business ecosystem, introduces the concept of e-business ecosystem and...

Mahecha et al. (Reports, 13 August 2010, p. 838) estimated the temperature sensitivity of ecosystem respiration (Q(10)) and showed that temperature sensitivity and its site-to-site variability are lower than previously reported. We demonstrate that their Q(10) value of 1.4 is an underestimate if interpreted as the averaged sensitivities of all ecosystem components, because fast temperature fluc...

The field of Grid computing has in recent years emerged and been established as an enabling technology for a range of computational eScience applications. The use of Grid technology allows researchers and industry experts to address problems too large to efficiently study using conventional computing technology, and enables new applications and collaboration models. Grid computing has today not...