Perspectives and methods of scaling

Abstract

Transferring information between or across scales or organizational levels is inevitable in both basic research and its applications, a process generally known as "scaling" (Wu and Li, Chapter 1). Scaling is the essence of prediction and understanding both of which require cross-scale translation of information, and is at the core of ecological theory and application (Levin 1992, Levin and Pacala 1997, Wu 1999). While the importance of scaling in ecology has been acutely recognized in recent decades, how to conduct scaling across heterogeneous ecosystems remains a grand challenge (Turner et al. 1989, Wu and Hobbs 2002).

Citation

Wu, Jianguo; Li, Harbin. 2006. Perspectives and methods of scaling. In: Wu, Jianguo; Jones, K. Bruce; Li, Habin; Loucks, Orie, eds. Scaling and uncertainty analysis in ecology: methods and applications. Dordrect, Netherlands: Springer: 15-42