Ecological Questions. An International Journal on Controversial Problems of Ecology. 3/2003

The preview of Ecological Questions journal
Disturbances, gradients and flows are phenomena that have aroused interest in ecologists for years. They proceed in various scales, have different causes and results, and yet they are always connected with movement and changes that take place in ecological systems. The publications included in the third issue of Ecological Questions aimed at defining the notion of disturbances and at discussing this kind of phenomena, both those conspicuous - usually allogenic and those smaller - autogenic phenomena, which very often have equally important ecological and evolutionary consequences. Those disturbances can be monitored with different methods: from remote sensing, through field works, to direct observations in a laboratory or a greenhouse. In the publications presented in the current issue of EQ, they are analysed mainly on the base of data sets collected during field works. The role of environmental gradients (also those existing within the sociosphere) in creation of disturbances and removing their results are discussed in the papers. The authors put special emphasis on the gradients existing in the landscape modified by human economic activities. Particular papers present not only structural changes but also functioning of ecological systems of various time and space scale, expressed by energy flow and matter circulation. Most of the authors presented disturbances, gradients and flows only from the point of view of the classical vegetation science. However, the intention of some authors was to analyse the described by them ecological structures in the aspect of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. In the discussion they tried to answer three questions: to what degree disturbances at different levels of biosphere organization could be considered as fluctuations, gradients - as thermodynamic potentials, and processes of energy flows and matter circulation - as coupled flows, which lead to structural alteration, formation of stabile steady states and dissipative structures, and consequently to realization of self-organization process. Energetistic analyses presented by other authors were conducted in the aspect of so-called embodied solar energy, i.e. emergy, which was developed in the modem ecology by Howard T. Odum.

Łaska G., Theory of disturbances and dynamics ofvegetation;
Nienartowicz A., Cyzman W., Deptuła M., Kunz M., Speciesdiversity and spatial heterogeneity of two forest landscapes formedunder different influence of disturbance from agricultural humanactivity;
van der Zee D., Disturbances in the landscape caused byrecreation and tourism;
Klimko M., Wyrzykiewicz-Raszewska M., Epipactispalustris (L.) Cranz in natural and anthropogenic habitats;
Klimko M., Piskorz R., The usefulness of retrospective research along theroad-forest border zone for reconstruction of invasion of oak-hombeamforest communities by Impatiens parviflora DC.;
Czarnecka J.,Regenerative strategies of Linum flavum and Brachypodium pinnatum andtheir consequences for regeneration of xerothermic grassland;
Ciecierska H., Disturbances in the littoral vegetation in Lake Kolowin (Masurian Landscape Park) after ecological catastrophe;
Piernik A.,Three types of gradients in the saline ecosystem;
Jacuńska U., Thealgae of transitional and high moor peatbogs along the biotopicgradient;
Paszek I., Załuski T., Floristic diversity along theroad-forest transition zone;
Koprowski M., Zielski A., Incrementpattern in Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karsten) along thecontinentality gradient;
Kaczmarek J., Dziadowiec H., Changes infunctioning of the forest rusty soils induced by differences in treestand composition;
Filbrandt-Czaja A., Noryśkiewicz B., Piernik A., Intensification gradient of settlement processes in pollen diagramsfrom the Dobrzyn-Olsztyn Lake District;
Nienartowicz A., Domin J. D.,Kunz M., Influence of social infrastructure extension and changed ininhabitants' lifestyle on energy consumption in the village of Asmus (Northwestern Poland);
Ulgiati S., Bargigli S., Raugei M., Can aprocess sustainability be assessed by means of thermodynamic andecological impact categories?

Marian Rejewski