Author Description

In the first volume of this series (edited by D. E. REICHLE) an international panel of experts treated various aspects of ecosystems research, using deciduous forests of the temperate zone as an example. That collection of articles gave a general view of the extent of our present knowledge and established a conceptual framework for the analysis of an ecosystem. The present volume carries on from there, although it serves a different purpose. It is a report on their methods and their experiences by the members of a research group working as a team. Under the direction of Prof. ELLENBERG, one of the pilot projects of the Inter national Biological Program has been begun in the Solling, a forest and grassland area near Gottingen, West Germany. Here scientists representing a variety of disciplines - meteorology, soil science, hydrology, botany, zoology, microbiology, agriculture and forestry - got together to ascertain the practical possibilities of the analysis of ecosystems. The research, which began in 1966, is still going on. Nevertheless, there are good reasons for making a report on experience so far.