RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Ecological state equation
A1 Rodríguez, Ricardo A.
A1 Herrera, Ada M.
A1 Otto, Rüdiger
A1 Delgado, Juan Domingo
A1 Fernández-Palacios, José María
A1 Arévalo, José Ramón
K1 State equation
K1 Biodiversity
K1 Steady ecosystem
K1 Thermodynamics
K1 Boltzmann constant
K1 Trophic energy
K1 ecuación de estado
K1 biodiversidad
K1 ecosistema invariable
K1 termodinámica
K1 constante de Boltzman
K1 energía trófica
AB The direct equivalence between ecology and thermodynamics has not been attained despite acceptedthermodynamic features of the ecosystem. This article explores the homeomorphism between ecologyand statistical mechanics by analysis of ruderal vegetation. In conventional thermostatistical algorithm,the pro-kinetic effect of temperature on molecules was replaced by the anti-kinetic effect of species diversityon biological individuals. The existence of an ecological equivalent of the thermodynamic Boltzmannconstant was empirically verified. From the relationship of this constant with biocenological variables,we derived a probable ecological equation of state under stationary and quasi-stationary conditions. Thisequation of state is homeomorphic with regard to the ideal gas state equation, and it is useful to inferthe value of some biocenological parameters whose direct measurement is difficult, as biomass, energyand dispersal. According to these results, ecosystem assessment from conventional thermostatistics isplausible and empirically verifiable. This approach offers useful analytical tools for the conservation andrestoration of ecosystems.
PB Elsevier BV
YR 2012
FD 2012
LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/18497
UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/18497
LA en
NO Fundación Canaria Rafael Clavijo
DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna
RD 24-nov-2024