Attempts to model the effects of global change are inhibited by a lack of information about how individual plant and animal species will respond. One way of reducing the problem is to develop models treating a smaller number of groups or 'functional types' with similar characteristics. This 1977 book describes approaches and methods for defining these functional types in ways which maximize our potential to predict accurately the responses of real vegetation with real species diversity.

This 1999 synthesis summarises the international research effort in the Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems (GCTE) Core Project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme. Five major thematic areas are covered: ecosystem physiology; ecosystem structure and composition; terrestrial production systems; global biogeochemistry; ecological complexity (biodiversity). A summary of the integrated and interactive effects of global change on the terrestrial biosphere for four key regions of the world is presented, as well as a projection of future trends in the terrestrial component of the global carbon cycle. The book also includes a section on tools developed or modified for global change research.

Attempts to model the effects of global change are inhibited by a lack of information about how individual plant and animal species will respond. One way of reducing the problem is to develop models treating a smaller number of groups or 'functional types' with similar characteristics. This 1977 book describes approaches and methods for defining these functional types in ways which maximize our potential to predict accurately the responses of real vegetation with real species diversity.

This 1999 synthesis summarises the international research effort in the Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems (GCTE) Core Project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme. Five major thematic areas are covered: ecosystem physiology; ecosystem structure and composition; terrestrial production systems; global biogeochemistry; ecological complexity (biodiversity). A summary of the integrated and interactive effects of global change on the terrestrial biosphere for four key regions of the world is presented, as well as a projection of future trends in the terrestrial component of the global carbon cycle. The book also includes a section on tools developed or modified for global change research.