Back to Odum: Using Ecosystem Functional Measures in Stream Ecosystem Management

Proceedings of the 1997 Georgia Water Resources Conference, March 20-22, 1997, Athens, Georgia.Ecosystem management, fast developing as a conceptual framework for modern resource management, presents an opportunity to develop and implement new tools to measure resource condition. Stream ecosystem ecologists have developed a number of techniques for measuring ecosystem function that can be adapted for use by resource managers. Among these are food web analysis, leaf decomposition, nutrient cycling, ecosystem metabolism, and stormwater response. This paper discusses these functional measures and how they can be used in Georgia to a) provide more information on stream condition, b) serve as robust indicators for rehabilitation success, and c) improve public interest in water quality. A simple cost analysis indicates that the price of some ecosystem functional measures is commensurate with current techniques.Sponsored and Organized by: U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of TechnologyThis book was published by the Institute of Ecology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602 with partial funding provided by the U.S. Department of Interior, Geological Survey, through the Georgia Water Research Institutes Authorization Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-397). The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of the University of Georgia or the U.S. Geological Survey or the conference sponsors