Initial Ecosystem Processes as Key Factors of Landscape Development—A Review

Abstract

The Earth's surface is the dynamic interface of climatic, biotic, and geologic systems and is often described as the Earth's critical zone. Structures and processes within this zone are highly complex and heterogeneous and therefore not yet completely understood, particularly with regard to their interactions. In contrast, parts of the critical zone still in their initial development stages are expected to be less complex and heterogeneous compared to mature systems. Therefore, research approaches concentrating on this crucial initial development period of ecosystems have been recently initiated. A central hypothesis is that the initial ecosystem development phase forms the later state of ecosystems. Similarly, the behavior of mature ecosystems can only be understood if knowledge about their evolution exists. The initial development stages of geo-ecosystems are characterized by highly dynamic abiotic and biotic processes. This results in the rapid formation and alteration of structures, which in turn constitute a new framework for new processes. To disentangle the structure-process interactions, interdisciplinary and integrative research approaches in the fields of geomorphology, ecology, biology, soil science, hydrology, and environmental modeling are required. We discuss ideas that emerged from the fourth Meeting of Young Researchers in Earth Sciences (MYRES IV) held at the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) Cottbus in 2010 (www.myres.org), which focused on the overarching question: what are the evolutionary constraints and pathways that govern development of spatiotemporal patterns in ecosystem process and structure? This paper presents a review of the most important aspects of initial ecosystem processes as key factors of landscape development.