ABSTRACT
This chapter examines a model of the feedback mechanisms that exist between the biota and the abiotic environment of an imaginary planet, known as Daisyworld. The Daisyworld model was developed by Andrew Watson and J. Lovelock largely in response to criticism of Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis, which suggests that Earth behaves like a self-regulating super-organism in which the biota and abiotic environment interact to maintain conditions that are suitable for, the continued existence of life. Daisyworld is an imaginary planet illuminated by a distant sun. Thus, Daisyworld experiences neither diurnal variation nor seasonal changes in the amount of incident solar radiation. The temperature of Daisyworld as a whole is dependent on the amount of incident solar radiation and the albedo of the planet surface. Several implementations of the Daisyworld model are presented, including one in which the solar luminosity is held constant and others in which it gradually increases over time.
