ABSTRACT
Natural resources such as forests and fisheries are complex. Yet ecosystems are much more complicated than suggested by the models discussed in the rest of the chapters in Part Six. Managed ecosystems called “agriculture,” “aquaculture,” and “silviculture” are purposefully simplified for ease of management and for human enjoyment. The natural ecosystems (on which managed systems are inevitably dependent) are several orders of magnitude more complex than managed systems; many vital functions are derived from them, and thus the future of the human race depends on preserving them (see Chapter 4). Chapter 29 touched on this dependence in the discussion of wetland restoration.
