Silvertown, J. and Tallowin, J. and Stevens, Carly and Power, S. and Morgan, V. and Emmett, B.A. and Hester, A. and Grime, J.P. and Morecroft, M. and Jicks, R. and Buxton, R. and Poulton, P. and Jinks, Richard and Bardgett, Richard (2010) Environmental myopia – a diagnosis and remedy. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 25 (10). pp. 556-561. ISSN 0169-5347
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Long-term ecological observation affords a picture of the past that uniquely informs our understanding of present and future ecological communities and processes. Without a long-term perspective, our vision is prone to environmental myopia. Long-term experiments (LTEs) in particular can reveal the mechanisms that underlie change in communities and ecosystem functioning in a way that cannot be understood by long-term monitoring alone. Despite the urgent need to know more about how climate change will affect ecosystems and their functioning, the continued existence of LTEs is extremely precarious and we believe that dedicated funds are needed to support them. A new non-profit organization called the Ecological Continuity Trust seeks to provide a solution to this problem by establishing an endowment that will be specifically earmarked to sustain LTEs as a scientific tool for the benefit of future generations.