The Management Plan

Abstract

In Part One, ‘Ecological theory’, of this book we examined the dynamic nature of the plant and animal species which make up the ecosystem. Although at first glance many of the processes being discussed seemed to be precise, yet one becomes increasingly aware of the random influences acting to ‘blur’ this precision. In Chapter 2, for example, we discussed ecological succession and defined clear-cut successful stages, nine for the shingle succession at Dungeness. Such a process is in reality an oversimplification, since succession is far more complex and less precise. On any piece of land, arbitrarily chosen, it is more than likely that there will be some abnormality in the succession, either by one stage being missed out, or by a reversal to a previous stage, or by the chance introduction of another species causing a temporary variation of the stage. The clear-cut stages that are put forward are in reality averages or means in the development of a community, forming part of a continuum of variation both lengthwise from the initial to the final form of the community and breadthwise in that each stage has its own variation. In ecological studies we usually attempt to define the mean, whereas it might be that the variance attached to the mean is of as much importance.