The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Jim Fowler once said, "Our challenge for the future is that we realize we are very much a part of the earth's ecosystem, and we must learn to respect and live according to the basic biological laws of nature. This paper will describe the major structural and functional dynamics of the ecosystem, including change over time. The paper will discuss how humans may have affected biogeochemical cycles in the ecosystem, including impacts to the nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon cycles. The paper will define how knowledge about that ecosystem's structure and function can help or has helped to develop plans for the ecosystems management and restoration. Last, the paper will describe the implication of species interactions in ecosystem management and restoration. The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) at 28,000 square miles is one of the largest intact ecosystems in the northern temperate zone of the Earth and is partly located in Yellowstone National Park (Schullery, Unknown). An ecosystem has physical parts with particular relationships, the structure of the system that together take part in dynamic processes; the function of the system.