Modelling environmental dynamics is critical to understanding and predicting the evolution of the environment in response to the large number of influences including urbanisation, climate change and deforestation. Simulation and modelling provide support for decision making in environmental management. The first chapter introduces terminology and provides an overview of methodological modelling approaches which may be applied to environmental and complex dynamics. Based on this introduction this book illustrates various models applied to a large variety of themes: deforestation in tropical regions, fire risk, natural reforestation in European mountains, agriculture, biodiversity, urbanism, climate change and land management for decision support, etc. These case studies, provided by a large international spectrum of researchers and presented in a uniform structure, focus particularly on methods and model validation so that this book is not only aimed at researchers and graduates but also at professionals.

A primer on modeling concepts and applications that is specifically geared toward the environmental field. Sections on modeling terminology, the uses of models, the model-building process, and the interpretation of output provide the foundation for detailed applications. After an introduction to the basics of dynamic modeling, the book leads students through an analysis of several environmental problems, including surface-water pollution, matter-cycling disruptions, and global warming. The scientific and technical context is provided for each problem, and the methods for analyzing and designing appropriate modeling approaches is provided. While the mathematical content does not exceed the level of a first-semester calculus course, the book gives students all of the background, examples, and practice exercises needed both to use and understand environmental modeling. It is suitable for upper-level undergraduate and beginning-graduate level environmental professionals seeking an introduction to modeling in their field.

Modeling techniques that allow managers and researchers to see in advance the consequences of actions and policies are becoming increasingly important to environmental management. Modeling the Environment is a basic introduction to one of the most widely known and used modeling techniques, system dynamics. Modeling the Environment requires little or no mathematical background and is appropriate for undergraduate environmental students as well as professionals new to modeling.

This book demonstrates how mathematical models constructed in system dynamics modelling platforms, such as Vensim, can be used for long-term management of environmental change. It is divided into two sections, with the first dedicated to theory, where the theory of co-evolutionary modelling and its use in the system dynamics model platform is developed. The book takes readers through the steps in the modelling process, different validation tools applicable to these types of models and different growth specification, as well as how to curve fit using numerical methods in Vensim. Section 2 comprises of a collection of applied case studies, including fisheries, game theory and wildlife management. The book concludes with lessons from the use of co-evolutionary models for long-term natural resource management. The book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental economics, natural resource management, system dynamics, ecological modelling and bioeconomics.

Publisher Description

This textbook presents the timeless basic physical and mathematical principles and philosophy of environmental modeling to students who need to be taught how to think in a different way than they would for more narrowly-defined engineering or physics problems. Examples come from a range of hydrologic, atmospheric, and geophysical problems.

This book allows the reader to acquire step-by-step in a time-efficient and uncomplicated the knowledge in the formation and construction of dynamic models using Vensim. Many times, the models are performed with minimal current data and very few historical data, the simulation models that the student will design in this course accommodate these analyses, with the construction of realistic hypotheses and elaborate behavior models. That's done with the help of software Vensim that helps the construction of the models as well as performing model simulations. At the end of the book, the reader is able to: - Describe the components of a complex system. - Diagnose the natural evolution of the system under analysis. - Create a model of the system and present it using the simulation software. - Carry out simulations with the model, in order to predict the behavior of the system. Content Environmental Area 1. Population Growth 2. Ecology of a Natural Reserve 3. Effects of the Intensive Farming 4. The Fishery of Shrimp 5. Rabbits and Foxes 6. A Study of Hogs 7. Ingestion of Toxins 8. The Barays of Angkor 9. The Golden Number Management Area 10. Production and Inventory 11. CO2 Emissions 12. How to Work More and Better 13. Faults 14. Project Dynamics 15. Innovatory Companies 16. Quality Control 17. The impact of a Business Plan Social Area 18. Filling a Glass 19. A Catastrophe Study 20. The Young Ambitious Worker 21. Development of an Epidemic 22. The Dynamics of Two Clocks Mechanical Area 23. The Tank 24. Study of the Oscillatory Movements 25. Design of a Chemical Reactor 26. The Butterfly Effect 27. The Mysterious Lamp Advanced Exercises (Vensim PLE PLUS) 28. Import data from an Excel file 29. Building Games and Learning Labs 30. Interactive models 31. Input Output Controls 32. Sensitivity Analysis Annex I. Guide to creating a model II. Functions, Tables and Delays III. Frequently Asked Questions FAQs IV. Download the models of this book The author Juan Martín García is teacher and a worldwide recognized expert in System Dynamics, with more than twenty years of experience in this field. Ph.D. Industrial Engineer (Spain) and Postgraduated Diploma in Business Dynamics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT (USA). He teaches Vensim online courses in http://vensim.com/vensim-online-courses/ based on System Dynamics.

In this book the authors consider the natural environment as an integrated system. The physical, chemical and biological processes that govern the behaviour of the environmental system can thus be understood through mathematical modelling, and their evolution can be studied by means of numerical simulation. The book contains a summary of various efficient approaches in atmospheric prediction, such as numerical weather prediction and statistical forecast of climate change, as well as other successful methods in land surface modelling. The authors explore new theories and methods in environment prediction such as systems analysis and information theory. Attention is given to new achievements in remote sensing tele-metering and geographic information systems.

System dynamics is one of the most widely known and widely used methods of modeling.

Increasingly used to represent climatic, biogeochemical, and ecological systems, computer modeling has become an important tool that should be in every environmental professional’s toolbox. Environmental Modeling: A Practical Introduction is just what it purports to be, a practical introduction to the various methods, techniques, and skills required for computerized environmental modeling. Exploring the broad arena of environmental modeling, the book demonstrates how to represent an environmental problem in conceptual terms, formalize the conceptual model using mathematical expressions, convert the mathematical model into a program that can be run on a desktop or laptop computer, and examine the results produced by the computational model. Equally important, the book imparts skills that allow you to develop, implement, and experiment with a range of computerized environmental models. The emphasis is on active engagement in the modeling process rather than on passive learning about a suite of well-established models. The author takes a practical approach throughout, one that does not get bogged down in the details of the underlying mathematics and that encourages learning through “hands on” experimentation. He provides a set of software tools and data sets that you can use to work through the various examples and exercises presented in each chapter, as well as presentational material and handouts for course tutors. Comprehensive and up-to-date, the book discusses how computational models can be used to represent environmental systems and illustrates how such models improve understanding of the ways in which environmental systems function.