STATE-OF-THE-ART OF ECOLOGICAL MODELING IN LIMNOLOGY

An overview of modelling in limnology is given by presentation of core problems and milestones of ecological modelling. The history of modelling can be presented by five generations of models, from Lotka-Volterra and Streeter-Phelps to the structural dynamic models of today. The three major problems of modelling in the 1970s are discussed. They are: how do we build a reliable model? Can we set up a procedure for modelling? How do we select the complexity of models? These problems are behind us today. The core problem of modelling today is: How can we make models more ecological in the sense that they reflect the properties of ecosystems? This problem is discussed in somewhat more detail, as it may be considered the front line problem of modelling in the 1990s.