Ecometric and Dynamic Modelling —

The nuclear accident at Chernobyl enabled the scientific community to study nuclear fall-out effects in situ and establish new kinds of interpretation methods. This study is an introduction to one of these methods, ecometric analysis. Ecometry is an approach which establishes so-called load diagrams (effect-dose-sensitivity diagrams) for entire ecosystems, such as lakes or defined coastal areas. The text focuses on such areas as statistical relationships and causal relationships, clusters and functional groups of inter-related environmental parameters, area-and-time compatible data, benefits and drawbacks with the ecometric approach, and the value of parameters that vary in time and space. The book presents detailed data on radioactive caesium in lakes (after the Chernobyl accident) to illustrate the various principles and steps required to establish load diagrams. The ecometric approach can be used for most pollutants in different types of ecosystems.