Dynamic modelling with an integrated ecological knowledge-based system

Sandy grasslands ecosystems are poorly understood and too complex to permit highly successful agricultural management. Managerial decisions that depend on study of such ecosystems require a variety of knowledge sources and reasoning mechanisms. Our approach to designing an integrated knowledge-based system that provides advice concerning such ecosystems is to incorporate various reasoning paradigms. This system is based on an integration of different reasoning paradigms: rule-based reasoning, case-based reasoning, and model-based reasoning. This paper examines one of the major ecological models that has been incorporated into the model base of the system. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.