Anastassia Makarieva on Biotic Regulation and Biotic Pump

Rob, I agree about the knot of complexity. Some of the most productive ecosystems on the Earth, the Amazon rainforest, has almost no soil in comparison to some non-forest ecosystems. On the other hand, in grasslands plant fibers are very tough because they are dry. In forests, there is no need for animals to walk on trees for the trees to decompose. This is easily done by microorganisms provided there is enough water. I would say we still don't know much. I agree with your point in another note, "Who are we to decide the ecosystem ranking?" However, the ecosystems themselves can decide. If a grassland spontaneously develops into a forest, that could mean that the grassland is an early successional stage developing after a disturbance.