Pattern Matching in discrete Models for Ecosystem Ecology

In this paper we consider discrete qualitative models of ecosystems viewed as collections of interacting living (animals, plants.. .) and nonliving entities (air, water, soil.. .), whose conditions of appearance/disappearance are controlled by a set of formal rules (i.e., processes). We present here a rule-based method allowing to compare ecosystems. The method relies on a measure of similarity and on an optimization algorithm. In addition, the proposed method allows to detect patterns (i.e., ecological processes or sets of processes) in ecosystems. We have validated the method by applying it against a set of models and patterns provided by ecologists.