Exergy, information and aggradation: An ecosystems reconciliation

Ecosystems have been hypothesized to develop according to increases in four separate system attributes: (1) ascendency, (2) storage of exergy, (3) the ability to dissipate external gradients in exergy and (4) network aggradation. Analysis of the formal descriptions of these attributes reveals a theoretical consistency among the four trends. The treatment also points to the attribute of autocatalytic configurations called “centripetality” as the core unitary agency responsible for all four separate descriptions.