SELFORGANISATION AND INFORMATION FOR PLAN ETS AND ECOSYSTEMS

Entropy is fundamental to describing open systems. It makes possible t he distinction between nonequilibrium and equilibrium processes. The i nflux of negentropy is a measure of all physical and chemical processe s occurring in the system. The entropy balance equation is a useful to ol for the comprehensive description of an open system, as its applica tion to planets and ecosystems illustrates. The entropy-information re lationship established by the theory of information is applicable to s elf-organising systems provided their special features, particularly t he presence or absence of memory, are taken into account.