But most important, it led the charge towards the new ecosystem-type business, attracting a developer community of hundreds of thousands of people and businesses prepared to pony up to produce for its platform.

FORBES: The Impossible Leadership Position of Apple Inc

The first thing is that Apple is running a new type of company with economic sub-systems, like the developer ecosystem, that are relatively new to management.

FORBES: Apple's Demise: What is That About?

"It is important because - depending on the rate of change, and the type of species that are found in the forests - it will influence a lot of ecosystem services and processes, " explained co-author Brian Enquist from the University of Arizona.

BBC: Tropical forests 're-shaped' by climate changes