In mathematical terms, ascendency is the product of the aggregate amount of material or energy being transferred in an ecosystem times the coherency with which the outputs from the members of the system relate to the set of inputs to the same components (Ulanowicz 1986).
Ascendency in mathematics refers to the product of the overall transfer of materials or energies within a system, multiplied by the degree to which the outputs of its constituent parts are related to the inputs that feed into them (Ulanowicz 1986).