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What is an Ecosystem?01:17

What is an Ecosystem?

Overview
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Catastrophic shifts in ecosystems.

M Scheffer1, S Carpenter, J A Foley

  • 1Department of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management, Wageningen University, PO Box 8080, NL-6700 DD Wageningen, The Netherlands. marten.scheffer@aqec.wkao.wau.nl

Nature
|October 12, 2001
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Ecosystems can abruptly shift to new states due to gradual environmental changes. Maintaining ecosystem resilience is key for sustainable management and preventing drastic state switches.

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Environmental Science
  • Resilience Science

Background:

  • Ecosystems face gradual environmental changes like climate shifts, nutrient loading, and habitat fragmentation.
  • These changes are often assumed to cause smooth ecological responses.
  • However, ecosystems like lakes, coral reefs, and forests can undergo sudden, drastic state switches.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mechanisms behind sudden ecosystem state switches.
  • To determine the role of resilience in preventing or facilitating these shifts.
  • To inform sustainable ecosystem management strategies.

Main Methods:

  • Review of studies on various ecosystems (lakes, coral reefs, oceans, forests, arid lands).
  • Analysis of factors triggering state switches.
  • Focus on the concept of ecosystem resilience.

Main Results:

  • Gradual environmental changes can lead to abrupt, non-linear shifts in ecosystem states.
  • Loss of resilience often precedes these drastic switches.
  • Diverse triggers exist, but declining resilience is a common pathway.

Conclusions:

  • Ecosystems are vulnerable to sudden shifts, challenging the assumption of smooth responses to gradual change.
  • Maintaining or enhancing ecosystem resilience is crucial for preventing undesirable state switches.
  • Sustainable management should prioritize resilience to ensure ecosystem stability.