Unifying Research on Social-Ecological Resilience and Collapse

Area of Science:

• Social-ecological systems science
• Environmental management
• Resilience theory

Background:

• Human societies rely on ecosystems for resources and well-being.
• Ineffective environmental management practices can degrade ecosystems, diminishing their resilience.
• This degradation can lead to social-ecological collapse, impacting human societies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review existing research on ecological resilience and collapse across diverse systems.
• To propose a unifying social-ecological framework for understanding collapse.
• To identify key mechanisms driving social-ecological collapse.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive review of resilience and collapse research.
• Development of a social-ecological framework with four key components.
• Analysis of 17 case studies to identify collapse mechanisms.
• Comparison of alternative hypotheses and models of collapse.

Main Results:

• Identified 14 distinct mechanisms, categorized into five classes, that explain social-ecological collapse.
• Demonstrated that system structure significantly influences the type of collapse experienced.
• The proposed framework integrates system identity, quantitative collapse thresholds, system structure, and comparative modeling.

Conclusions:

• A unified mechanistic understanding of social-ecological collapse is achievable.
• Understanding the interplay between system structure and collapse processes is crucial.
• This research offers a foundation for developing effective strategies to address global environmental challenges and prevent societal collapse.