Rapid assessment methods of resilience for natural and agricultural systems

Abstract

The resilience, ecological function and quality of both agricultural and natural systems were evaluated in the mountainous region of the Atlantic Rain Forest of Rio de Janeiro through Rapid Assessment Methods. For this goal new indicators were proposed, such as eco-volume, eco-height, bio-volume, volume efficiency, and resilience index. The following agricultural and natural systems have been compared according: (i) vegetables (leaf, fruit and mixed); (ii) citrus; (iii) ecological system; (iv) cattle, (v) silvo-pastoral system, (vi) forest fragment and (vii) forest in regeneration stage (1, 2 and 3 years old). An alternative measure (index) of resilience was proposed by considering the actual bio-volume as a function of the potential eco-volume. The objectives and hypotheses were fulfilled; it is shown that there does exist a high positive correlation between resilience index, biomass, energy efficiency and biodiversity. Cattle and vegetable systems have lowest resilience, whilst ecological and silvo-pastoral systems have greatest resilience. This new approach offers a rapid, though valuable assessment tool for ecological studies, agricultural development and landscape planning, particularly in tropical countries.

Use of the correlation coefficient in agricultural sciences: problems, pitfalls and how to deal with them

“…In practice, however, it is common to use correlation simply as a measure of strength and direction of a relationship, whether or not it is a cause-and-effect relationship. Examples of when it is such a relationship can be found in numerous papers in which correlation is reported as a part of regression analysis (e.g., Torrico andJanssens 2010, Keiser 2010), but this in general is not how correlation should be applied for the simple reason that it measures different phenomena and between different types of variables than does regression analysis (e.g., Kozak 2008a).…”

Computing the adaptive cycle

“…1 , p. 28). There have been various approaches to make this notion measurable, however, all of them either depending on the specific system under observation [14][15][16][17] or requiring deep knowledge of the system dynamics 18 . Resilience has also been studied from a network perspective (see e.g.…”

Resilience to shocks in Malawian households

“…In the design phase, hazards are explicitly acknowledged, so flexibility and back-up systems or subsystems are incorporated into the larger structure or system to guard against total failure. In contrast, resilience in natural systems implies that biological systems have the capacity to restore themselves over time to reach an equilibrium level once more (Torrico & Janssens 2010). A resilient, efficient ecosystem rebuilds itself over a relatively shorter period of time.…”