Creating a safe operating space for iconic ecosystems

Abstract

Manage local stressors to promote resilience to global change

Biodiversity and Resilience of Ecosystem Functions

“…providing its function) or collapsed, prompting need 64 for a re-build, as opposed to monitoring and repairing damage to prevent the collapse from 65 ever happening. In environmental science, attempts have been made to identify this 'safe 66 operating space' at a global level to ensure that boundaries are not crossed that could lead 67 to rapid losses in ecosystem functions [10,11]. However, there is a danger that current 68 regional and local assessments of ecosystem functions and management advice do not 69 incorporate such risk assessments.…”

Vulnerability of tropical forest ecosystems and forest dependent communities to droughts

“…1915,1925,1926,1958,1963,1964,1979,1980,1981,[1983][1984][1985][1986][1987][1988][1989][1990][1991][1992][1993][1994][1995][1996][1997][1998][1999] There are many well-documented ecological impacts of droughts in the tropics, e.g., decreased NPP levels, higher mortality rates, increase loss of forest cover, and shifts in tree species dominance ; NASA 2013) is useful information since it suggests the need to identify other factors to explain the variances reported as well as whether drought imposes different thresholds depending on site conditions. It is difficult to determine whether these mortality rates are within the boundaries of the safe operating space (Scheffer et al 2015) and whether ecosystems are likely to recover after a drought or not.…”

“…However does it indicate whether ecological and social systems have recovered within their historical range of conditions? Additional knowledge may be needed to identify system parameters that maintain functionality within the "safe operating space" where a stress or disturbance does not trigger the system to cross a threshold of recovery beyond the historical range of variation (Scheffer et al 2015). In fact identifying the safe operating space for both the social as well as the ecological systems would probably be even more challenging with the multitude and complexity of connections that exist between them.…”

Humanity’s distance to nature: time for environmental austerity?

“…While cities reduce some anthropogenic impacts, they magnify others, particularly if consumption patterns change in urban communities (e.g., increased demand for meat in urban environments). Recent theoretical advances suggest that these gradual changes (for instance, in resource limitation) should be interpreted as reasons to take immediate action to avoid crossing a threshold into collapse or degradation Scheffer et al 2015).…”