Ecological thresholds: The key to successful environmental management or an important concept with no practical application?

Authors

Peter M. Groffman, Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Jill S. Baron, Colorado State University
Tamara Blett, US National Park Service
Arthur J. Gold, University of Rhode Island
Iris Goodman, United States Environmental Protection Agency
Lance H. Gunderson, Emory University
Barbara M. Levinson, United States Environmental Protection Agency
Margaret A. Palmer, University of Maryland, College Park
Hans W. Paerl, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Garry D. Peterson, University of Wisconsin-Madison
N. Le Roy Poff, Colorado State University
David W. Rejeski, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
James F. Reynolds, Duke University
Monica G. Turner, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Kathleen C. Weathers, Institute of Ecosystem Studies
John Wiens, Nature Conservancy

Document Type

Article

Date of Original Version

2-1-2006

Abstract

An ecological threshold is the point at which there is an abrupt change in an ecosystem quality, property or phenomenon, or where small changes in an environmental driver produce large responses in the ecosystem. Analysis of thresholds is complicated by nonlinear dynamics and by multiple factor controls that operate at diverse spatial and temporal scales. These complexities have challenged the use and utility of threshold concepts in environmental management despite great concern about preventing dramatic state changes in valued ecosystems, the need for determining critical pollutant loads and the ubiquity of other threshold-based environmental problems. In this paper we define the scope of the thresholds concept in ecological science and discuss methods for identifying and investigating thresholds using a variety of examples from terrestrial and aquatic environments, at ecosystem, landscape and regional scales. We end with a discussion of key research needs in this area. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

Publication Title, e.g., Journal

Ecosystems

Volume

9

Issue

1

Citation/Publisher Attribution

Groffman, Peter M., Jill S. Baron, Tamara Blett, Arthur J. Gold, Iris Goodman, Lance H. Gunderson, Barbara M. Levinson, Margaret A. Palmer, Hans W. Paerl, Garry D. Peterson, N. L. Poff, David W. Rejeski, James F. Reynolds, Monica G. Turner, Kathleen C. Weathers, and John Wiens. "Ecological thresholds: The key to successful environmental management or an important concept with no practical application?." Ecosystems 9, 1 (2006). doi: 10.1007/s10021-003-0142-z.