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A nucleation framework for transition between alternate states: short‐circuiting barriers to ecosystem recovery
Author(s) -
Michaels Theo K.,
Eppinga Maarten B.,
Bever James D.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.1002/ecy.3099
Subject(s) - alternative stable state , ecosystem , resilience (materials science) , psychological resilience , scale (ratio) , environmental resource management , disturbance (geology) , nucleation , regime shift , environmental science , ecology , computer science , statistical physics , physics , geology , biology , psychology , paleontology , quantum mechanics , psychotherapist , thermodynamics
The theory of alternate stable states provides an explanation for rapid ecosystem degradation, yielding important implications for ecosystem conservation and restoration. However, utilizing this theory to initiate transitions from degraded to desired ecosystem states remains a significant challenge. Applications of the alternative stable states framework may currently be impeded by a mismatch between local‐scale driving processes and landscape‐scale emergent system transitions. We show how nucleation theory provides an elegant bridge between local‐scale positive feedback mechanisms and landscape‐scale transitions between alternate stable ecosystem states. Geometrical principles can be used to derive a critical patch radius: a spatially explicit, local description of an unstable equilibrium point. This insight can be used to derive an optimal patch size that minimizes the cost of restoration, and to provide a framework to measure the resilience of desired ecosystem states to the synergistic effects of disturbance and environmental change.