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Forest resilience and tipping points at different spatio‐temporal scales: approaches and challenges
Author(s) -
Reyer Christopher P. O.,
Brouwers Niels,
Rammig Anja,
Brook Barry W.,
Epila Jackie,
Grant Robert F.,
Holmgren Milena,
Langerwisch Fanny,
Leuzinger Sebastian,
Lucht Wolfgang,
Medlyn Belinda,
Pfeifer Marion,
Steinkamp Jörg,
Vanderwel Mark C.,
Verbeeck Hans,
Villela Dora M.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.452
H-Index - 181
eISSN - 1365-2745
pISSN - 0022-0477
DOI - 10.1111/1365-2745.12337
Subject(s) - tipping point (physics) , climate change , environmental resource management , deforestation (computer science) , vulnerability (computing) , ecosystem services , resilience (materials science) , ecosystem , psychological resilience , environmental science , forest dynamics , forest ecology , temporal scales , ecology , geography , computer science , biology , psychology , physics , computer security , electrical engineering , psychotherapist , programming language , engineering , thermodynamics
Summary Anthropogenic global change compromises forest resilience, with profound impacts to ecosystem functions and services. This synthesis paper reflects on the current understanding of forest resilience and potential tipping points under environmental change and explores challenges to assessing responses using experiments, observations and models. Forests are changing over a wide range of spatio‐temporal scales, but it is often unclear whether these changes reduce resilience or represent a tipping point. Tipping points may arise from interactions across scales, as processes such as climate change, land‐use change, invasive species or deforestation gradually erode resilience and increase vulnerability to extreme events. Studies covering interactions across different spatio‐temporal scales are needed to further our understanding. Combinations of experiments, observations and process‐based models could improve our ability to project forest resilience and tipping points under global change. We discuss uncertainties in changing CO 2 concentration and quantifying tree mortality as examples. Synthesis . As forests change at various scales, it is increasingly important to understand whether and how such changes lead to reduced resilience and potential tipping points. Understanding the mechanisms underlying forest resilience and tipping points would help in assessing risks to ecosystems and presents opportunities for ecosystem restoration and sustainable forest management.