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Large‐Scale Management Experiments and Learning by Doing
Author(s) -
Walters Carl J.,
Holling C. S.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1938620
Subject(s) - surprise , environmental resource management , scale (ratio) , process (computing) , ecosystem , computer science , ecology , product (mathematics) , production (economics) , business , environmental science , economics , geography , psychology , biology , cartography , geometry , mathematics , operating system , social psychology , macroeconomics
Even unmanaged ecosystems are characterized by combinations of stability and instability and by unexpected shifts in behavior from both internal and external causes. That is even more true of ecosystems managed for the production of food or fiber. Data are sparse, knowledge of processes limited, and the act of management changes the system being managed. Surprise and change is inevitable. Here we review methods to develop, screen, and evaluate alternatives in a process where management itself becomes partner with science by designing probes that produce updated understanding as well as economic product.