Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
ed resilience responses.
80
to addressing speci
c problems through speci
Walker and Salt describe research into the
'
erosion of general resilience,
worldwide, at all scales
'
as being the biggest challenge for ecological
.
81
However, a substantial body of research conducted during the last
twenty years indicates that the diversity of biotic components of ecosys-
tems makes a signi
scientists, but also as the
'
weakest part of current resilience practice
'
cant contribution to their functionality and resili-
ence. This attribute overlaps with most of the other attributes referred
toaboveinsomerespect.Asystemwithahighdegreeofbiodiversityis
likely to be regarded as possessing healthy reserves or stocks of natural
capital, whilst reduced modularity and connectedness due to human
actions may well impact negatively on the diversity of species and
habitats that a system can sustain. In view of this, a review of research
in this area enables broader conclusions to be drawn about the ef
cacy of
using general resilience and its preservation as the object of ecological
governance. Research on biodiversity and general resilience is consi-
dered in the
following section
. I then go on to consider
'
tightness of
feedbacks
ed as a key feature
of resilient systems and one which illustrates well the desirability of
adopting a cautious approach in a system of governance that seeks to
preserve this property.
'
, a characteristic which has also been identi
2.3.2.1 Biodiversity
Biodiversity is an umbrella term that captures several aspects of the
diversity of biotic components of ecosystems.
82
These include the variety
of individual species and groups of species that a system sustains and
genetic differences between and within their populations. Research con-
ducted since the 1990s has consistently identi
ed both that the biodiver-
sity of ecosystems is central to their functioning and resilience, and that
deterioration of this attribute reduces their ability to reorganise after
disturbance.
83
It also identi
es the need for urgent action to halt the loss
80
Walker and Salt,
81
'
Resilience Practice
'
, pp. 188, 197.
Ibid
., p. 197.
82
Chapin III et al.,
'
Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology
'
, pp. 322
-
4.
83
For example see N. Myers,
'
Biodiversity and the Precautionary Principle
'
(1993) 22 Ambio,
74
-
9; C. Folke et al.,
'
Biological Diversity, Ecosystems, and the Human Scale
'
(1996) 6
Ecological Applications,1018
-
24; A. Purvis and A. Hector,
'
Getting the Measure of
Biodiversity
'
(2000) 405 Nature,212
-
19; F. S. Chapin III et al.,
'
Consequences of Changing
Biodiversity
'
(2000) 405 Nature,234
-
42; Folke et al.,
'
Regime Shifts
'
;D.U.Hooperetal.,
'
Effects of Biodiversity on Ecosystem Functioning: A Consensus of Current Knowledge
'
(2005) 75 Ecological Monographs,3
-
35; Chapin III et al.,
'
Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology
'
,
pp. 333
-
5.
