Resilience of Ecosystems

Question 1

Define resilience

Answer 1

Resilience is the ability of an ecosystem (or a component of ecosystem) to adapt to a changing environment and to restore function and structure following an episode of natural or human-induced stress.

Question 2

What is one factor that allows for an ecosytem to have more resiliance?

Answer 2

Ecosystems rich in biodiversity generally have greater resilience than those with little biodiversity. Able to recover more readily from naturally induced stress (including drought and fire).

Question 3

Long term ecosystem degradation occurs when?

Answer 3

Long term ecosystem degradation occurs when the magnitude and duration of the stress exceed the ability of the component to repair itself.

Question 4

What is the importance of natural stress within an ecosystem? give an example

Answer 4

In some cases, natural sources of stress play an important role in the functioning of ecosystems. Stress-dependent organisms and processes rely on changes in their environment to produce or stimulate growth of their systems. E.g. Eucalypt species rely on fire to initiate a stage in their reproduction cycle.

Question 5

What impact can BELL have on an ecosystem? Both positive and negative

Answer 5

Larger biodiversity, extent and linkages along with fewer locational needs can make an ecosystem able to withstand and be resilient to changes.
However ecosystems which are less diverse, smaller and have fewer linkages (in food webs) along with specific locational needs such as precipitation levels can mean an ecosystem is highly vulnerable and may not cope well with changes.

Question 6

What are the three important concpts in a resliliance diagram?

Answer 6

There are three important concepts related to Resilience in ecosystems - elasticity, malleability and amplitude.

Question 7

Define elasticity

Answer 7

Elasticity is the rate of recovery of an ecosystem after a stress.

Question 8

Define malleability

Answer 8

Malleability in an ecosystem is the difference between the final recovery level and the level of the pre-stress period. The greater the malleability, the less the ecosystem’s resilience. The lower the malleability, the greater the ecosystem’s resilience.