Assessing and managing freshwater ecosystems vulnerable to environmental change

Authors

David G. Angeler, Swedish University of Agricultural SciencesFollow
Craig R. Allen, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Hannah E. Birgé, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Stina Drakare, Swedish University of Agricultural SciencesFollow
Brendan G. McKie, Swedish University of Agricultural SciencesFollow
Richard K. Johnson, Swedish University of Agricultural SciencesFollow

Date of this Version

2014

Citation

AMBIO 2014, 43:113–125. DOI 10.1007/s13280-014-0566-z

Comments

Copyright 2014 by the Authors. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com

Abstract

Freshwater ecosystems are important for global biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services. There is consensus in the scientific literature that freshwater ecosystems are vulnerable to the impacts of environmental change, which may trigger irreversible regime shifts upon which biodiversity and ecosystem services may be lost. There are profound uncertainties regarding the management and assessment of the vulnerability of freshwater ecosystems to environmental change. Quantitative approaches are needed to reduce this uncertainty. We describe available statistical and modeling approaches along with case studies that demonstrate how resilience theory can be applied to aid decision-making in natural resources management. We highlight especially how longterm monitoring efforts combined with ecological theory can provide a novel nexus between ecological impact assessment and management, and the quantification of systemic vulnerability and thus the resilience of ecosystems to environmental change.