Panarchy: opportunities and challenges for ecosystem management

Authors

Ahjond Garmestani, U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyFollow
Dirac Twidwell, University of Nebraska, LincolnFollow
David G. Angeler, Swedish University of Agricultural SciencesFollow
Shana Sundstrom, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Chris Barichievy, Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Brian C. Chaffin, Department of Society and Conservation, College of Forestry and Conservatism, University of Montana, Missoula, MT
Tarsha Eason, Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Breeze, FL
Nick Graham, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
Dean Granholm, US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
Lance Gunderson, Department of Environment Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Melinda Knutson, Region 3 Refuges, USFWS, La Crosse, WI
Kirsty L. Nash, Centre for Marine Socioecology and Institute for marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
R John Nelson, Department of Biology, Centre for Biomedical Research, University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada
Magnus Nystrom, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Trisha L. Spanbauer, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH
Craig A. Stow, NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, Ann Arbor, MI
Craig R. Allen, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2020

Citation

Front Ecol Environ 2020; 18(10):576–583, doi:10.1002/fee.2264

Comments

U.S. government work

Abstract

Addressing unexpected events and uncertainty represents one of the grand challenges of the Anthropocene, yet ecosystem management is constrained by existing policy and laws that were not formulated to deal with today’s accelerating rates of environmental change. In many cases, managing for simple regulatory standards has resulted in adverse outcomes, necessitating innovative approaches for dealing with complex social–ecological problems. We highlight a project in the US Great Plains where panarchy – a conceptual framework that emerged from resilience – was implemented at project onset to address the continued inability to halt large-scale transition from grass-to-tree dominance in central North America. We review how panarchy was applied, the initial outcomes and evidence for policy reform, and the opportunities and challenges for which it could serve as a useful model to contrast with traditional ecosystem management approaches.