Panarchy: Theory and Application

Authors

Craig R. Allen, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
David G. Angeler, Swedish University of Agricultural SciencesFollow
Ahjond S. Garmestani, U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyFollow
Lance H. Gunderson, Emory UniversityFollow
C. S. Holling, Resilience Center

Date of this Version

2014

Citation

Published in Ecosystems (2014) 12 pages. DOI: 10.1007/s10021-013-9744-2

Comments

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York (outside the USA)

Abstract

The concept of panarchy provides a framework that characterizes complex systems of people and nature as dynamically organized and structured within and across scales of space and time. It has been more than a decade since the introduction of panarchy. Over this period, its invocation in peer-reviewed literature has been steadily increasing, but its use remains primarily descriptive and abstract. Here, we discuss the use of the concept in the literature to date, highlight where the concept may be useful, and discuss limitations to the broader applicability of panarchy theory for research in the ecological and social sciences. Finally, we forward a set of testable hypotheses to evaluate key propositions that follow from panarchy theory.