Geographical boundaries and historical explanations of within-scale resilience

Abstract

Historically, the idea that ecosystems possess geographical boundaries has been dismissed as both naïve and impractical. But advancements in remote sensing have led to the reliable detection of spatial regimes that seem to provide early warning of a potential critical transition. This invites a reexamination of the role geographical boundaries play in explanations of the resilience concept. Despite apparent ontological imprecision, defining the boundaries of an ecosystem geographically, instead of dynamically (i.e., as collections of feedback mechanisms), dilates explanations of resilience to improve understanding of the history of contingent causal dynamics that culminate in emergent self-organization at a single scale. To demonstrate the utility of geographical boundaries, three related discussions connect spatial resilience theory with elements of island biogeography theory: (1) the function of stepping-stones as ecological filters, (2) mobile links as examples of the rescue effect, and (3) the way assembly rules and successive equilibria map onto the forward loop of the adaptive cycle heuristic.