Scientists continue to debate over the best use of ecological resilience theory. Some scientists think the theory is most useful as a framework or way of thinking about how the concepts we have discussed on this show work within social-ecological systems. Other scientists propose that ecological resilience should be described as a measurable property that can be quantified, compared, and used to make predictions about a system’s resilience in the future. In this episode, we talk about the second proposition. We describe the challenges to quantifying ecological resilience and discuss a case study that highlights the potential benefits of using ecological resilience as a property.

Check out our new journal article: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.4245

Funding support from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center for Great Plains Studies: www.unl.edu/plains/welcome

The Center for Resilience in Agricultural Working Landscapes: centerforresilience.unl.edu/

Contact Us: [email protected]

Council For Resilience Education Website: cre.unl.edu

References:

Angeler, D.G., and Allen, C.R. 2016. Quantifying Resilience. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53(3), 617-624.

Bryant, T., Waring, K., Meador, A.S., Bradford, J.B. 2019. A Framework for Quantifying Resilience to Forest Disturbance. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 18. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2019.00056.

Carpenter, S., Walker, B., Anderies, J.M., and Abel, N. 2001. From Metaphor to Measurement: Resilience of What to What? Ecosystems, 4, 765-781.

Frank, T. 2022, Jan. 10. Rebuilt New Orleans Levees Saved Lives and Property. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rebuilt-new-orleans-levees-saved-lives-and-property/

Kerlin, K. 2022, Jan. 19. Just What is a ‘Resilient’ Forest, Anyway? https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/just-what-resilient-forest-anyway

Lukpat, A. 2022, Jan. 19. Biden Administration Announces Plan to Spend Billions to Prevent Wildfires. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/climate/biden-administration-wildfire-plan.html

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This episode we talk with Dr. Craig Allen, a professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the director for UNL’s new Center for Resilience in Agricultural Working Landscapes. Dr. Allen has extensive experience in the ecological resilience field, including working with C.S. Holling and other scientists to first develop panarchy theory. We discuss Dr. Allen’s thoughts on resilience theory, panarchy theory (including the new Panarchy book), and his goals for the new Center for Resilience.

Funding support from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center for Great Plains Studies, www.unl.edu/plains/welcome

The Center for Resilience in Agricultural Working Landscapes: https://centerforresilience.unl.edu/

More information on the new panarchy book, Applied Panarchy: Applications and Diffusion Across Disciplines: https://islandpress.org/books/applied-panarchy

Contact Us: [email protected]

Council For Resilience Education Website: cre.unl.edu

References:

Gunderson, L., Allen, C.R., Garmestani, A. 2022. Applied panarchy: applications and diffusion across disciplines. Island Press, Washington, D.C., USA.

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One way to look at the structures and processes of a social-ecological system is through “discontinuities,” which are gaps between clusters of system components. Discontinuity theory identifies patterns at different spatial and temporal scales in a system, which can be used to match system components to the resources and the scale(s) those components are operating at, with research and management implications. We take a look at discontinuity theory through a study of animal sizes in ecosystems, which is how many of the ideas about discontinuities first arose in the scientific literature. We also examine proposed management applications for discontinuity theory.

Funding support from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center for Great Plains Studies, https://www.unl.edu/plains/welcome

Check out our educational modules: https://passel2.unl.edu/view/community/70ffd07aff59

Contact Us: [email protected]

Council for Resilience Education website: cre.unl.edu

References:

Angeler, D.G., Allen, C.R., Barichievy, C., Eason, T.,... 2016. Management applications of discontinuity theory. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53, 688-698.

Cusick, D. 2021, July 20. Cities pledge more green space to combat urban heat. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/cities-pledge-more-green-space-to-combat-urban-heat/

Hilden, N. 2021, Aug. 3. Future space travel might require mushrooms. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/space-travels-most-surprising-future-ingredient-mushrooms/

Holling, C.S. 1992. Cross-scale morphology, geometry, and dynamics of ecosystems. Ecological Monographs, 62(4), 447-502.

Flavelle, C. 2021, Aug. 5. Biden announces record amount of climate resilience funding. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/05/climate/FEMA-disaster-money-climate.html

Nash, K.L., Allen, C.R., Angeler, D.G., Barichievy, C., Eason, T., Garmestani, A.S. et al. 2014. Discontinuities, cross-scale patterns and the organization of ecosystems. Ecology, 95, 654–667.

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Hysteresis is the idea that once a social or ecological system has transitioned into a new state, it becomes much more difficult to travel in the reverse direction. This episode, we revisit alternative states and the ball-and-cup model to explain why this is the case. Julie describes how the concept applies to coral reefs, and Conor uses 3D topographical imagery to clarify hysteresis as a concept.

Funding support from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center for Great Plains Studies, https://www.unl.edu/plains/welcome

Check out our educational modules: https://passel2.unl.edu/view/community/70ffd07aff59

Contact Us: [email protected]

Council for Resilience Education website: cre.unl.edu

References:

Beisner, B.E., Haydon, D.T., and Cuddington, K. 2003. Alternative stable states in ecology. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 1(7), 376-382.

Birkinshaw, J. 2021, Jan. 15. Hysteresis - Why things don’t go back to normal. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/lbsbusinessstrategyreview/2021/01/15/hysteresis--why-things-dont-go-back-to-normal/?sh=35c4fb0580e2

David, L. 2021, Apr. 14. Space junk removal is not going smoothly. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/space-junk-removal-is-not-going-smoothly/

Knowlton, N. 2015. Thresholds and multiple stable states in coral reef community dynamics. American Zoologist, 32(6), 674-682.

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A panarchy is a nested set of adaptive cycles, that is, adaptive cycles that interact with each other at large, medium, and small scales. Panarchy theory describes how these adaptive cycles interact with each other, including how smaller scales influence larger scales and vice-versa. In this episode, we revisit some concepts from the adaptive cycle and apply them to panarchy theory. We also explore the foundations of panarchy theory and take a look at how the theory can be used for ecosystem management.

Funding support from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center for Great Plains Studies, https://www.unl.edu/plains/welcome

Online module for panarchy: https://passel2.unl.edu/view/lesson/2e6e3c012632

Contact Us: [email protected]

Council for Resilience Education website: cre.unl.edu

References:

Garmestani, A., Twidwell, D., Angeler, D.G., et al. 2020. Panarchy: opportunities and challenges for ecosystem management. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 18(10), 576-583.

Gunderson, L. and Holling, C.S. 2002. Panarchy: understanding transformations in human and natural systems. Island Press, Washington, D.C., USA.

Holling, C.S. 2001. Understanding the complexity of economic, ecological, and social systems. Ecosystems, 4, 390-405.

Woodyatt, A. 2021, Mar. 16. Scientists want to build a doomsday vault on the moon. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/16/world/lunar-ark-intl-scli-scn/index.html

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On this episode, we interview Dr. Dan Uden of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources and Department of Agronomy and Horticulture! We talk with Dr. Uden about his research, which brings together spatial imaging and resilience concepts. We also discuss his experiences teaching resilience concepts in graduate and undergraduate classes. Finally, we ask Dr. Uden about one of his published papers linking Great Plains history and resilience concepts.

Funding support from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center for Great Plains Studies: https://www.unl.edu/plains/welcome

Contact Us: [email protected]

Council for Resilience Education website: cre.unl.edu

Music licensed from www.purple-planet.com

References:

Allen, C.R., Birge, H.E., Bartelt-Hent, S., Bevans, R.A., et al. 2016. Avoiding decline: Fostering resilience and sustainability in midsize cities. Sustainability, 8(9), 844.

Cumming, G.S. 2011. Spatial resilience in social-ecological systems. Springer, New York, USA.

Uden, D.R., Twidwell, D., Allen, C.R., et al. 2019. Spatial imaging and screening for regime shifts. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00407

Uden, D.R., Wishart, D.J., Powell, L.A., et al. 2021. Adaptive fuel procurement in nineteenth-century great plains landscapes. Environment and History, 27(1), 65-95.

Social-ecological systems are complex. But as we discuss in this episode, “complex” does not mean “complicated”! Complexity theory holds that systems that possess certain attributes are “complex”, including a capacity for adaptation, self-organization, an open nature, and the emergence of system traits greater than the sum of its parts. We explain what each of these terms mean, relate complexity theory to social-ecological systems and resilience, and discuss a couple of papers that dive into the relationship between complexity and social-ecological systems.

Funding support from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center for Great Plains Studies, https://www.unl.edu/plains/welcome

Contact Us: [email protected]

Council for Resilience Education website: cre.unl.edu

References:

Flyn, C. 2021, Jan. 24. As birth rates fall, animals prowl in our abandoned ‘ghost villages’. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/24/as-birth-rates-fall-animals-prowl-in-our-abandoned-ghost-villages

Klampe, M. 2021, Jan. 5. Use of ocean resources changed as Dungeness crab fishing industry adapted to climate shock event. Phys.org. https://phys.org/news/2021-01-ocean-resources-dungeness-crab-fishing.html

Levin, A. 1999. Ecosystems and the biosphere as complex adaptive systems. Ecosystems, 1, 431-436.

Preiser, R., Biggs, R., De Vos, A., and Folke, C. 2018. Social-ecological systems as complex adaptive systems: organizing principles for advancing research methods and approaches. Ecology and Society, 23(4), 46.

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In order to understand the object or system of study, we need to first identify the lens or boundaries we are using to conduct the observation. This is as true for resilience as any other area of scientific study. Heterogeneity and scale are the concepts we use to assess the appropriate boundaries for studying a particular object or system. Together, these two ideas account for differences we see in an object or system over a physical area or over time. In today’s episode, we describe heterogeneity and scale, explain important components within these two ideas, and apply them to a few examples in social and ecological systems.

Funding support from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center for Great Plains Studies, https://www.unl.edu/plains/welcome

Contact Us: [email protected]

Council for Resilience Education website: cre.unl.edu

Online module for heterogeneity: https://passel2.unl.edu/view/lesson/693436a85575

Online module for scale: https://passel2.unl.edu/view/lesson/ab491bda9f88

References:

Chrobak, U. 2020, Nov. 24. Severe wildfires raise the chance for future monstrous blazes. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/severe-wildfires-raise-the-chance-for-future-monstrous-blazes/

Fuhlendorf, S. D., Fynn, R. W. S., McGranahan, D. A., and Twidwell, D. 2017. Heterogeneity as the Basis for Rangeland Management. In D. D. Briske (Ed.), Rangeland Systems: Processes, Management and Challenges, 169–196. Springer, Cham.

Souza, F.L., Valente-Neto, F., Severo-Neto, F., Bueno, B., Ochoa-Quintero, J.M., Laps, R.R., Bolzan, F., and de Oliveira Roque, F. Impervious surface and heterogeneity are opposite drivers to maintain bird richness in a Cerrado city. 2019. Landscape and Urban Planning, 192, 103643.

Stokstad, E. 2020, Dec. 8. In surprising sign of resilience, some corals can survive long heat waves. Science Magazine. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/12/surprising-sign-resilience-some-corals-can-survive-long-heat-waves

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For our second special guest episode, we talk with The Nature Conservancy’s Chris Helzer! Chris Helzer is the Director of Science for TNC in Nebraska, where he evaluates the nonprofit’s land management and restoration work and communicates the lessons its learned and experiences to other land managers. He is also an avid photographer with two books and his own blog, The Prairie Ecologist. We talk with Chris about prairies, how his work relates to resilience, and how he engages in science communication and outreach.

Funding support from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center for Great Plains Studies, https://www.unl.edu/plains/welcome

Chris Helzer’s blog: https://prairieecologist.com/

Chris Helzer’s latest book: Hidden Prairie: Photographing Life in One Square Meter https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Prairie-Photographing-Square-Meter/dp/1609386930

Contact Us: [email protected]

Council For Resilience Education Website: cre.unl.edu

Online Module: https://passel2.unl.edu/view/lesson/d6c3e24cbc7e

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Systems - in both ecology and society - undergo a process where they organize, become rigid, collapse, and reorganize. This process is the adaptive cycle, a key resilience concept and a cornerstone of panarchy theory (the topic of a future episode). In this episode, we discuss the phases of the adaptive cycle, visualize what it looks like, and discuss where we see the adaptive cycle in nature and human society.

Funding support from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center for Great Plains Studies, https://www.unl.edu/plains/welcome

Contact Us: [email protected]

Council For Resilience Education Website: cre.unl.edu

Online Module: https://passel2.unl.edu/view/lesson/d6c3e24cbc7e

References:

Fath, B.D., Dean, C.A., Katzmair, H. 2015. Navigating the adaptive cycle: an approach to managing social systems. Ecology and Society 20(2): 24.

Galea, S. 2020, Mar. 9. The poor and marginalized will be the hardest hit by coronavirus. Scientific American Observations. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-poor-and-marginalized-will-be-the-hardest-hit-by-coronavirus/

Holling, C.S. 2001. Understanding the complexity of economic, ecological, and social systems. Ecosystems 4, 390-405.

Billings, K. 2020, Mar. 5. Gamestop testing new experimental stores in Oklahoma pushing experiences over retail. International Business Times. https://www.ibtimes.com/gamestop-testing-new-experimental-stores-oklahoma-pushing-experiences-over-retail-2934573

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