OOS 8 - Mechanisms of Resilience in Ecological and Socioecological Systems

Tuesday, August 3, 2010: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
301-302, David L Lawrence Convention Center
Organizer:
James B. Grace, U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Co-organizers:
F. Stuart Chapin III, University of Alaska Fairbanks; and Glenn R. Guntenspergen, US Geological Survey
Moderator:
Glenn R. Guntenspergen, US Geological Survey
Background Information – The future sustainability of natural systems and associated goods and services has become of increasing concern to society. This concern has caused a shift in both societal and scientific interests from an emphasis on productivity to a focus on resilience. The study of resilience has also stimulated a great deal of new interdisciplinary interactions because large-scale ecological systems are embedded within a socioecological context. Recently, there has been significant progress towards finding indicators of impending regime shifts in ecological systems (ESA 2009 OOS 9 – Indicators of Impending Regime Shifts). Despite the increasing recognition of the importance of resilience as a way in which socioecological systems adjust to rapid change, the practical application of the concept and efforts to quantify resilience have been limited thus far. Following up on last years session on predicting regime shifts, we propose for 2010 a session focusing on ways of staving off undesired regime shifts by understanding the mechanisms promoting resilience. Goals and Objectives – The goal we seek to advance with this session is to further the development of resilience thinking and in the process of doing so, to stimulate linkages between ecological theories and applications that are directly relevant to society. Our primary objective in this session will be to bring together a variety of perspectives on how we learn about the mechanisms that support resilience in both ecological and socioecological systems. The subject is sufficient new and expanding that we think the time is right for cross-fertilization and innovation, which will be featured in the talks making up the session. We seek to include perspectives from a variety of terrestrial and aquatic systems, as well as from ecological, urban, and social scientists.
8:00 AM
 Methods for uncovering elements of ecological memory that contribute to the stability of systems
James B. Grace, U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
8:40 AM
 Threshold sea level rise rates for wetland survival: limits to ecogeomorphic feedbacks
Matthew L. Kirwan, USGS; Glenn R. Guntenspergen, US Geological Survey; Andrea D'Alpaos, Universita` di Padova; James Morris, University of South Carolina; Simon Mudd; Stijn Temmerman, University of Antwerpen
9:00 AM
 Resilience mechanisms and recovery in a Chihuahuan Desert rangeland ecosystem
Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, USDA Agricultural Research Service; Kris M. Havstad, USDA Agricultural Research Service; Michael C. Duniway, U.S. Geological Survey; D.P.C. Peters, USDA Agricultural Research Service; Philip L. Smith, Bureau of Land Management
9:20 AM
 Polycentric networks and resilience in urban systems
Michele Romolini, University of Vermont; J. Morgan Grove, USDA Forest Service
9:40 AM
9:50 AM
 Role of social innovation in social-ecological change
Frances Westley, University of Waterloo; Daniel McCarthy, University of Waterloo
10:10 AM
 Using scenario visioning and participatory system dynamics modeling to enhance natural and human system resilience to climate change
Laura Schmitt Olabisi, Michigan State University; Anne R. Kapuscinski, Dartmouth College; Kris Johnson, University of Minnesota
10:30 AM
 Using prescribed extreme fire to collapse and restore ecological systems: the benefits of quantifying resilience
Dirac Twidwell, University of Nebraska; William E. Rogers, Texas A&M University; Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, Oklahoma State University; Charles A. Taylor Jr., Texas A&M AgriLIFE Research Center
10:50 AM
 Resistance, resilience, and redundancy of soil microbial community structure and function: Effects across disturbance and plant diversity gradients in agroecosystems
Jude Maul, Sustainable Agriculture Systems Laboratory; John Spargo, USDA-ARS; Sarah Emche, USDA ARS; Michel Cavigelli, Sustainable Agriculture Systems Laboratory; Jeffrey Buyer, USDA-ARS
See more of: Organized Oral Session
Copyright © . All rights reserved.
Banner photo by Flickr user greg westfall.