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Research article2020Peer reviewedOpen access

Panarchy: opportunities and challenges for ecosystem management

Garmestani, Ahjond; Twidwell, Dirac; Angeler, David G.; Sundstrom, Shana; Barichievy, Chris; Chaffin, Brian C.; Eason, Tarsha; Graham, Nick; Granholm, Dean; Gunderson, Lance; Knutson, Melinda; Nash, Kirsty L.; Nelson, R. John; Nystrom, Magnus; Spanbauer, Trisha L.; Stow, Craig A.; Allen, Craig R.

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 theUSGreat 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.

Published in

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
2020, Volume: 18, number: 10, pages: 576-583 Publisher: WILEY

    UKÄ Subject classification

    Ecology

    Publication identifier

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2264

    Permanent link to this page (URI)

    https://res.slu.se/id/publ/108179