A conceptual analysis of ecosystem stability
生态系统稳定性定义剖析

Ecosystem stability is one of the pivotal concepts in theoretical ecology and conservation biology. In this paper, the variety of existing definitions of ecosystem stability is reviewed, analyzed and amended. The measurement of ecosystem stability includes sensitivity, threshold and resiliency. Sensitivity measures the magnitude of alteration of state variables and the lag time of the alteration after a disturbance. Threshold measures the threshold level of a disturbance that alters an ecosystem to a different one. Resiliency measures the recovery ability of an ecosystem after a disturbance, including the recovery rate and similarity between the resiliency is only meaningful if a negative disturbance degrades an ecosystem and the original and the altered states. When applied in conservation practice, the concept of altered ecosystem recovers gradually. When a disturbance is the human remediation effort to enhance the complexity and ecosystem service of an ecosystem, namely a positive disturbance, the altered ecosystem many not return to the pre-disturbance condition. Our conservation effort needs to surpass the threshold level of the ecosystem to reach a practical success.