Abstract
The world is undergoing unprecedented changes in many of the factors that determine both its fundamental properties and their influence on society. Throughout human history, people have interacted with and shaped ecosystems for social and economic development (Turner et al. 1990, Redman 1999, Jackson 2001, Diamond 2005). During the last 50 years, however, human activities have changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively than at any comparable period of human history (Steffen et al. 2004, Foley et al. 2005, MEA 2005d; Plate 1).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Additional Readings
Berkes, F., J. Colding, and C. Folke, editors. 2003. Navigating Social-Ecological Systems: Building Resilience for Complexity and Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Carpenter, S.R., and M.G. Turner. 2000. Hares and tortoises: Interactions of fast and slow variables in ecosystems. Ecosystems 3:495–497.
Chapin, F.S., III, A.L. Lovecraft, E.S. Zavaleta, J. Nelson, M.D. Robards, et al. 2006. Policy strategies to address sustainability of Alaskan boreal forests in response to a directionally changing climate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103:16637–16643.
Folke, C. 2006. Resilience: The emergence of a perspective for social-ecological systems analysis. Global Environmental Change 16:253–267.
Gunderson, L.H., and C.S. Holling, editors. 2002. Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems. Island Press, Washington.
Levin, S.A. 1999. Fragile Dominion: Complexity and the Commons. Perseus Books, Reading, MA.
MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment). 2005d. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis. Island Press, Washington.
Steffen, W.L., A. Sanderson, P.D. Tyson, J. Jäger, and P.A. Matson, editors. 2004. Global Change and the Earth System: A Planet Under Pressure. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Turner, B.L., II, R.E. Kasperson, P.A. Matson, J.J. McCarthy, R.W. Corell, et al. 2003. A framework for vulnerability analysis in sustainability science. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100:8074–8079.
Walker, B.H., C.S. Holling, S.R. Carpenter, and A.P. Kinzig. 2004. Resilience, adaptability and transformability in social-ecological systems. Ecology and Society 9(2):5 [online] URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol9/iss2/art5/
Walker, B.H., and D. Salt. 2006. Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World. Island Press, Washington.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Chapin, F.S., Folke, C., Kofinas, G.P. (2009). A Framework for Understanding Change. In: Folke, C., Kofinas, G., Chapin, F. (eds) Principles of Ecosystem Stewardship. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-73033-2_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-73033-2_1
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-73032-5
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-73033-2
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)