Regular Article

IS IT TIME TO BURY THE ECOSYSTEM CONCEPT? (WITH FULL MILITARY HONORS, OF COURSE!)*

Robert V. O'Neill

Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6036 USA

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 01 December 2001
Cited by: 20

Abstract

The ecosystem concept has become a standard paradigm for studying ecological systems. Underlying the ecosystem concept is a “machine analogy” derived from Systems Analysis. This analogy is difficult to reconcile with our current understanding of ecological systems as metastable adaptive systems that may operate far from equilibrium. This paper discusses some logical and scientific problems associated with the ecosystem concept, and suggests a number of modifications in the paradigm to address these problems.

Number of times cited: 20

  • , History of Ecological Sciences, Part 59: Niches, Biomes, Ecosystems, and Systems, The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 98, 4, (298-337), (2017).
  • , “Conservation value”: a review of the concept and its quantification, Ecosphere, 7, 10, (2016).
  • , Emergence of nutrient co‐limitation through movement in stoichiometric meta‐ecosystems, Ecology Letters, 18, 11, (1163-1173), (2015).
  • , ‘One physical system’: Tansley's ecosystem as Earth's critical zone, New Phytologist, 206, 3, (900-912), (2015).
  • , GREEN GROWTH OR ECOLOGICAL COMMODIFICATION: DEBATING THE GREEN ECONOMY IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH, "Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography", 96, 3, (245-259), (2014).
  • , Foundations of Resilience Thinking, Conservation Biology, 28, 4, (912-923), (2014).
  • , Ecosystem theory and conservation, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 22, 4, (423-426), (2012).
  • , Units of nature or processes across scales? The ecosystem concept at age 75, New Phytologist, 190, 1, (21-34), (2011).
  • , The origin and temporal development of an ancient cultural landscape, Journal of Biogeography, 37, 11, (2183-2196), (2010).
  • , The Semiglades: The Collision of Restoration, Social Values, and the Ecosystem Concept, Restoration Ecology, 18, 2, (138-142), (2009).
  • , Low beta diversity of ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae and Platypodinae) in lowland rainforests of Papua New Guinea, Oikos, 117, 2, (214-222), (2007).
  • , WHICH SPATIAL HETEROGENEITY FRAMEWORK? CONSEQUENCES FOR CONCLUSIONS ABOUT PATCHY POPULATION DISTRIBUTIONS, Ecology, 88, 6, (1476-1489), (2007).
  • , Multi‐scale regulated plant community dynamics: mechanisms and implications, Oikos, 116, 2, (233-240), (2007).
  • , Population‐scale assessment endpoints in ecological risk assessment part 1: Reflections of stakeholder values, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, 2, 1, (86-91), (2009).
  • , Research Priorities for Neotropical Dry Forests, Biotropica, 37, 4, (477-485), (2005).
  • , Stable isotopes identify dispersal patterns of stonefly populations living along stream corridors, Freshwater Biology, 50, 7, (1117-1130), (2005).
  • , The Science and Values of Restoration Ecology, Restoration Ecology, 12, 1, (1-3), (2004).
  • , Global and regional governmental policy and treaties as tools towards the mitigation of the effect of climate change on waterbirds, Ibis, 146, (111-119), (2004).
  • , Comparing Products and Production in Ecological and Industrial Systems, Journal of Industrial Ecology, 7, 2, (33-42), (2008).
  • , Vegetation dynamics on rangelands: a critique of the current paradigms, Journal of Applied Ecology, 40, 4, (601-614), (2003).