Does the terrestrial biosphere have planetary tipping points?

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dc.contributor.authorBrook, B.
dc.contributor.authorEllis, E.
dc.contributor.authorPerring, M.
dc.contributor.authorMackay, A.
dc.contributor.authorBlomqvist, L.
dc.date.issued2013
dc.description.abstractTipping points--where systems shift radically and potentially irreversibly into a different state--have received considerable attention in ecology. Although there is convincing evidence that human drivers can cause regime shifts at local and regional scales, the increasingly invoked concept of planetary scale tipping points in the terrestrial biosphere remains unconfirmed. By evaluating potential mechanisms and drivers, we conclude that spatial heterogeneity in drivers and responses, and lack of strong continental interconnectivity, probably induce relatively smooth changes at the global scale, without an expectation of marked tipping patterns. This implies that identifying critical points along global continua of drivers might be unfeasible and that characterizing global biotic change with single aggregates is inapt.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityBarry W. Brook, Erle C. Ellis, Michael P. Perring, Anson W. Mackay and Linus Blomqvist
dc.identifier.citationTrends in Ecology and Evolution, 2013; 28(7):396-401
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.tree.2013.01.016
dc.identifier.issn0169-5347
dc.identifier.issn1872-8383
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/79370
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherElsevier Science London
dc.rights© 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2013.01.016
dc.subjectHumans
dc.subjectEcosystem
dc.subjectModels, Theoretical
dc.subjectHuman Activities
dc.subjectClimate Change
dc.subjectEarth, Planet
dc.titleDoes the terrestrial biosphere have planetary tipping points?
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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