Dramatic changes at thresholds in multiple stable ecosystems may be irreversible if caused by man. The characteristic return time to an equilibrium increases when a threshold is approached. A universal law for this increase is found, which may be used to forecast the position of a threshold by extrapolation of empirical data. Harvesting experiments on populations are proposed that can be used to verify the method. Preliminary harvesting experiments on rotifer populations display a good agreement with the theory. © 1984 Springer-Verlag.
CITATION STYLE
Wissel, C. (1984). A universal law of the characteristic return time near thresholds. Oecologia, 65(1), 101–107. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00384470
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