Ecological Integrity

Many studies have been made of the ecological responses to disturbance and to longer-term changes in the intensity of environmental stress. These studies have examined stressors associated with, for example, pollution, the harvesting of species from ecosystems, and the conversion of natural ecosystems into managed agroecosystems. The commonly observed patterns of change in these sorts of stressed ecosystems are considered to represent some of the key elements of ecological integrity. Such observations can be used to develop indicators of ecological integrity, which are useful in determining whether this condition is improving or being degraded over time. It has been suggested that greater ecological integrity is displayed by systems with the following characteristics: