Ecologists have long studied patterns, directions and tempos of change, but there is a
pressing need to extend current understanding to empirical observations of abrupt changes …

The concept of ecological stability occupies a prominent place in both fundamental and
applied ecological research. We review decades of work on the topic and examine how our …

Globally, collapse of ecosystems—potentially irreversible change to ecosystem structure,
composition and function—imperils biodiversity, human health and well‐being. We examine …

We propose four postulates as the minimum set of logical propositions necessary for a
theory of pulse dynamics and disturbance in ecosystems:(1) resource dynamics …

Abrupt ecological changes are, by definition, those that occur over short periods of time
relative to typical rates of change for a given ecosystem. The potential for such changes is …

All ecological disciplines consider temporal dynamics, although relevant concepts have
been developed almost independently. We here introduce basic principles of temporal …

The underlying biological processes that govern many ecological systems can create very
long periods of transient dynamics. It is often difficult or impossible to distinguish this …

Transitions from semiarid grassland to shrubland states are among the most widely
recognized examples of regime shifts in terrestrial ecosystems. Nonetheless, the processes …

Rapid warming and increasing disturbances in high-latitude regions have caused extensive
vegetation shifts and uncertainty in future carbon budgets. Better predictions of vegetation …

In restoration ecology, the transition from desired to degraded state is based solely on the
composition of the aboveground plant community, whereas belowground propagules are …