Multiscale regime shifts and planetary boundaries

•The history of life reveals repeated planetary-scale tipping points.•The pace of global changes is often slow even after a tipping point is exceeded.•The risk of long-term damage to Earth systems that support humanity is increasing.•Planetary-scale governance is needed to safeguard humans and ecosy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam) 2013-07, Vol.28 (7), p.389-395
Main Authors: Hughes, Terry P., Carpenter, Stephen, Rockström, Johan, Scheffer, Marten, Walker, Brian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
alternate stable states
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
anthropogenic activities
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
biosphere
climate
Climate Change
Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife
critical transitions
Earth (Planet)
Ecosystem
ecosystems
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Human Activities
Humans
impacts
marine ecosystems
migratory behavior
Models, Theoretical
ocean acidification
paleoecology
planetary boundaries
regime shift
resilience
safe operating space
stable states
system
time
tipping points
trade
transient dynamics
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Summary:•The history of life reveals repeated planetary-scale tipping points.•The pace of global changes is often slow even after a tipping point is exceeded.•The risk of long-term damage to Earth systems that support humanity is increasing.•Planetary-scale governance is needed to safeguard humans and ecosystems. Life on Earth has repeatedly displayed abrupt and massive changes in the past, and there is no reason to expect that comparable planetary-scale regime shifts will not continue in the future. Different lines of evidence indicate that regime shifts occur when the climate or biosphere transgresses a tipping point. Whether human activities will trigger such a global event in the near future is uncertain, due to critical knowledge gaps. In particular, we lack understanding of how regime shifts propagate across scales, and whether local or regional tipping points can lead to global transitions. The ongoing disruption of ecosystems and climate, combined with unprecedented breakdown of isolation by human migration and trade, highlights the need to operate within safe planetary boundaries.
ISSN:0169-5347
1872-8383
1872-8383
DOI:10.1016/j.tree.2013.05.019