title: Defining and quantifying the resilience of responses to disturbance: a conceptual and modelling approach from soil science.
abstract: There are several conceptual definitions of resilience pertaining to environmental systems and, even if resilience is clearly defined in a particular context, it is challenging to quantify. We identify four characteristics of the response of a system function to disturbance that relate to "resilience": (1) degree of return of the function to a reference level; (2) time taken to reach a new quasi-stable state; (3) rate (i.e. gradient) at which the function reaches the new state; (4) cumulative magnitude of the function (i.e. area under the curve) before a new state is reached. We develop metrics to quantify these characteristics based on an analogy with a mechanical spring and damper system. Using the example of the response of a soil function (respiration) to disturbance, we demonstrate that these metrics effectively discriminate key features of the dynamic response. Although any one of these characteristics could define resilience, each may lead to different insights and conclusions. The salient properties of a resilient response must thus be identified for different contexts. Because the temporal resolution of data affects the accurate determination of these metrics, we recommend that at least twelve measurements are made over the temporal range for which the response is expected.
authors.affiliation: Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK.
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Todman
authors.affiliation: Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedford MK43 0AL, UK.
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Fraser
authors.affiliation: Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedford MK43 0AL, UK.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Corstanje
authors.affiliation: Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedford MK43 0AL, UK.
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Deeks
authors.affiliation: Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedford MK43 0AL, UK.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedford MK43 0AL, UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pawlett
authors.affiliation: Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedford MK43 0AL, UK.|School of Biosciences, The University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ritz
authors.affiliation: Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ, UK.
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Whitmore