Resistance and Resilience: Guardians of Biodiversity

Resistance and resilience are two crucial ecosystem properties that safeguard biodiversity in the face of disturbances. They act as twin pillars that prevent ecosystems from collapsing and maintain the rich tapestry of life.

Resistance: Standing Strong Against the Storm

Resistance is the ability of an ecosystem to withstand a disturbance without losing its overall structure and function. It's like a sturdy wall that protects a city from invaders.

Here's how resistance contributes to biodiversity:

• Diverse populations: With a wider range of species, there's a higher chance that some will be resistant to the specific disturbance. This ensures the survival of key species and prevents the ecosystem from falling apart.
• Functional redundancy: Different species can often perform similar functions within an ecosystem. If one species is affected, another can step in and fill the gap, preserving the overall functioning of the ecosystem.
• Competition and natural selection: In a diverse ecosystem, competition between species drives them to adapt and evolve, increasing their resistance to environmental stress.

Resilience: Bouncing Back from the Blow

Resilience is the ability of an ecosystem to recover from a disturbance and return to its original state. It's like the regenerative power of a forest that bounces back after a fire.

Here's how resilience contributes to biodiversity:

• Species interactions: Diverse inter-species relationships provide a buffer against disturbances. Predators can control populations of herbivores, preventing them from overgrazing and destabilizing the ecosystem.
• Nutrient cycling: A complex network of decomposers and detritivores breaks down organic matter and returns nutrients to the soil, nourishing the remaining plants and facilitating regrowth.
• Seed banks and dormant stages: Many species have seeds that can remain dormant for long periods, waiting for favorable conditions to germinate and contribute to the recovery process.

Why Ecosystems with More Species are More Resilient

Research has consistently shown a positive correlation between biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Here are some key reasons why:

• More diverse gene pool: A wider variety of genes provides more potential for adaptation and evolution, allowing the ecosystem to respond and adjust to changing conditions.
• Increased niche specialization: With more species, each occupies a specific niche within the ecosystem, leading to more efficient resource utilization and a more stable overall system.
• Greater interconnectedness: Diverse species form complex webs of relationships that create a more intricate and resilient network. This means that the impact of a disturbance on one species is less likely to cascade through the entire system.

In conclusion, resistance and resilience, supported by a rich and diverse array of species, are the cornerstones of a healthy and thriving ecosystem. By understanding and nurturing these vital properties, we can ensure the continued existence of biodiversity and the vital ecosystem services it provides for the well-being of all life on Earth.

Dr Murtadha Shukur thank you for your contribution to the discussion

Resistance is an ecosystem's capacity to maintain equilibrium despite disturbances, while resilience is the speed at which an ecosystem recovers post-disturbance. High biodiversity enhances properties, ensuring greater ecosystem productivity and stability as well as better recovery from disruptions. Conversely, ecological resilience guarantees biodiversity. A resilient ecosystem offers many more opportunities for animal, plant or microbial species to become established or be reintroduced. More generally, ecosystem resilience provides protection for the environment, and thus a safeguard for sustainability. Both resistance and resilience cause an ecosystem to remain relatively unchanged when confronted to a disturbance, but in the case of resistance alone no internal re-organization and succession change is involved. This can lead to collapse of the system when a disturbance threshold is exceeded. Biologically diverse communities are also more likely to contain species that confer resilience to that ecosystem because as a community accumulates species, there is a higher chance of any one of them having traits that enable them to adapt to a changing environment. Much of ecological resistance and resilience in rangelands depends on the ability of the existing plants to survive, thrive, and grow while experiencing various disturbances. As disturbances affecting plants directly include drought, herbivory, and wildfire. An ecosystem with a large number of species is more resilient against disturbances, because it has a greater overall biodiversity. This biodiversity enhances the overall sustainability and fitness of all organisms. Ecological resilience is the ability of an ecosystem to endure and recover from a disturbance or stressor in a way where its biological organization and structure remain balanced at its baseline stable state. If an ecosystem has a diverse community of organisms, they are not all likely to be affected by a disturbance in the same way. So, if one species is nearly killed off, a functionally similar species can take its place, maintaining the function of the ecosystem as a whole. The greater the response diversity across species, the wider the set of environmental conditions that can be tolerated. Recovery from disturbances can be facilitated by high growth rates as populations recover to predisturbance levels more quickly.