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. Ecosystems that are more complex are more resilient, or better able to tolerate and recover from disturbances, than ecosystems that are less complex. To help illustrate why this is, imagine a complex ecosystem with many components and many interactions between those components. Microscopic, moss-inhabiting animals called tardigrades can withstand all of these conditions, making them one of the most resilient animal species on the planet. They can be found in any of Earth's ecosystems, though most commonly live in damp environments like moss and lichens. Biodiversity consistently increases resistance; however, biodiversity effects on resilience depend on the direction and duration of climate events. Disturbances are events, like tornados, wildfires or floods that cause marked changes to the impacted area. Stressors, like pathogens or water stress are dynamics that impair or comprise the function or productivity of the system. Within the field of ecology, disturbance can be defined as a physical force, agent, or process, either abiotic or biotic, causing a perturbation or stress, to an ecological component or system, relative to a specified reference state and/or system. In general, as environmental stress intensifies significantly (such as by increasing pollution), the following changes are observed: mortality increases, especially of the most vulnerable species. species richness decreases. the stocks of nutrients and biomass become depleted.

The disturbance is considered as a result of a temporary impact, which is positive for the ecosystem, while stress is a negative, debilitating impact. By developing and testing simple theoretical models, the authors propose to differentiate disturbance and stress by frequency. Within the field of ecology, disturbance can be defined as a physical force, agent, or process, either abiotic or biotic, causing a perturbation or stress, to an ecological component or system, relative to a specified reference state and/or system. Ecological stress occurs when a physical factor has an adverse impact on an ecosystem or its biotic components. In living organisms this may result in risks to survival or restrictions in growth or reproduction. Stressors are environmental factors that cause stress. They include biotic factors such as food availability, the presence of predators, infection with pathogenic organisms or interactions with no specifics, as well as abiotic factors such as temperature, water availability and toxicants. 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. Ecosystems that are more complex are more resilient, or better able to tolerate and recover from disturbances, than ecosystems that are less complex. To help illustrate why this is, imagine a complex ecosystem with many components and many interactions between those components. Microscopic, moss-inhabiting animals called tardigrades can withstand all of these conditions, making them one of the most resilient animal species on the planet. They can be found in any of Earth's ecosystems, though most commonly live in damp environments like moss and lichens.