rapid recovery of damaged ecosystems受损生态系统的快速复苏.pdfVIP

Rapid Recovery of Damaged Ecosystems Holly P. Jones*, Oswald J. Schmitz School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America Abstract Background: Recent reports on the state of the global environment provide evidence that humankind is inflicting great damage to the very ecosystems that support human livelihoods. The reports further predict that ecosystems will take centuries to recover from damages if they recover at all. Accordingly, there is despair that we are passing on a legacy of irreparable damage to future generations which is entirely inconsistent with principles of sustainability. Methodology/Principal Findings: We tested the prediction of irreparable harm using a synthesis of recovery times compiled from 240 independent studies reported in the scientific literature. We provide startling evidence that most ecosystems globally can, given human will, recover from very major perturbations on timescales of decades to half-centuries. Significance/Conclusions: Accordingly, we find much hope that humankind can transition to more sustainable use of ecosystems. Citation: Jones HP, Schmitz OJ (2009) Rapid Recovery of Damaged Ecosystems. PLoS ONE 4(5): e5653. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005653 Editor: Geoffrey Clayton Trussell, Northeastern University, United States of America Received January 5, 2009; Accepted April 21, 2009; Published May 27, 2009 Copyright: 2009 Jones, Schmitz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: HPJ received funding from the Leopold Schepp Foundation and OJS received funding from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. The funders ha