Figure 1

Intermediate stabilities of state-and-transition for ecosystems subjected to disturbance impacts of increasing size and severity (adapted from Hobbs and Suding2009; Jackson and Hobbs2009). Deviation from the historical system increases (from small to large to irreversible) as increassing hierarchies of landscape complexity are crossed, resulting in commensurate increases in management input (from modest to intensive to prohibitive) required for re-instatement of the historical system. Ir/reversibility of biotic and abiotic thresholds determines the likelihood of (A) restoration of the biotic system, (B) restoration of the abiotic system, or (C) no restoration.