Complex… not complicated!

Liz Law reports on a recent early career researcher “Networks and Agents” workshop run by the CSIRO Centre for Complex Systems Science What is complex systems science (CSS)? In a nutshell, it is the study of systems that are considered fundamentally complex: those in which there are many parts involved, and often relationships between parts are just…

Optimal restoration: accounting for space, time and uncertainty

Kerrie A. Wilson, Megan Lulow, Jutta Burger, Yi-Chin Fang, Caitlin Andersen, David Olson, Michael O’Connell, and Marissa F. McBride Optimal restoration: accounting for space, time and uncertainty. Journal of Applied Ecology 48:715-725. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2011.01975.x Summary 1. In general, conservation seeks to prevent further habitat loss but in many cases there is a need to reverse habitat degradation.…

Incorporating temporality and biophysical vulnerability to quantify the human spatial footprint on ecosystems

Andrés Etter, Clive McAlpine, Leonie Seabrook and Kerrie Wilson Incorporating temporality and biophysical vulnerability to quantify the human spatial footprint on ecosystems. Biological Conservation. 144:1585-1594.doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2011.02.004 Abstract Land use is a pervasive influence on most terrestrial ecosystems. Humans are converting natural ecosystems and appropriating an increasingly large portion of the net primary productivity of the Earth’s ecosystems, leaving…

The processes that threaten Indonesian plants

Sugeng Budiharta, Didik Widyatmoko, Irawati, Harry Wiriadinata, Rugayah, Tukirin Partomihardjo, Ismail, Tahan Uji, Ary Prihardhyanto Keim and Kerrie A. Wilson The processes that threaten Indonesian plants. Oryx 45:172-179. DOI: 10.1017/S0030605310001092 Abstract The processes that threaten 240 Indonesian threatened plants were identified and categorized based on a comprehensive review of the published literature and elicitation of information from experts.…