Ecosystem stability
Each ecosystem, as stated earlier, operates in dynamic equilibrium. It is always adjusting itself to changing conditions such as climate, soil, and other biotic and a biotic factors in its effort to maintain its stability. That is why, it is said that “the concept of change is key to the study of ecosystem stability”.
In order to survive every ecosystem tends to move towards maximum biomass and stability. However, inertial stability does not ensure the ability to recover from the change whatsoever. Resilience is the ability to bounce back to its former position after a change.
For example, various types of forests on the mountains at higher elevations do have the ability to recover from the change rapidly. But in certain cases, the forests that are cleared by man recover rather slowly. Such forests exhibit poor resilience.
After the clearing of forests, the micro-climatic conditions (if ever) change drastically making the re growth of the same species difficult. On the contrary, even though temperate grassland is low in stability, yet after it is completely destroyed by burning its resilience is high because the community recovers rapidly.
Biodiversity is also an important aspect of stability. “Greater diversity in an ecosystem results in greater stability”. The reason is simple and easy to understand.
The number and quantity of each species being more diverse the more risk is spread over the entire larger community, since several food sources are there at each tropic level.
An artificially produced monoculture community, such as a field of wheat crop, is very vulnerable to failure due to inclement weather or any other adverse factor.
Humans simplify communities by eliminating diversity, thereby placing ecosystems more at the risk of unwanted change and failure. Contrarily, in some regions plantation of multiple crops ensures more stability to the ecosystem.
