The concept of threshold and its potential application to landscape planning |
| |
Authors: | Sadahisa Kato Jack Ahern |
| |
Institution: | (1) Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, University of Massachusetts, 109 Hills North, 111 Thatcher Road, Ofc 1, Amherst, MA 01003-9328, USA |
| |
Abstract: | The concept of threshold can potentially be applied to conservation planning of species, habitats, and ecosystems. It also
has significance in managing social–ecological systems for resilience. However, our understanding and use of threshold has
been scattered among various disciplines, and the link to conservation planning and social–ecological system management has
not been strongly established. The review of the use of threshold in various disciplines reveals that the term is used in
a similar manner in both natural and social sciences: a threshold is a point or a zone on an independent variable, and if
it is crossed, a sudden, large change in the state of a dependent variable occurs. Even a small change in the independent
variable brings this drastic change; nonlinear relationship characterizes the threshold response. Thresholds also separate
alternative regimes in a social–ecological system. The discussion of the application of threshold concept to watershed planning
concludes that although using one threshold value of impervious surfaces in a watershed to regulate new developments and retrofit
old ones is a cost-effective method, a more integrated approach is needed. The use of habitat amount threshold to conserve
species promotes proactive planning that would prioritize areas for protection before the threshold is reached and would restore
habitat based on the threshold target. However, species-specific data to decide on the threshold is often lacking, and the
identification of thresholds is not straightforward. Nonetheless, the concept of threshold is appealing for proactive planning
and significant in managing social–ecological systems for resilience. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|