Conceptual Framework for Assessing Ecosystem Health

• Published in: Integrated environmental assessment and management Vol. 15; no. 4; pp. 544 - 564
• Main Authors: Harwell, Mark A, Gentile, John H, McKinney, Larry D, Tunnell, John W, Dennison, William C, Kelsey, R Heath, Stanzel, Kiersten M, Stunz, Gregory W, Withers, Kim, Tunnell, Jace
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-07-2019; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Aggregation; Anthropogenic factors; Coastal ecosystems; Complexity; Deep water; Ecological conditions; Ecological effects; Ecological indicators; Ecological risk assessment; Ecosystem assessment; Ecosystem health; Ecosystem management; Ecosystem restoration; Ecosystem services; Ecosystems; Environmental Impact Assessment; Environmental management; Environmental restoration; Frameworks; Health; Health & Ecological Risk Assessment; Human influences; Human–ecological system; Indicators; Integrated environmental assessment; Integrated assessments; Oil spills; Organic chemistry; Prototypes; Restoration; Risk assessment; Rookeries; Strategic management; Structural hierarchy; Sustainability; Sustainable ecosystems; Toxicology; United States > US; Texas; ecosystem health; ecosystem restoration; integrated assessments; human-ecological system; ecological indicators
• ISSN: 1551-3777; 1551-3793
• DOI: 10.1002/ieam.4152

ABSTRACT
Over the past century, the environment of the Gulf of Mexico has been significantly altered and impaired by extensive human activities. A national commitment to restore the Gulf was finally initiated in response to the unprecedented Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Consequently, there is a critical need for an assessment framework and associated set of indicators that can characterize the health and sustainability of an ecosystem having the scale and complexity of the Gulf. The assessment framework presented here was developed as an integration of previous ecological risk– and environmental management–based frameworks for assessing ecosystem health. It was designed to identify the natural and anthropogenic drivers, pressures, and stressors impinging on ecosystems and ecosystem services, and the ecological conditions that result, manifested as effects on valued ecosystem components. Four types of societal and ecological responses are identified: reduction of pressures and stressors, remediation of existing stressors, active ecosystem restoration, and natural ecological recovery. From this conceptual framework are derived the specific indicators to characterize ecological condition and progress toward achieving defined ecological health and sustainability goals. Additionally, the framework incorporates a hierarchical structure to communicate results to a diversity of audiences, from research scientists to environmental managers and decision makers, with the level of detail or aggregation appropriate for each targeted audience. Two proof‐of‐concept studies were conducted to test this integrated assessment and decision framework, a prototype Texas Coastal Ecosystems Report Card, and a pilot study on enhancing rookery islands in the Mission‐Aransas Reserve, Texas, USA. This Drivers–Pressures–Stressors–Condition–Responses (DPSCR4) conceptual framework is a comprehensive conceptual model of the coupled human–ecological system. Much like its predecessor, the ecological risk assessment framework, the DPSCR4 conceptual framework can be tailored to different scales of complexity, different ecosystem types with different stress regimes, and different environmental settings. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2019;15:544–564. © 2019 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC)
Key Points
The DPSCR4 assessment framework was designed to identify the natural and anthropogenic drivers, pressures, and stressors impinging on ecosystems and ecosystem services, and the ecological conditions that result, manifested as effects on valued ecosystem components.
The DPSCR4 assessment framework has been developed as an integration of previous ecological risk– and environmental management–based frameworks for assessing ecosystem health.
From this conceptual framework are derived the specific indicators to characterize ecological condition and progress toward achieving defined ecological health and sustainability goals.
This conceptual framework is in its essence a comprehensive conceptual model of the coupled human–ecological system.