Abstrakt: Ecosystems can undergo regime shifts -- large, abrupt and persistent
changes in their structure and function. These regime shifts can
interact with each other creating cascading effects. We explore
potential characteristics of such interactions and their outcomes. We
focus on two types of systems where regime shifts can substantially
influence human welfare and livelihoods: pollution recipients, such as
the atmosphere and water bodies, and renewable resources, such as wild
animal stocks. We set up a dynamic modeling framework where patches of
either pollution recipients or resource producing systems interact with
each other. We identify clear mechanisms, through which cascading
effects can either increase the probability of a shift in a particular
patch or decrease it. We also investigate the conditions for optimal
control of such systems. We show that spatial dispersion can trigger
regime shifts in controlled and uncontrolled systems compared to systems
without dispersion.
