Ecosystem health and integrity?

Abstract

The concepts of ecosystem health and ecosystem integrity are discussed and found to be ecologically inappropriate. The phrase ecosystem health is based on an invalid analogy with human health requiring acceptance of an optimum condition and homeostatic processes maintaining the ecosystem at a definable optimum state. Similarly, ecosystem integrity is not an objective, quantifiable property of an ecosystem. Health and integrity are not inherent properties of an ecosystem and are not supported by either empirical evidence or ecological theory. Key words: ecosystem health, ecosystem integrity, ecosystem, management, sustainability.