Land Degradation - Sensitivity and Resilience

Sensitivity and Resilience

Sensitivity and resilience are measures of the vulnerability of a landscape to degradation. These two factors combine to explain the degree of vulnerability. Sensitivity is the degree to which a land system undergoes change due to natural forces, human intervention or a combination of both. Resilience is the ability of a landscape to absorb change, without significantly altering the relationship between the relative importance and numbers of individuals and species that compose the community. It also refers to the ability of the region to return to its original state after being changed in some way. The resilience of a landscape can be increased or decreased through human interaction based upon different methods of land-use management. Land that is degraded becomes less resilient than undegraded land, which can lead to even further degration through shocks to the landscape.

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Famous quotes containing the words sensitivity and, sensitivity and/or resilience:

    The vanity of men, a constant insult to women, is also the ground for the implicit feminine claim of superior sensitivity and morality.
    Patricia Meyer Spacks (b. 1929)

    The vanity of men, a constant insult to women, is also the ground for the implicit feminine claim of superior sensitivity and morality.
    Patricia Meyer Spacks (b. 1929)

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    Alicia F. Lieberman (20th century)