There are a variety of mechanisms which promote the resilience of ecosystems through persistence, recovery and reorganisation . Changes in the balance of different plant species within a community can maintain the persistence of the community itself, maintaining its value as a habitat for other species and providing ecosystem services. In some cases, there are negative feedback mechanisms between biological and physical processes; for example, in peatlands, lowered water tables resulting from drier conditions can lead to reduced permeability of peat, increasing rates of water loss . There are limits to this resilience and the concept of tipping points beyond which ecosystems change state, and returning to the original state has been subject of much recent research . There is clear evidence that the degradation of ecosystems has reduced their resilience and that restoration can help to reduce risks to biodiversity and ecosystem services, discussed below . However, as the rate of climate change increases, the limits of this approach will start to be reached, and
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report