Towards a unified framework for multiple stable states in ecological systems

TL;DR

This paper reviews and synthesizes empirical and theoretical approaches to understanding multiple stable states in ecological systems, emphasizing the role of feedbacks and proposing a unified mathematical framework.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive synthesis connecting ecological mechanisms with dynamical models, highlighting common features and open challenges in multistability theory.

Findings

Positive feedback loops are central to multistability.

Common features of ecological systems with multiple stable states are identified.

Open questions include extending theory to persistent-transient frameworks.

Abstract

Multiple stable states - the coexistence of two or more distinct ecological configurations under identical environmental conditions - have attracted sustained interest in ecology, yet the field still lacks a unified framework connecting ecological mechanisms to dynamical models. Here, we review empirical and theoretical approaches to multiple stable states, synthesising perspectives on stability, tipping, hysteresis, and transient dynamics, and contextualise these within a common mathematical framework. Drawing on examples of well-known ecosystem models, we highlight the central and necessary role of positive feedback loops and identify other common, unifying features of ecological systems that exhibit multiple stable states. We further discuss the relationship between stable and transient dynamics, the roles of spatial and temporal scales in feedback identification, and the implications for ecological restoration and management. We conclude with open questions and challenges for the field, including extending multistability theory to persistent-transient frameworks and harnessing emerging data-collection technologies to sharpen empirical inference.