Inside Biodiversity Can Biospheric Tipping Points Scale up to Planetary Boundaries?
Dec 4, 2025
Marten Scheffer, a Professor at Wageningen University & Research and an expert in aquatic ecology, discusses critical transitions and tipping points in ecosystems. He explains how local shifts, like those in coral reefs and tropical rainforests, relate to broader planetary boundaries. Scheffer emphasizes the importance of understanding uncertainty in these transitions, alongside their implications for policy. He also explores the potential for positive societal changes, presenting insights from his new book on navigating tipping points and recoveries.
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Shallow Lakes Restored By Shock Therapy
- Marten Scheffer recounts restoring turbid shallow lakes by temporarily removing fish as a shock therapy.
- The lakes flipped to clear states and often stayed clear even after fish returned.
What Defines A Critical Transition
- A critical transition occurs when an environmental threshold triggers self-reinforcing feedback that accelerates change.
- Systems move from one stable state to another and then resist returning to the original state.
Coral Reefs Shift To Seaweed Fields
- Scheffer describes Caribbean reefs shifting from coral to seaweed after nutrient input, overfishing and sea urchin disease.
- The seaweed-dominated state persisted due to feedbacks that made recovery difficult.
