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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Range Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #98893
Title: VALIDATION OF INDICATORS

Author
item Whitford, Walter

Submitted to: Ecosystem Health
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Assessing the health of any ecosystem requires the measurement of a number of indicators. For an assessment of ecosystem health to have real value, it must not only address status, but also evaluate the risk of that status changing to a less healthy state. Although numerous indicators of ecosystem health have been proposed, few have been tested to date. Such testing must incorporate evaluation of the indicator's sensitivity so as t provide unambiguous and reliable values for the assessment of ecosystem status. Indicator sensitivity must also be known so as to enable an evaluation of the risk of change in the health status of the ecosystem.