The expanded use of the resilience framework proposed in the new study might improve our understanding of how people and ecosystems interact in agriculture, forestry and other production systems, the authors say.

In fact, the new article reveals that resilience may not always be a good thing, particularly when it exhibits itself as the resilience of unsustainable intensive production systems that are managed to exclude changes and surprises, with increased risk for large-scale collapses.

Another challenge pointed out by the authors is that the global interconnectedness of many production systems can camouflage signals indicating resilience loss in supporting ecosystems.

"Enhancing true resilience in the larger landscapes and seascapes will require a mixture of interventions and a clear understanding of the nature of coerced resilience," concludes Henrik Österblom.

The hidden cost of coerced resilience