Examining resilience loss and regime shifts through a socio-ecological lens in the context of tropical dry forest restoration

Tropical dry forests (TDFs) are globally on the brink of collapse due to the loss of ecological resilience caused by chronic environmental degradation. The crossing of critical environmental thresholds in these systems can trigger abrupt ecological regime shifts. These shifts not only hinder forest restoration efforts, but also jeopardize the wellbeing of forest-dependent human communities.    
This research investigates regime shifts in TDFs from a social-ecological perspective, and investigates their influence on ecosystem restoration and community wellbeing.    
In WP1, evidence of ecological regime shifts is expanded through innovative methods that assess early-warning signals for such shifts. WP2 tests the socio-ecological regime shift theory, i.e. whether human communities living in and around TDFs with ongoing resilience loss and regime shifts undergo a coupled social transition in their livelihoods and wellbeing. WP3 evaluates how restoration approaches may avert regime shifts through halting the further loss of resilience, while WP4 in turn explores how socio-ecological regime shifts may influence the performance of restoration initiatives.    
Overall, this research advances our understanding of regime shifts in TDFs as pivotal socio-ecological systems, and their interaction with ecosystem restoration. The findings will provide valuable insights to inform adaptive, science-based restoration strategies during the ‘United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration’.