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Assessing ecological risk on a regional scale

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Abstract

Society needs a quantitative and systematic way to estimate and compare the impacts of environmental problems that affect large geographic areas. This paper presents an approach for regional risk assessment that combines regional assessment methods and landscape ecology theory with an existing framework for ecological risk assessment. Risk assessment evaluates the effects of an environmental change on a valued natural resource and interprets the significance of those effects in light of the uncertainties identified in each component of the assessment process. Unique and important issues for regional risk assessment are emphasized; these include the definition of the disturbance scenario, the assessment boundary definition, and the spatial heterogeneity of the landscape.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008, 37831-6038, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA

    Carolyn T. Hunsaker, Robin L. Graham, Glenn W. Suter II, Robert V. O'Neill, Lawrence W. Barnthouse & Robert H. Gardner

Authors
  1. Carolyn T. Hunsaker
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  2. Robin L. Graham
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  3. Glenn W. Suter II
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  4. Robert V. O'Neill
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  5. Lawrence W. Barnthouse
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  6. Robert H. Gardner
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Additional information

Although the research described in this article has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through Interagency Agreement Number DW89932112-01-2 to the U.S. Department of Energy, it has not been subjected to EPA review and therefore does not necessarily reflect the views of EPA and no official endorsement should be inferred.

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Hunsaker, C.T., Graham, R.L., Suter, G.W. et al. Assessing ecological risk on a regional scale. Environmental Management 14, 325–332 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02394200

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