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Novel ecosystems are human-influenced ecological systems whose physical conditions, living communities and social context differ from historical conditions, then persist and develop new characteristics with limited intensive management. Conservation therefore starts with a diagnosis, not a label: determine what changed, whether historical qualities can realistically be recovered, which ecological and social values matter now, and which intervention best serves clearly stated goals.
The term does not mean “bad,” “unnatural” or automatically worth preserving. It is a practical and contested framework for deciding among restoration, continuing management and allowing a self-organizing system to develop.
What makes an ecosystem “novel”?
The working definition developed by Richard J. Hobbs, Eric S. Higgs and colleagues describes a system in which abiotic, biotic and social components have been altered by human influence relative to historical conditions. The resulting system tends to self-organize and display qualities that were not present in the historical reference, without requiring constant, intensive management. This formulation appears in the Wiley chapter Defining Novel Ecosystems, first published 31 January 2013, and in the 2013 book Novel Ecosystems: Intervening in the New Ecological World Order.
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The three dimensions of change
- Abiotic: soils, hydrology, salinity, temperature, disturbance regimes, nutrient flows or other physical conditions differ from the historical baseline.
- Biotic: species composition, relative abundance, functional roles and interactions have changed.
- Social: land use, infrastructure, ownership, livelihoods, cultural expectations and institutions influence how the system operates and what people want from it.
Human influence can be deliberate, such as planting, engineering or land conversion, or inadvertent, such as accidentally moving organisms, altering fire regimes or changing the climate. The USGS record summarizing foundational 2006 work describes emerging systems as combinations and relative abundances of species not previously found within a biome, with novelty potentially affecting ecosystem functioning.
Historical, hybrid and novel ecosystems
The framework commonly distinguishes historical, hybrid and novel systems along a gradient of change and reversibility. It is best treated as a working framework rather than a universally binding classification rule.
| Category | Typical condition | Question for managers |
|---|---|---|
| Historical | Key conditions, species and interactions resemble the selected historical reference. | What actions maintain those qualities and prevent avoidable change? |
| Hybrid | Substantial change has occurred, but historical qualities may still be recoverable. | Which barriers can be removed, and what evidence supports recovery? |
| Novel | Change is entrenched enough that returning to historical qualities is beyond practical reach under relevant ecological, environmental and social thresholds. | Which contemporary objectives can be achieved, and what consequences follow from intervention or non-intervention? |
“Practical reach” is crucial. The distinction is not simply damaged versus healthy. Recovery may be blocked by ecological thresholds, such as altered soils or missing mutualists; environmental thresholds, such as a changed climate; or social thresholds, such as incompatible land uses and governance arrangements. Those categories should not be collapsed. A restoration project may be unaffordable or politically opposed even though ecological recovery remains possible. Conversely, a site may have crossed a physical or biological threshold that no realistic project can reverse.
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Eric Higgs’s 2017 discussion separates novel ecosystems from designed ecosystems. Novel systems arise after transformation beyond the practical reach of conventional restoration and become substantially self-sustaining. Designed ecosystems are assembled for specified purposes and are commonly maintained through deliberate, intensive management. A constructed wetland, managed urban green roof or production landscape can be designed without being novel in this sense, even if it contains unusual species.
How novel ecosystems emerge
The introduction to the Wiley volume identifies three major processes associated with novel ecosystems:
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- Land conversion: agriculture, urbanization, mining, roads, dams and other changes replace historical habitat or alter its physical processes.
- Climate change: temperature, rainfall, drought, fire, sea level or seasonal timing can move conditions outside the range under which historical communities developed.
- Species invasions and introductions: new organisms can change competition, predation, pollination, nutrient cycling or disturbance, especially when several newcomers interact.
These drivers often operate together. For example, conversion can fragment habitat, a warmer climate can favor introduced organisms, and altered hydrology can prevent the return of historical species. The outcome is not predictable from a single driver or from a species list alone. Managers should document interactions, feedbacks and the system’s ability to persist without continual rescue.
Why the concept matters for conservation
Traditional conservation often uses a historical reference condition: a former species assemblage, disturbance regime or landscape structure. Historical references remain useful because they reveal what was lost, identify ecological functions and provide measurable objectives. Yet a historical target may become unattainable or may conflict with present conditions and community priorities. The 2009 article by Hobbs, Higgs and Harris argues that conservation and restoration norms may need to move beyond an exclusive focus on existing or historical assemblages.
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- Which biodiversity, processes and services are most important?
- Can historical qualities still be recovered at this site and scale?
- Could intervention produce greater harm than the current trajectory?
- What future conditions are plausible under climate and land-use change?
- Who benefits from each option, and who bears its costs?
That broader view is not a presumption in favor of leaving a changed system alone. Novelty may reveal severe degradation, facilitate invasive spread or reduce irreplaceable habitat. It simply prevents the label “novel” from deciding the outcome before objectives and evidence are examined.
A decision framework for conserving a novel ecosystem
The following sequence combines the reversibility, management, governance and critique literature into a site-level process. It is a reporting and planning framework, not a universal prescription.
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1. Describe the current system and choose a reference
Record physical conditions, species and relative abundances, key interactions, disturbance regimes, land uses and institutions. Define the historical reference explicitly: a date, period, nearby analogue or set of ecological functions. A vague reference makes “restoration success” impossible to evaluate. State which components differ and which still persist.
2. Test recoverability and separate types of thresholds
Ask what evidence supports recovery of historical qualities. Identify biological thresholds such as lost seed sources, changed soil chemistry or new predator-prey relationships. Identify environmental thresholds such as permanent hydrological change or a climate outside the historical range. Then list financial, legal, political and institutional constraints separately. The 2014 review A critique of the “novel ecosystem” concept specifically warns against calling socioeconomic limitations ecological thresholds.
3. State objectives and whose values count
Translate “conserve” into measurable objectives: protect a threatened species, maintain a process such as flood attenuation, retain cultural use, reduce hazard, support connectivity or preserve a valued assemblage. Include the people who hold those values and those affected by management. Objectives can conflict; documenting the conflict is more honest than hiding it behind a label.
4. Compare realistic interventions
Evaluate options against the same criteria before selecting one.
| Option | When it may fit | Main questions and risks |
|---|---|---|
| Historical restoration | Evidence indicates key qualities remain recoverable and they match current objectives. | What thresholds must be crossed? Could removing established components cause unintended losses? |
| Targeted active management | Some functions or species can be improved without recreating the entire historical assemblage. | Which actions are essential, how intensive must they be, and can funding and governance sustain them? |
| Allow self-organization with safeguards | The system is self-sustaining and its trajectory can meet objectives better than feasible reconstruction. | What unacceptable outcomes require intervention, and what indicators will trigger a change? |
| Hybrid strategy | Different parts of a landscape have different recoverability or values. | How will zones connect, and who decides where historical targets end? |
For every option, compare recoverability, expected biodiversity and ecosystem-function outcomes, social values, ecological versus non-ecological barriers, reversibility and monitoring requirements. Do not claim that options are equally effective when site evidence has not established that.
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5. Monitor, publish results and revisit the choice
Set indicators before intervention: target species or functions, undesired expansion, water or soil conditions, social impacts and costs. Establish review dates and thresholds that trigger adjustment. A decision to permit self-organization is still management when it includes surveillance, risk controls and a process for changing course. Monitoring also protects against treating an early, unstable transition as a settled ecosystem.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Governance is part of the conservation decision
Conservation choices in changing systems are political as well as ecological. Clement and Standish’s 2018 review describes governance challenges in translating conservation objectives to rapidly changing ecological realities. A credible process should make four matters visible:
- Authority: Which agencies, landholders, Indigenous or local communities and technical experts set objectives?
- Distribution: Who receives benefits, who loses access or bears management costs, and how are those effects addressed?
- Evidence: Which observations, models, local knowledge and uncertainties support the decision?
- Review: When will the decision be reconsidered, and what evidence can change it?
Participation does not eliminate disagreement. It does make trade-offs contestable and can reveal constraints that a purely ecological assessment would miss.
Common mistakes and safeguards
“Novel” means valuable
Novelty says that a system differs from its historical condition and self-organizes; it does not establish high biodiversity, rare habitat or beneficial function. Assess outcomes directly.
“Novel” means restoration is impossible
Difficulty, cost or opposition may limit a project without creating an ecological threshold. Report these barriers separately and state what evidence would change the assessment.
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Every nonnative species creates a novel ecosystem
An introduced organism may be present in an otherwise recoverable system. Look for system-level changes, interactions, persistence and novel qualities rather than applying a species-based shortcut.
The category is a legal status
The sources establish a scholarly concept and debate, not a single regulatory classification that applies across jurisdictions. Legal duties, protected-species rules and land-use requirements still govern a site.
A label replaces objectives
Do not write a management plan that says only “conserve the novel ecosystem.” Specify what will be maintained, changed or prevented, for whom and over what time frame.
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A field checklist
- Have current abiotic, biotic and social conditions been documented?
- Is the historical reference explicit and appropriate to the decision?
- Are ecological, environmental, financial, political and institutional thresholds distinguished?
- Are biodiversity, function, cultural and livelihood objectives stated separately?
- Have restoration, targeted management, self-organization and mixed approaches been compared?
- Are affected communities involved in defining success and reviewing evidence?
- Are indicators, safeguards, funding and decision triggers specified?
- Is the classification presented as provisional and revisable rather than as a legal status?
Further reading
The edited volume Novel Ecosystems: Intervening in the New Ecological World Order (first published 2013) brings together the foundational definition, examples and management debate. The 2009 Hobbs, Higgs and Harris article addresses implications for conservation and restoration; the 2014 critique examines definitional and policy risks; and the 2018 review by Clement and Standish focuses on governance.
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