| Understanding the complexity and ecological organization of protected area ecosystems, and their bioregional surroundings, is fundamental to maintaining their integrity. This research set out to integrate the bodies of systems and hierarchy theory to establish a framework for developing a conceptual model that would synthesize knowledge from diverse fields and identify key system processes, thereby providing new insight into ecosystem organization, function, and integrity. This understanding was then applied to planning for ecological integrity in the Canadian National Parks context through a case study of Kluane National Park and Reserve (KNP&R) within the Greater Kluane Region (GKR).; The methodology characterized processes, identified those that were key, and then explored their interrelationships and potential pathways to system change. A set of criteria, derived from complex systems and hierarchy theory, were developed to characterize the conceptual type and scale of system processes, evaluate the relatedness of processes, and identify cross-scale linkages and their potential to induce significant system change. These criteria served as the basis for identifying key processes in the GKR. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
