Embracing a dynamic view of nature for biodiversity conservation

Abstract

For centuries, Western cultures viewed strict protection as the best way to preserve nature. The practice of “fortress conservation” attempts to maintain environmentally valuable landscapes by excluding human influence. By doing so, landscapes could be maintained in a static climax condition - think, a stand of mature or old-growth forest - untrammeled by humans. The problem? This is not how nature works. Ecosystems are not ancient manuscripts that can be preserved in a climate-controlled chamber. They are highly dynamic systems, and what we view as desirable states are only ephemeral snapshots. Landscapes are ever-shifting mosaics, with different vegetation types, ages, and conditions across a space-time patchwork. In recent decades, modern conservation has begun to embrace this view of nature as dynamic (Jones et al. 2025).

Citation

Jones, Gavin M.; Pausas, Juli G. 2026. Embracing a dynamic view of nature for biodiversity conservation. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 24(2): e70026.