Ecosystem health is a new concept that ecologists are examining as a tool for use in detecting and monitoring changes in the quality of the environment, particularly with regard to ecological conditions.

Ecosystem health (and ecological integrity) isan indicator of the well-being and natural condition of ecosystems and their functions. These indicators are influenced by natural changes in environmental conditions, and are related to such factors as climate change and disturbances such as wildfire, windstorms, and diseases. Increasingly, however, ecosystems are being affected by environmental stressors associated with human activities that cause pollution and disturbance, which result in many changes in environmental conditions. Some species, communities, and ecological processes benefit from those environmental changes, but others suffer great damages.

The notion of ecosystem health is intended to help distinguish between ecosystem-level changes that represent improvements and those that are considered to be degradations. In the sense...