Brian Walker (ecologist)
Encyclopedia
Brian H. Walker is a scientist specialized in ecological sustainability
and resilience
in socio-ecological system
s.
(now Zimbabwe), where his research was on ecosystem function and dynamics in tropical savannas and rangelands. He earned his PhD in Plant ecology
from the University of Saskatchewan
, in Canada in 1968.
He was a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Rhodesia, Rhodesia from 1969 until 1975. After that he was a Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand
, before moving to Australia in 1985. There he became Chief of the former CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology (now CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems) from 1985-1999.
He has also made significant contributions to global change science. Serving as the Chair of the Scientific Steering Committee of the IGBP core project on Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystem, from 1990–1997 and Chair of the Board, Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
from 1999-2002.
He is currently a Research Fellow with CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems and is also Program Director and Chair of the Board of the Resilience Alliance, an international research group working on sustainability of social-ecological systems.
Books
His most cited papers include:
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
and resilience
Resilience
Resilience is the property of a material to absorb energy when it is deformed elastically and then, upon unloading to have this energy recovered. In other words, it is the maximum energy per unit volume that can be elastically stored...
in socio-ecological system
Socio-ecological system
A socio-ecological system consists of 'a bio-geo-physical' unit and its associated social actors and institutions. Socio-ecological systems are complex and adaptive and delimited by spatial or functional boundaries surrounding particular ecosystems and their problem context...
s.
Education and academic career
Brian Walker began his scientific career in RhodesiaRhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
(now Zimbabwe), where his research was on ecosystem function and dynamics in tropical savannas and rangelands. He earned his PhD in Plant ecology
Plant ecology
Plant ecology is a subdiscipline of ecology which studies the distribution and abundance of plants, the interactions among and between members of plant species, and their interactions with their environment...
from the University of Saskatchewan
University of Saskatchewan
The University of Saskatchewan is a Canadian public research university, founded in 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. An "Act to establish and incorporate a University for the Province of Saskatchewan" was passed by the...
, in Canada in 1968.
He was a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Rhodesia, Rhodesia from 1969 until 1975. After that he was a Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
, before moving to Australia in 1985. There he became Chief of the former CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology (now CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems) from 1985-1999.
He has also made significant contributions to global change science. Serving as the Chair of the Scientific Steering Committee of the IGBP core project on Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystem, from 1990–1997 and Chair of the Board, Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
from 1999-2002.
He is currently a Research Fellow with CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems and is also Program Director and Chair of the Board of the Resilience Alliance, an international research group working on sustainability of social-ecological systems.
Publications
Brian Walker has co-authored two books and published more than 160 scientific papers. He also edited and co-edited nine books.Books
- 2006 with David Salt: Resilience thinking: Sustaining ecosystems and people in a changing world, Island Press
His most cited papers include:
- 1981 with D. Ludwig, C. S. Holling and R Peterman. "Stability of semi-arid savanna grazing systems" Journal of EcologyJournal of EcologyThe Journal of Ecology is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of the ecology of plants. It was established in 1913 and is published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the British Ecological Society....
Vol 69 : 473-498. - 1985 with W.T. Knoop "Interactions of woody and herbaceous vegetation in southern African savanna" in Journal of Ecology Vol 73 : 235-253.
- 1989 with M. Westoby I. Noy-Meir. "Opportunistic management for rangelands not at equilibrium. in Journal of Range Management Vol 42(4) : 266-274.
- 1992 "Biodiversity and ecological redundancy" Conservation Biology Vol 6 : 18-23.
- 2001 with M. Scheffer, S.R. CarpenterStephen R. CarpenterStephen Russell Carpenter is an American limnologist.-Education and Career:Carpenter received his B.A. from Amherst College , M.S. from the University of Wisconsin—Madison , and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison...
, J. Foley, and C. Folke. "Catastrophic shifts in ecosystems" in NatureNature (journal)Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
Vol 413 : 591-596.