The concepts of irreversibility and reversibility in research on anthropogenic environmental changes.

ABSTRACT: The concept of "irreversibility" and its counterpart "reversibility" have become prominent in environmental and ecological research on human-induced changes, thresholds, climate tipping points, ecosystem degradation, and losses in the cryosphere and biosphere. Through a systematic literature review, we show that in these research fields, these notions are not only descriptive terms, but can have different semantic functions and normative aspects. The results suggest that, in the context of environmental and ecological research the concepts of irreversibility and reversibility have taken on additional usages in comparison to their contexts in theoretical thermodynamics and mechanics. Irreversible as a classification of anthropogenic environmental change can be used categorically, in the sen

SUBMITTER: Buhr L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11740731 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature