Ecological Integrity and Analytical Review of Its Indicators

In ecological systems, biotic and abiotic (physical and chemical) components interact with each other. It is a challenge to understand and measure these systems and their internal and external nteractions. However, to manage the ecosystems sustainably, using the integrity principle, we require information on the status and trends of ecosystems as a whole. An ecosystem has integrity when its ecological characteristics and processes occur within their natural ranges of variation, and also it can withstand perturbations and changes caused by natural environmental or human factors. In this situation, the ecosystem will not be disorganized and the process of self-regulation will continue. Useful indicators for ecological integrity assessment must be comprehensive, representative of composition, structure and function of ecosystems. The goals of this research were to explain the theoretical concept of ecological integrity and review integrity indicators as a tool for environmental planning. As such, integrity indicators were assessed in terms of comprehensiveness. The results showed that the species and ecosystem indices are more focused on the internal state of the ecosystem, while those of landscape concerned with the internal state as well as perturbations caused by human activity and natural disturbance.