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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regime_shift
In ecology, regime shifts are large, abrupt, persistent changes in the structure and function of a system.[1] A regime is a characteristic behaviour of a system which is maintained by mutually reinforced processes or feedbacks. Regimes are considered persistent relative to the time period over which the shift occurs. The change of regimes, or the shift, usually occurs when a smooth change in an internal process (feedback) or a single disturbance (external shocks) triggers a completely different system behavior.[2][3][4][5] Although such non-linear changes have been widely studied in different disciplines ranging from atoms to climate dynamics,[6] regime shifts have gained importance in ecology because they can substantially affect the flow of ecosystem services that societies rely upon,[1][7] such as provision of food, clean water or climate regulation. Moreover, regime shift occurrence is expected to increase as human influence on the planet increases – the Anthropocene[8] – including current trends on human induced climate change and biodiversity loss.[9]
The theoretical basis for regime shifts has been developed from the mathematics of non-linear systems. In short, regime shifts describe dynamics characterized by the possibility that a small disturbance can produce big effects.
Conditions at which a system shifts its dynamics from one set of processes to another are often called thresholds. In ecology for example, a threshold is a point at which there is an abrupt change in an ecosystem quality, property or phenomenon; or where small changes in an environmental driver produce large responses in an ecosystem.
