Mageau et al. (1995) illustrated the three components of system health in a three-dimensional plot (Figure 3). The two-dimensional planes formed when each of the components are zero are labeled. The first plane describes systems characterized by various combinations of organization and resilience, but no vigor. Systems with little or no vigor, such as ice, rocks and minerals, are ‘crystallized’. The second plane describes systems characterized by various combinations of resilience and vigor, but with no organization. Systems with little or no organization,
such as nutrient enriched lakes, streams and ponds, or early successional ecosystems dominated exclusively by ‘r’ selected species, are ‘eutrophic’. The third plane indicates systems that are characterized by various combinations of vigor and organization, but no resilience. Natural variation in external environments preserves resilience preventing systems from reaching the extreme of this plane, but certain highly managed systems, such as agriculture, aquaculture,
and plantations, approach this plane and are ‘brittle’.
Crystallized, eutrophic, and brittle systems are not healthy. Instead, a healthy system is characterized by some balance between vigor, organization, and resilience. We propose that a ‘healthy’ system is one that can develop an efficient diversity of components and exchange pathways (high organization) while maintaining some redundancy or resilience as insurance
against stress, and substantial vigor to quickly recover or utilize stress in a positive manner.