resilience

(1) The measure of a system's ability to remain within a domain of stability in response to fluctuation s of the system by a disturbance, and the ability of the system to return to that stable domain having once left. (Holling) (2) The ability of a system to make a smooth transition to a new stable state in response to changes in external conditions. The wider the range of external fluctuations in which the system can obtain a stable state, the greater is the resiliency of the system. (Turoff) See also stability. (3) a measure of the ability of a system to absorb changes and still persist. (Holling)