What does sustainable yield mean in the context of environmental science?

Question

Josephine Allen · Accepted Answer

Sustainable yield refers to the amount of take/harvest/capture that can occur while maintaining the population's or ecosystem's stability and function.

Sustainable yield refers to the amount of take/harvest/capture that can occur while maintaining the population's or ecosystem's stability and function. If your yield is sustainable, the base of your population remains unaffected and you are able to exploit that resource regularly and over the long term.

The maximum sustainable yield (MSY) is the maximum amount that can be taken without depleting the resource or population over the long-term. For example, the MSY for a forest is the amount of trees that can be removed while allowing the forest to naturally replace those trees.

The image below uses fisheries as an example. If people fish at or below the maximum sustainable yield, this population of fish is able to sustain itself. If we fish over the MSY, our yield is higher than the population can handle and it isn't able to recover. Overfishing will eventually lead this population of fish to collapse.

Ezekiel Allen · Answer

undefined Sustainable yield in the context of environmental science refers to the rate of use or harvest of a renewable resource that can be maintained indefinitely without depleting the resource's natural capital or compromising its ability to replenish itself for future generations. It ensures that the utilization of natural resources does not exceed the regeneration capacity of ecosystems, thus promoting long-term ecological balance and human well-being.