Socioecological Resilience Assessment: Current State and Future Challenges

The classic conceptualization of resilience refers to a system attribute that helps us understand the extent to which systems can withstand pressures and impacts without altering their constitutive or intrinsic characteristics. In recent years, resilience has become the subject of profound debate in international academic literature. Nevertheless, the concept—particularly socio-ecological resilience—remains a research topic with limited academic consensus. What do we mean when we speak of socio-ecological resilience? How can it be measured and interpreted adequately or efficiently? What tools are available to assess it? Based on a critical review of 146 papers published between 2011 and 2025, this study defines the current state of concepts, methods, tools, and approaches to socio-ecological resilience. Beyond identifying research trends, the analysis critically evaluates existing methods to formulate recommendations for future research and to highlight promising lines of inquiry that better capture the multidimensional complexity of socio-ecological systems.