Indirect and Manifold Effects Indirect and Manifold Effects . . . An example of the indirect and manifold effects involves non-native invasive species. Climate change may result in a longer growing season, which may give some invading weedy plants time to flower and set seed where previously they could only spread asexually. This newfound ability to flower could have profound implications for not only the invader but for those organisms associated with the invading species. Assessments need to be conducted that not only incorporate information on global environmental change, other stresses, ecosystem functioning and biodiversity, but that also include social and economic factors and responses.
Most people agree on the value of protecting human lives and improving conditions of human health.
Human health assessments deal with effects already familiar to the public, such as cancer rates and birth defects, and the debate rarely is about the importance of these effects. This evolution of the practice and the science of assessments has led to a better understanding of how cause-effect relationships of stressors and receptors are analyzed and quantified.