Gaia hypothesis
In ecology the concept is important as an element of the Gaia hypothesis, where the system under consideration is the ecological balance of different forms of life on the planet. It was Lynn Margulis, the coauthor of Gaia hypothesis, who wrote in particular that only homeorhetic, and not homeostatic, balances are involved in the theory. That is, the composition of Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere are regulated around "set points" as in homeostasis, but those set points change with time.