Knowledge of the forces driving and modifying ecosystems can be employed in
concert with signal analysis to target the data most likely to yield sensi
tivity and resilience information. One can optimize return of information p
er investment of resources by targeting segments of signals that are domina
ted by the force of interest, coupled with scientific understanding of the
system of interest. This force analysis approach is an effective means both
to design efficient new monitoring programs and to target relevant informa
tion in large data files. We present five example applications of force ana
lysis. Three examples illustrate this approach for an evaluation of whether
Canadian rivers might be sensitive to changes in climate. It was concluded
that Canadian rivers appear to be sensitive to changing climate. A fourth
example illustrates how automated snow pillow data may be evaluated to asce
rtain the sensitivity of snow accumulation to change in climate; It was con
cluded that snow accumulation at the site evaluated did appear to be sensit
ive to changing climate. The fifth example illustrates the assessment of wh
ether a river recovers with the elimination of inputs of iron from an aband
oned mine. It was concluded that resilience remained unproven since the riv
er had not as yet restabilized. The force analysis approach focuses data co
llection or data evaluation on those data required to answer specific resou
rce management questions, greatly reducing collection or consideration of d
ata that are not relevant to that question. This approach is potentially ve
ry cost-efficient and therefore is likely to be of interest to hydrologists
, climatologists, and environmental data managers.