What Do We Talk about When We Talk about Social-Ecological Systems? A Literature Review

In the last decade, probably in response to global changes and environmental crisis, the use of the term “social-ecological system” (SES) in the scientific literature has been growing. This is certainly a sign of the recognition of the need and importance of transdisciplinary research. Here, we explore whether the use of the term is a buzzword, or it actually represents a key concept toward the integration of social and ecological research. We compiled a data base of publications (N = 1289) that mentioned SES in title, keywords and abstract. Subsequently, we analyzed: authors affiliations, type of work (conceptual, empirical, review), study site, prevailing human use, temporal and spatial scales of analysis, kind of variables analyzed (socioeconomic, biophysical), and the method/s used to integrate them. We detected four time spans in the use of the term (1975–1997, 1998–2006, 2007–2012, 2013–2016). Our results suggest that SES is a widely invoked concept to study the interface between social and ecological systems. Most works show some common elements such as the analysis of resilience, ecosystem services, sustainability, governance and adaptive management. However, the majority of studies does not study SES as a whole, integrating both social and ecological variables and their feedback loops. We consider that SES is still a concept in construction in order to build a necessary framework to integrate social and ecological sciences. For a robust evolution we recommend to focus on 1. a conscious, discussed and agreed effort of scientists to conduct transdisciplinary research needed to study SES; 2. developing methodological tools for the true integration of social and ecological data.

Download Full-text

What do We Talk about When We Talk about Social-Ecological Systems? A Literature Review

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10082950 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 2950 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui ◽

Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz ◽

María Reyes ◽

Marta Telesnicki ◽

Ignacio Agramonte ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spatial Scales ◽

Ecological Systems ◽

Transdisciplinary Research ◽

Environmental Crisis ◽

Global Changes ◽

Ecological Data ◽

Social Ecological Systems ◽

Social Ecological ◽

Sustainability Governance ◽

Human Use

In the last decade, probably in response to global changes and the environmental crisis, the use of the term “social-ecological system” (SES) in scientific literature has grown. This is certainly a sign that the need and importance of transdisciplinary research has been recognized. Here, we explore whether the use of the term is a buzzword or, rather, actually represents a key concept in the integration of social and ecological research. We compiled a database of publications (N = 1289) that mentioned SES in the title, keywords and abstract. Subsequently, we analyzed the authors’ affiliations, type of work (conceptual, empirical or review), study site, prevailing human use, temporal and spatial scales of the analysis, kind of variables analyzed (socioeconomic or biophysical), and the method/s used to integrate them. We detected four time spans in the use of the term (1975–1997, 1998–2006, 2007–2012, 2013–2016). Our results suggest that SES is a widely invoked concept in the study of the interface between social and ecological systems. Most works show some common elements, such as the analysis of resilience, ecosystem services, sustainability, governance and adaptive management. However, the majority of studies do not study SES as a whole, integrating both social and ecological variables and their feedback loops. We consider SES as a concept still in construction in order to build a necessary framework for the integration of social and ecological sciences. For a robust evolution, we recommend that one focus on: (i) A conscious, discussed and agreed effort of scientists to conduct the transdisciplinary research needed to study SES; and (ii) the development of methodological tools for the true integration of social and ecological data.

Download Full-text

Explaining and Measuring Social-Ecological Pathways: The Case of Global Changes and Water Security

10.20944/preprints201810.0724.v2 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Thomas Bolognesi ◽

Andrea K. Gerlak ◽

Gregory Giuliani

Keyword(s):

Water Governance ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Water Security ◽

Ecological Systems ◽

Data Cube ◽

Global Changes ◽

Time Data ◽

Social Ecological Systems ◽

Technical Requirements ◽

Social Ecological

The Social-Ecological Systems (SES) framework serves as a valuable framework to explore and understand social and ecological interactions, and pathways in water governance. Yet, it lacks a robust understanding of change. We argue an analytical and methodological approach to engaging global changes in SES is critical to strengthening the scope and relevance of the SES framework. Relying on SES and resilience thinking, we propose an institutional and cognitive model of change that institutions and natural resources systems co-evolve to provide a dynamic understanding of SES that stands on three causal mechanisms: institutional complexity trap, rigidity trap, and learning processes. We illustrate how Data Cube technology could overcome current limitations and offer reliable avenues to test hypothesis about the dynamics of social-ecological systems and water security by offering to combine spatial and time data with no major technical requirements for users.

Download Full-text

How the Social-Ecological Systems Concept Can Guide Transdisciplinary Research and Implementation: Addressing Water Challenges in Central Northern Namibia

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su9071109 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 1109 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Stefan Liehr ◽

Julia Röhrig ◽

Marion Mehring ◽

Thomas Kluge

Keyword(s):

Ecological Systems ◽

Transdisciplinary Research ◽

Social Ecological Systems ◽

Social Ecological ◽

The Social

Download Full-text

Environmental Scenario Analysis on Natural and Social-Ecological Systems: A Review of Methods, Approaches and Applications

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12187542 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (18) ◽

pp. 7542 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Noelia Guaita García ◽

Julia Martínez Fernández ◽

Carl Fitz

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Land Use ◽

Scenario Analysis ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Ecological Systems ◽

Distributed Models ◽

Social Ecological Systems ◽

Social Ecological ◽

Use Of Models

Scenario analysis is a useful tool to facilitate discussions about the main trends of future change and to promote the understanding of global environmental changes implications on relevant aspects of sustainability. In this paper, we reviewed 294 articles published between 1995–2019, to evaluate the state of the art use of models and scenarios to investigate the effects of land use change and climate change on natural and social-ecological systems. Our review focuses on three issues. The first explores the extent to which the environmental dynamics of land use and climate change were jointly analyzed and the spatial scales associated with such integrated studies. The second explores the modelling methodologies and approaches used in the scenario analysis. The third explores the methods for developing or building scenarios. Results show that in most predictions there is little integration of key drivers of change. We find most forecasting studies use a sectoral modelling approach through dynamic spatially distributed models. Most articles do not apply a participatory approach in the development of scenarios. Based on this review, we conclude that there are some gaps in how scenario analysis on natural and social-ecological systems are conducted. These gaps pose a challenge for the use of models and scenarios as predictive tools in decision-making processes in the context of global change.

Download Full-text

Using Earth Observations to engender a social-ecological systems perspective on rural livelihoods and wellbeing.

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11222 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Peter Hargreaves ◽

Gary Watmough

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Sustainable Development Goals ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Earth Observation ◽

Ecological Systems ◽

Social Ecological Systems ◽

Social Ecological ◽

Development Goals ◽

Temporal And Spatial ◽

Spatio Temporal

An estimated 70% of the world&#8217;s poorest people live in rural spaces. There is a consistent differentiation between rural and urban contexts, where the former are typically characterised by weak infrastructure, limited services and social marginalisation. At the same time, the world&#8217;s poorest people are most vulnerable to global change impacts. Historic pathways to measuring and achieving poverty reduction must be adapted for an era of increasingly dynamic change, where spatio-temporal blind spots preclude a comprehensive understanding of poverty and its manifestation in rural developing contexts. To catalyse an effective poverty eradication narrative, we require a characterisation of the spatio-temporal anatomy of poverty metrics. To achieve this, researchers and practitioners must develop tools and mobilise data sources that enable the detection and visualisation of economic and social dimensions of rural spaces at finer temporal and spatial scales than is currently practised. This can only be realised by integrating new technologies and non-traditional sources of data alongside conventional data to engender a novel policy landscape.Cue Earth Observation: the only medium through which data can be gathered that is global in its coverage but also available across multiple temporal and spatial scales. Earth Observation (EO) data (collected from satellite, airborne and in-situ remote sensors) have a demonstrable capacity to inform, update, situate and provide the necessary context to design evidence-based policy for sustainable development. This is particularly important for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) because the nested indicators are based on data that can be visualised, and many have a definitive geospatial component, which can improve national statistics reporting.In this review, we present a rubric for integrating EO and geospatial data into rural poverty analysis. This aims to provide a foundation from which researchers at the interface of social-ecological systems can unlock new capabilities for measuring economic, environmental and social conditions at the requisite scales and frequency for poverty reporting and also for broader livelihoods and development research. &#160;We review satellite applications and explore the development of EO methodologies for investigating social-ecological conditions as indirect proxies of rural wellbeing. This is nested within the broader sustainable development agenda (in particular the SDGs) and aims to set out what our capabilities are and where research should be focused in the near-term. In short, elucidating to a broad audience what the integration of EO can achieve and how developing social-ecological metrics from EO data can improve evidence-based policymaking.Key words: Earth Observation; Poverty; Livelihoods; Sustainable Development Goals; Remote Sensing

Download Full-text