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Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1111/j.1939-7445.2011.00108.x
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Title (Primary) New horizons for managing the environment: a review of coupled social-ecological systems modeling
Author Schlüter, M.; McAllister, R.R.J.; Arlinghaus, R.; Bunnefeld, N.; Eisenack, K.; Hölker, F.; Milner-Gulland, E.J.; Müller, B. ORCID logo ; Nicholson, E.; Quaas, M.; Stöven, M.
Source Titel Natural Resource Modeling
Year 2012
Department OESA
Volume 25
Issue 1
Page From 219
Page To 272
Language englisch
Keywords Social-ecological modeling; complex systems; uncertainty; ecological structure; social structure; human-decision making
Abstract

Conventional approaches to natural resource management are increasingly challenged by environmental problems that are embedded in highly complex systems with profound uncertainties. These so-called social-ecological systems (SESs) are characterized by strong links between the social and the ecological system and multiple interactions across spatial and temporal scales. New approaches are needed to manage those tightly coupled systems; however, basic understanding of their nonlinear behavior is still missing. Modeling is a traditional tool in natural resource management to study complex, dynamic systems. There is a long tradition of SES modeling, but the approach is now being more widely recognized in other fields, such as ecological and economic modeling, where issues such as nonlinear ecological dynamics and complex human decision making are receiving more attention. SES modeling is maturing as a discipline in its own right, incorporating ideas from other interdisciplinary fields such as resilience or complex systems research. In this paper, we provide an overview of the emergence and state of the art of
this cross-cutting field. Our analysis reveals the substantial potential of SES models to address issues that are of utmost
importance for managing complex human-environment relationships, such as: (i) the implications of ecological and social
structure for resource management, (ii) uncertainty in natural and social systems and ways to address it, (iii) the role of coevolutionary processes in the dynamics of SESs, and (iv) the implications of microscale human decision making for sustainable
resource management and conservation. The complexity of SESs and the lack of a common analytical framework, however,
also pose significant challenges for this emerging field. There are clear research needs with respect to: (i) approaches
that go beyond rather simple specifications of human decision making, (ii) development of coping strategies to deal with
(irreducible) uncertainties, (iii) more explicit modeling of feedbacks between the social and ecological systems, and (iv) a
conceptual and methodological framework for analyzing and modeling SESs. We provide ideas for tackling some of these
challenges and indicate potential key focal areas for SES modeling in the future.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=11852
Schlüter, M., McAllister, R.R.J., Arlinghaus, R., Bunnefeld, N., Eisenack, K., Hölker, F., Milner-Gulland, E.J., Müller, B., Nicholson, E., Quaas, M., Stöven, M. (2012):
New horizons for managing the environment: a review of coupled social-ecological systems modeling
Nat. Resour. Model. 25 (1), 219 - 272 10.1111/j.1939-7445.2011.00108.x