Multi-scale adaptive management of social-ecological systems

Area of Science:

• Ecological Management
• Social-Ecological Systems Analysis
• Environmental Policy

Background:

• Adaptive management is crucial for social-ecological systems facing high uncertainty and controllability.
• Cross-scale interactions significantly increase management uncertainty, often overlooked in traditional approaches.
• Managing for multiple social and ecological goals necessitates consideration of spatial and temporal scales.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce multi-scale adaptive management for social-ecological systems.
• To demonstrate the importance of scale and cross-scale interactions in adaptive management.
• To highlight how this approach can improve management outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Developing a multi-scale adaptive management framework.
• Analyzing case studies from the Great Plains of North America and the Platte River Basin.
• Integrating the panarchy model to understand social-ecological system dynamics across scales.

Main Results:

• Multi-scale adaptive management explicitly accounts for spatial and temporal scales.
• The approach accommodates trade-offs among stakeholder priorities and ecosystem attributes.
• Case studies illustrate the practical application and benefits of the framework.

Conclusions:

• Multi-scale adaptive management enhances the effectiveness of adaptive strategies.
• Accounting for scale and cross-scale interactions is vital for successful ecosystem management.
• This integrated approach offers improved outcomes for complex social-ecological systems.