| 1. |
- Bergsten, Arvid, 1981-
(författare)
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Communicating ecology in local planning : The role of embedded ecologists
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Local decision making needs to apply ecological knowledge (EK) to promote sustainable outcomes. Scientific and local EK can be incorporated by including knowledgable individuals in planning teams. This paper looks at the potential to integrate EK in planning institutions, by studying how 27 "embedded ecologists" communicate knowledge in 18 municipalities in the Stockholm region in Sweden. The analysis identifies communication patterns based on the terminology and form of EK that the surveyed ecologists prioritize in discussions with planners and politicians. The results show that maps and the meaning and direct benefit of nature to citizens are prioritized in planning discussions, since such EK can be accommodated in the current planning discourse. Knowledge regarding species and ecological complexity were more difficult to integrate, since it required simplification or translation to a citizen perspective on nature, or that the ecologist played a "communication role" that conflicted with the planning discourse. Three different communication roles are outlined, by contrasting their perspectives on EK and their likely causes and outcomes in the planning process. Recommendations are given about how governance institutions can make better use of embedded ecologists for in-house ecological knowledge.
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| 2. |
- Bergsten, Arvid, 1981-
(författare)
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Fragmented landscapes : Assessment and communication of landscape connectivity in human-dominated landscapes
- 2012
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This licentiate thesis summarizes the first half of my PhD on the theme of management of fragmented landscapes. The thesis applies – and reflects on the use of – network analysis of connectivity in relation to landscape planning. Relevant theory on knowledge management and spatial ecology is summarized and discussed in connection with two papers.Paper I centers on municipal ecologists and environmental planners in the Stockholm region. They state that connectivity is rarely considered enough in planning and that assessment tools are lacking. Paper I studies the benefits and difficulties of using network analysis to manage connectivity in land-use planning. Among the main difficulties was the choice of model species and access to input data. The main strengths were the graphical and quantitative results, the potential for social learning, identification of critical sites and to relate local planning and ecology to the regional landscape.Paper II applies network methodology to quantify habitat availability of fragmented lichen-type forests in protected areas in northern Sweden. It studies a dynamic landscape that is continuously rearranged by forestry, with consequences that depend on species’ abilities to compete for resources in protected habitats, and to disperse through unprotected mature forest stands. We discuss the results with reference to the planning of forestry and protected areas, and to the resilience of species to patchy disturbance regimes.To end I propose a continuation of research, including a methodological development of network analysis; a sociological study of the acceptance of ecological advice in urban planning; and an integration of social and ecological network analysis to compare patterns of cross-municipal collaboration with landscape connectivity.
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| 3. |
- Bergsten, Arvid, et al.
(författare)
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Protected areas in a landscape dominated by logging - A connectivity analysis that integrates varying protection levels with competition-colonization tradeoffs
- 2013
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Ingår i: Biological Conservation. - : Elsevier BV. - 0006-3207 .- 1873-2917. ; 160, s. 279-288
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Conservation planning is challenging in landscapes where reoccurring habitat destruction and subsequent recovery affect metapopulation persistence, because different species respond differently to landscape change. By building on a graph-theoretical modeling framework, we here develop a connectivity model of how varying levels of area protection and unprotected areas predetermined for destruction affect species differently depending on (1) their tradeoff in colonization versus habitat utilization ability and (2) their maximum dispersal ability. We apply our model to 20,000 patches of old pine forest in northern Sweden, which host many threatened species but are scattered in a landscape dominated by intensive forestry. Unprotected mature forests stands predestined for logging are treated as adequate but temporarily available habitat for colonization specialists, whereas the same stands are assumed to, at best, serve only as intermediate stepping-stones for habitat specialists as they disperse between long-standing forests in protected areas. Our results show that the effect of habitat fragmentation on metapopulation persistence differs greatly not only depending on the dispersal distance of a particular species, but also on how well it utilizes habitat patches of different longevity. Such traits are discussed with respect to the spatiotemporal planning of habitat protection. Also, we suggest that the negative impacts of logging on biodiversity may be reduced if forestry practice is adjusted to better account for the ecological values of maturing production stands, through spatially explicit modeling of connectivity and of complementarity in the protection gradient.
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| 4. |
- Bergsten, Arvid, 1981-
(författare)
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Spatial complexity and fit between ecology and management : Making sense of patterns in fragmented landscapes
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Avoiding the negative effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity is especially challenging when also the management institutions are spatially and administratively distributed. This doctoral thesis introduces five case studies that investigate ecological, social and social-ecological relations in fragmented landscapes. I present new approaches in which research and governance can detect and manage mismatches between landscape ecology and planning. The case studies include urban and forested landscapes where an intense land-use is limiting the connectivity, i.e., the potential for many species to disperse between the remaining patches of habitat. Graph-theoretic (network) models are applied to map connectivity patterns and to estimate the outcome for dispersing species at the patch level and for the whole study system. In particular, the network models are applied to evaluate the spatial complexity and the potential mismatches between ecological connectivity and geographically distributed management institutions like protected areas and municipalities. Interviews with municipal ecologists complement the spatial analysis; revealing some problems and ways forward regarding the communication and integration of ecological knowledge within local spatial-planning agencies. The results also show that network models are useful to identify and communicate critical ecological and social-ecological patterns that call for management attention. I suggest some developments of network models as to include interactions between species and across governance levels. Finally, I conclude that more effort is needed for network models to materialize into ecological learning and transformation in management processes.
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| 5. |
- Bergsten, Arvid, 1981-
(författare)
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The problem of fit in social-ecological systems : Detecting spatial mismatches between ecological
connectivity and land management in an urban region
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The problem of institutional fit in social-ecological systems has been empirically documented and conceptually discussed for decades, yet there is a shortage of approaches to systematically and quantitatively examine the level of fit. Here we address this gap focusing on spatial fit in an urban and peri-urban regional landscape. Such landscapes typically exhibit significant fragmentation of remnant habitats, which can limit critical species dispersal. This may have detrimental effects on species persistence and ecosystem functioning, if land use is planned without consideration of the spatial patterns of fragmentation. Managing habitat fragmentation is particularly challenging when the scale of fragmentation reach beyond the control of single managers, thereby requiring different actors to coordinate their activities to address the problem at the appropriate scale.We present a research approach that maps patterns of collaborations between actors who manage different parts of a landscape, and then relates these patterns to potential dispersal patterns. We apply our approach to evaluate the fit between a collaborative wetland-management network comprising all 26 municipalities in the Stockholm County in Sweden, with an ecologically defined network of dispersed but ecologically interconnected wetlands. Many wetlands in this landscape are either intersected by the boundary between two or more municipalities, or located close to such boundaries, which implies a degree of ecological interconnectedness and a need for inter-municipal coordination related to wetland management across boundaries. We first estimate the level of ecological connectivity between wetlands in neighboring municipalities, and then use this estimate to elaborate the level of social-ecological fit vis-à-vis inter-municipal collaboration. We find that the level of fit is generally weak. Also, we identify critical misalignments of ecological connectivity and inter-municipal collaboration, respectively, as well as collaborations that represent an adequate alignment. These findings inform on where to most effectively allocate limited resources of collaborative capacity to enhance the level of social-ecological fit. Our approach and results are graphically illustrated using maps, which facilitates the potential application of this method in land-use planning practice.
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| 6. |
- Bergsten, Arvid, et al.
(författare)
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The problem of spatial fit in social-ecological systems : detecting mismatches between ecological connectivity and land management in an urban region
- 2014
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Ingår i: Ecology & Society. - 1708-3087. ; 19:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The problem of institutional fit in social-ecological systems has been empirically documented and conceptually discussed for decades, yet there is a shortage of approaches to systematically and quantitatively examine the level of fit. We address this gap, focusing on spatial fit in an urban and peri-urban regional landscape. Such landscapes typically exhibit significant fragmentation of remnant habitats, which can limit critical species dispersal. This may have detrimental effects on species persistence and ecosystem functioning if land use is planned without consideration of the spatial patterns of fragmentation. Managing habitat fragmentation is particularly challenging when the scale of fragmentation reaches beyond the control of single managers, thereby requiring different actors to coordinate their activities to address the problem at the appropriate scale. We present a research approach that maps patterns of collaborations between actors who manage different parts of a landscape, and then relates these patterns to structures of ecological connectivity. We applied our approach to evaluate the fit between a collaborative wetland management network comprising all 26 municipalities in the Stockholm County in Sweden and an ecologically defined network of dispersed but ecologically interconnected wetlands. Many wetlands in this landscape are either intersected by the boundary between two or more municipalities, or are located close to such boundaries, which implies a degree of ecological interconnectedness and a need for intermunicipal coordination related to wetland management across boundaries. We first estimated the level of ecological connectivity between wetlands in neighboring municipalities, and then used this estimate to elaborate the level of social-ecological fit vis-a-vis intermunicipal collaboration. We found that the level of fit was generally weak. Also, we identified critical misalignments of ecological connectivity and intermunicipal collaboration, respectively, as well as collaborations that represented an adequate alignment. These findings inform on where to most effectively allocate limited resources of collaborative capacity to enhance the level of social-ecological fit. Our approach and results are illustrated using maps, which facilitates the potential application of this method in land use planning practice.
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| 7. |
- Bergsten, Arvid, et al.
(författare)
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To model the landscape as a network : A practitioner's perspective
- 2013
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Ingår i: Landscape and Urban Planning. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-2046 .- 1872-6062. ; 119, s. 35-43
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent years have shown a rapid increase in the number of published studies that advocate network analysis (graph theory) to ecologically manage landscapes that suffer from fragmentation and loss of connectivity. This paper studies the reasons, benefits and difficulties of using network analysis to manage landscape fragmentation in the practice of land-use planning. The results are based on interviews with thirteen municipal ecologists and environmental planners in Stockholm, Sweden, who had been introduced to a GIS-tool for network-based connectivity analysis. Our results indicate that fragmentation is not considered enough in municipal planning and demonstrate that none of the interviewed practitioners used systematic methods to assess landscape connectivity. The practitioners anticipate that network-level and patch-level connectivity measures and maps would help them to communicate the meaning and implications of connectivity to other actors in the planning process, and to better assess the importance of certain habitats affected by detailed plans. The main difficulties of implementing network-based connectivity analyses reported by the respondents related to the choice of focal species and the lack of model input in terms of landscape data and dispersal distances. The main strengths were expressed by the practitioners as graphical, quantitative and credible results; the ability to compare planning alternatives and to find critical sites in a more objective manner than today; and to relate local planning and ecology to the regional structure of the landscape. Many respondents stressed the role of fragmentation assessments in the endeavor to overcome current spatial mismatches of ecological and administrative scales.
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| 8. |
- Fazey, Ioan, et al.
(författare)
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Transforming knowledge systems for life on Earth : Visions of future systems and how to get there
- 2020
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Ingår i: Energy Research & Social Science. - : Elsevier. - 2214-6296 .- 2214-6326. ; 70
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Formalised knowledge systems, including universities and research institutes, are important for contemporary societies. They are, however, also arguably failing humanity when their impact is measured against the level of progress being made in stimulating the societal changes needed to address challenges like climate change. In this research we used a novel futures-oriented and participatory approach that asked what future envisioned knowledge systems might need to look like and how we might get there. Findings suggest that envisioned future systems will need to be much more collaborative, open, diverse, egalitarian, and able to work with values and systemic issues. They will also need to go beyond producing knowledge about our world to generating wisdom about how to act within it. To get to envisioned systems we will need to rapidly scale methodological innovations, connect innovators, and creatively accelerate learning about working with intractable challenges. We will also need to create new funding schemes, a global knowledge commons, and challenge deeply held assumptions. To genuinely be a creative force in supporting longevity of human and non-human life on our planet, the shift in knowledge systems will probably need to be at the scale of the enlightenment and speed of the scientific and technological revolution accompanying the second World War. This will require bold and strategic action from governments, scientists, civic society and sustained transformational intent.
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| 9. |
- Fischer, Joern, et al.
(författare)
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A social-ecological assessment of food security and biodiversity conservation in Ethiopia
- 2021
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Ingår i: Ecosystems and People. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2639-5908 .- 2639-5916. ; 17:1, s. 400-410
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We studied food security and biodiversity conservation from a social-ecological perspective in southwestern Ethiopia. Specialist tree, bird, and mammal species required large, undisturbed forest, supporting the notion of ‘land sparing’ for conservation. However, our findings also suggest that forest areas should be embedded within a multifunctional landscape matrix (i.e. ‘land sharing’), because farmland also supported many species and ecosystem services and was the basis of diversified livelihoods. Diversified livelihoods improved smallholder food security, while lack of access to capital assets and crop raiding by wild forest animals negatively influenced food security. Food and biodiversity governance lacked coordination and was strongly hierarchical, with relatively few stakeholders being highly powerful. Our study shows that issues of livelihoods, access to resources, governance and equity are central when resolving challenges around food security and biodiversity. A multi-facetted, social-ecological approach is better able to capture such complexity than the conventional, two-dimensional land sparing versus sharing framework.
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| 10. |
- Fischer, Joern, et al.
(författare)
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Reframing the Food-Biodiversity Challenge
- 2017
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Ingår i: Trends in Ecology & Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-5347 .- 1872-8383. ; 32:5, s. 335-345
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Given the serious limitations of production-oriented frameworks, we offer here a new conceptual framework for how to analyze the nexus of food security and biodiversity conservation. We introduce four archetypes of social-ecological system states corresponding to win-win (e.g., agroecology), win-lose (e.g., intensive agriculture), lose-win (e.g., fortress conservation), and lose-lose (e.g., degraded landscapes) outcomes for food security and biodiversity conservation. Each archetype is shaped by characteristic external drivers, exhibits characteristic internal social-ecological features, and has characteristic feedbacks that maintain it. This framework shifts the emphasis from focusing on production only to considering social-ecological dynamics, and enables comparison among landscapes. Moreover, examining drivers and feedbacks facilitates the analysis of possible transitions between system states (e.g., from a lose-lose outcome to a more preferred outcome).
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