Resilience,Adaptability, and Regime Shifts Thinking: A Perspective of Dryland Socio-ecology System

Arid areas are widespread globally and support a third of the world’s population’s livelihoods. The increasing population, urbanization, land-use changes, and the climate significantly affect coupled natural and human systems and threaten environments and socio-ecological land systems. The degradation of drylands poses a severe and widespread threat to the lives of millions of people, especially in developing countries and in the global environment. This review assesses published literature on dryland socio-ecological systems to reveal current research trends and changes in research themes over time and introduces basic theories and advances in dryland socio-ecological system frameworks, resilience measurement, and regime shifts. Developing a more general but adaptable framework and a more practical strategy for long-term coordination and partnership and attaining specific insights into ecological services should receive more attention and be strengthened in future studies on drylands sustainability.     

The Scientific Conceptual Framework for Ecological Quality of the Dryland Ecosystem: Concepts,Indicators, Monitoring and Assessment

The dryland ecosystem is the dominant component of the global terrestrial ecosystem since arid regions occupy 45% of the earth’s land area and feed 38% of the world's population. The stability and sustainable development of the dryland ecosystem are critical for achieving the millennium development goal (MDG) in the arid and semiarid areas. However, there is still no scientific guideline for measuring and conserving the health and productivity of dryland ecosystems. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop the scientific conceptual framework of defining, monitoring and evaluating the ecological quality of dryland ecosystems. The ecological quality of dryland ecosystems is represented by a system of comprehensive indicators that are each extracted from the ecological elements, and structural and functional indices of the ecosystem. These indicators can be monitored by integrating satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles with ground-based sensor networks at the scale of either observational sites or regional scales. Finally, the ecological quality can be evaluated by evaluation models based on the normalized index values and their thresholds. This paper presents a conceptual framework for monitoring and evaluating the ecological quality of drylands, which provides a way of advancing the monitoring, diagnosis, and evaluation of the ecological quality of the dryland ecosystems.     

An ecosystem approach for determining environmental water allocations in Australian dryland river systems: the role of geomorphology

The allocation of water for environmental purposes is a key management issue in many dryland regions. Many different methods have been developed for determining environmental water requirements but these are not directly applicable to dryland rivers because of inherent flow and habitat variability. An ecosystem approach for determining environmental water allocations in dryland regions is presented in this paper. This four-step process involves (1) a hierarchical characterisation of the river system, to assess what mesohabitats are present and where they are located; (2) the determination of flows that would inundate these habitats and perform other key ecological processes; (3) hydrological analyses in which the key hydrological signatures of the river are identified and the impact of water resource development on these is determined; and (4) the derivation of a water management decision tree that enables managers to allocate water to consumptive users during individual flood pulses (events). It is recommended that the flood pulse should be the focus for environmental flow management in dryland regions. If rivers are indeed nested hierarchies, then a change in hydrological behaviour at the scale of a flood pulse will, with time, extend throughout the hydrological hierarchy. Current environmental flow management strategies in dryland river systems are essentially focused at the flow regime and history scale; this is inappropriate given the inherent flow variability of these systems. The ecosystem approach is outlined for the Condamine-Balonne River, a large dryland system in Australia.     

An elephant in the planning room: Political demography and its influence on sustainable land-use planning in drylands

Two distinct, conflicting, land-use planning paradigms affect drylands: one seeking environmentally sustainable outcomes and one addressing political-demographic concerns. The environmental paradigm is relatively new and is couched in the lexicon of sustainable development, combating desertification and biodiversity conservation. These concerns proscribe planning principles that allow for human settlement in drylands while minimizing its environmental impact. The latter paradigm has a longer history, born in central governments’ desire to secure sovereignty over outlying regions. These concerns result in planning goals that conflict with environmental goals. The environmental paradigm encourages compact development and efficient land-use, while the political-demographic one encourages in-migration of ‘friendly’ populations and the establishment of a physical presence on a maximum amount of land. Using Israel’s Negev Desert and China’s Xinjiang region as case studies, we suggest that successful implementation of sustainable dryland management depends on recognizing the challenge presented by political-demographic planning motivations. As such, successful implementation of environmental planning requires resolution of existing political conflicts. Since drylands are characteristically geographic and demographic frontiers, they are ideal settings in which to study the conflict between environmental and political-demographic goals and they provide an opportunity to better understand how this conflict creates a barrier to sustainable development.     

旱区人地耦合系统水-粮食-生态关联研究述评

气候变化和人类活动影响下的旱区水-粮食-生态关联机制,是人地耦合系统研究的前沿科学问题之一,为全面保障以水安全为纽带的旱区生态安全和粮食安全提供科学支撑.本研究通过梳理水-粮食-生态关联研究前沿,凝练得到四方面认识:①在时空特征判别中,旱区土地利用是普遍涉及的水-粮食-生态关联载体;②在驱动机制分析中,生态系统服务权衡...     

Discrimination between climate and human-induced dryland degradation

In this study we present a technique to discriminate between climate or human-induced dryland degradation, based on evaluations of AVHRR NDVI data and rainfall data. Since dryland areas typically have high inter-annual rainfall variations and rainfall has a dominant role in determining vegetation growth, minor biomass trends imposed by human influences are difficult to verify. By performing many linear regression calculations between different periods of accumulated precipitation and the annual NDVI_max, we identify the rainfall period that is best related to the NDVI_max and by this the proportion of biomass triggered by rainfall. Positive or negative deviations in biomass from this relationship, expressed in the residuals, are interpreted as human-induced. We discuss several approaches that use either a temporally fixed NDVI peaking time or an absolute one, a best mean rainfall period for the entire drylands or the best rainfall period for each individual pixel. Advantages and disadvantages of either approach or one of its combinations for discriminating between climate and human-induced degradation are discussed. Depending on the particular land-use either method has advantages. To locate areas with a high likelihood of human-induced degradation we therefore recommend combining results from each approach.     

地球界限概念框架及其研究进展

“地球界限(Planetary Boundaries)”是指用于界定“安全运行空间(safe operating space)”的边界值,是Johan Rockstr?m等近年来提出的旨在保障人类生存和发展的重要概念框架。该框架一经提出就引起了广泛关注,一方面质疑者对这一概念框架的科学意义以及评估方法提出批评;另一方面支持者则对其评估方法、研究内容和研究尺度进行了完善和扩展,并取得了重要的成果。为了促进国内学者对该领域的了解和应用,论文在回顾相关文献的基础上,首先介绍了“地球界限”的概念内涵,并将其与中国学者所熟知的环境承载力等概念进行了比较分析;随后总结了该概念框架的争议观点,同时也对其近期的发展状况进行了评述;最后结合中国目前的发展状况,分析了“地球界限”概念框架对中国可持续发展的借鉴意义,并对未来的研究提出了展望,包括① 进一步了解不同地球系统过程的相互作用机制,完善“地球界限”的指标评估体系;② 明确“地球界限”与生态系统服务以及人类福祉三者之间的内在联系;③ 结合“地球界限”的评估结果,加强变革式环境治理的研究。     

Political Ecologies of Dynamic Wetlands: Hydrosocial Waterscapes in the Okavango Delta

Research within geography and related disciplines has directed much attention to the coupled interactions between social and ecological systems. These studies have usefully analyzed the multifaceted, temporal, and scalar dimensions of human–environment interactions and how future environmental change will continue to challenge human resource needs. Political ecology research has also made contributions in this regard, particularly by emphasizing livelihood systems, impacts of conservation and development, agricultural production, and environmental governance. Yet although political ecology research has contributed to socioecological systems scholarship, much of this work has been situated within dryland environments or marine ecosystems that have particular biophysical features. Comparatively, wetland environments that experience dynamic flooding regimes warrant further attention from political ecology. This article engages with the findings from an ongoing research project that is evaluating the impacts of flooding variability for rural livelihoods in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. We outline some of the main findings from this work by concentrating on two themes central to political ecology: access and governance. We conclude by arguing that the Okavango Delta should be understood as a hydrosocial waterscape that encompasses a variety of socioecological relationships within the region, as well as the power relations operating at a variety of scales that both produce and govern them.     

The importance of being reliable – Local ecological knowledge and management of forage plants in a dryland pastoral system (Morocco)

In dryland rangelands with their high environmental variability, local ecological knowledge of forage plants is essential for management decisions. Ecological apparency hypothesis (EAH) predicts plants' availability and visibility to be important criteria for local valuation. However, EAH has mainly been tested in low-variability systems. We ask whether EAH is valid for forage plants in drylands; which other local criteria exist; and how criteria are connected to management decisions.In a Moroccan pastoral system, we applied a novel ethnobotanical method by calculating the Cognitive Salience Index (CSI) for plants' valuation (CSI_antro) and availability (CSI_eco). To evaluate explicit criteria, we correlated palatability and nutritive value to CSI_anthro. ANCOVAs related CSI_anthro to EAH criteria (CSI_eco and lifetime) and to plant occurrence on pasture types. We found EAH criteria to better predict CSI_antro than explicit criteria. Apparent plants from semi-arid pastures were more valued than those from arid pastures (HSD; p < 0.05). We introduce the criterion of reliability into EAH to explain this, and demonstrate how pastoralists adjust management decisions to resource reliability. Linking resource valuation to management decisions can thus improve our understanding of resilience mechanisms. Our study also confirms the validity of EAH for forage species and dryland environments.     

Understanding community forestry: a qualitative meta-study of the concept, the process, and its potential for poverty alleviation in the United States case

This paper provides an assessment of the conceptual basis of community forestry from around the world, based on case studies presented in the literature, mainly over the last decade. More than 400 documents were examined for this comprehensive qualitative meta-study (meta-theory, meta-analysis, meta-method, and meta-synthesis) of community forestry. An overall conclusion is offered regarding the extent to which community forestry can be adapted to foster practices that enhance livelihoods, particularly for poverty populations, in rural United States communities. Special attention is paid to signifiers of community empowerment and reflexivity as well as other elements of success suggested in the literature.     

Interactions between aeolian and fluvial systems in dryland environments

Historically, fluvial and aeolian processes in dryland environments have been viewed as mutually exclusive. However, recent research indicates that in many regions dryland aeolian and fluvial systems do not operate independently. There are interactions between the two systems that have important implications for the geomorphology of the landscape. This paper reviews the factors controlling the transfer of sediments between aeolian and fluvial systems, focusing on moisture availability, sediment supply and the magnitude/frequency characteristics of fluvial and aeolian events. We conclude by highlighting areas of future research that will contribute greatly to our understanding of aeolian–fluvial relationships in dryland areas.     

多年冻土地区工程建设生态环境影响研究评述

多年冻土地区工程建设的研究在国际上开展很早,而关于工程建设项目对区域生态环境影响的研究则相对滞后。在对生态环境要素所受影响角度的考察中,相关研究集中于工程建设项目对冻土层以及多年冻土地区植被、湿地、土地荒漠化、野生动物、自然保护区的影响上;在对生态环境影响预测和评价方法角度的考察中,相关研究集中于冻土层和多年冻土地区水土流失的影响预测和评价上。从既有的研究成果来看,多年冻土地区工程建设生态环境影响研究应向体系化、定量化和全面化发展,具体的工作包括生态环境影响评价指标体系的建立和综合性生态环境影响评价方法的制定等。     

环境伦理观与可持续旅游行为研究进展

环境伦理观是促进人与环境和谐发展的核心理念,对可持续旅游行为具有积极的指导作用。本文通过对中英文主流数据库期刊的文献回顾,对环境伦理观的理论内涵、影响因素以及环境伦理观对可持续旅游行为的影响进行系统梳理。结果表明：环境伦理观的概念体系主要包括环境道德、环境情感和环境信念三要素。现有研究往往不区分环境道德和环境信念,对环境情感的度量往往缺乏统一标准,导致研究结果不一致。对环境伦理观具有直接影响力的是价值观理论,社会文化因素、宗教因素、教育水平、媒体和广告影响、政策、国内和国际移民经历等因素也有一定的作用。西方对环境伦理观与可持续旅游行为进行了大量的定性和定量研究,而国内以概念性研究居多,既有研究中往往仅关注旅游中的环境行为,对可持续旅游行为关注较少,缺乏对这一特定行为的概念界定,因此,未来应在以下几个方面加强研究：①对环境伦理观理论内涵的度量;②对环境伦理观影响因素的研究;③对可持续旅游行为的界定和度量;④文化因素对于环境伦理观和可持续旅游行为的影响;⑤运用定量和定性研究方法探求环境伦理观对可持续旅游行为的作用机理和影响,为促进生态文明建设提供理论支撑和实证研究。     

Identifying components for interoperable process models using concept lattice and semantic reference system

The development of interoperable environmental process models is widely supported by both the research community and government agencies. This paper discusses a conceptual framework to guide the delineation of process components, the basic unit of interoperable models. The concepts of semantic reference system and dual hierarchy are explored to establish the conceptual framework. Based on this discussion, the Formal Concept Analysis is used as an analytical approach to decompose and fuse existing environmental process models in order to identify environmental process components. For purposes of discussion, a hydrological process, surface runoff, is used throughout the paper as an example of an environmental process to support the conceptual discussion and to illustrate the application of the conceptual framework and analytical approach.     

A GeoAgent‐based framework for knowledge‐oriented representation: Embracing social rules in GIS

While current Geographic Information Systems (GISs) can represent observational spatial data well, they have limited capabilities in representing some non‐observational social elements and goal‐driven behaviours that can be important factors in a wide range of geographic issues. Such social components may include laws, regulations, polices, plans, culture, and customs, as well as their relations and interactions with the geographic environment at different scales. Getting beyond traditional data‐centred approaches, this research presents a knowledge‐oriented strategy in order to address these issues within a GIS context. We incorporate two major conceptual elements. First, extending from conventional agent notions and their geographic applications, geographic agents (GeoAgents) are considered as a basic representation component to specifically address social rules and goal‐driven behaviours that impact the Earth and environmental systems. Second, in order to incorporate GeoAgents with current space–time representation, a new conceptual representation framework, called ‘fields, objects, time, GeoAgents, and relations’ (FOTAR), is introduced to address the cross‐scale processes of both social and natural interactions. A Java‐based prototype, GeoAgent‐based Knowledge System (GeoAgentKS), is described to implement this framework by integrating agent technologies with multiple data and knowledge representation techniques, such as expert systems, concept maps, mathematical models, and geospatial databases. The application of this prototype in a case study is also presented, investigating scale‐dependent human–environment interactions under different emergency situations for community water systems in Central Pennsylvania, USA. In this case study, a systematic set of methodologies of knowledge acquisition, representation, and confirmation for constructing GeoAgents' knowledge bases by using expert systems were explored to formalize high‐level knowledge and social behaviours in the FOTAR‐based representations. The results show that the proposed conceptual representation framework is achievable at both implementation and application levels, and the prototype tool is demonstrated to be valuable in facilitating knowledge sharing, policymaking, municipal management, and decision‐making, especially for real‐world emergency management.     

Monitoring degradation in arid and semi-arid forests and woodlands: The case of the argan woodlands (Morocco)

Arid and semi-arid forests and woodlands (hereafter called «dryland forests»), in spite of their ecological and social importance, have received little attention in land change studies. Growing evidence shows that these forests have been receding at very high rates in many places, suggesting a need for a better understanding of the processes and causes of dryland forest degradation. Changes in the extent of dryland forests are debated in part because estimates of forest and woodland areas in drylands are uncertain. Causal explanations of the degradation tend to draw on the literature on desertification and tropical deforestation, and to emphasize either local or remote, and either social or biophysical drivers. This study contributes to a better understanding of dryland forest degradation as a basis for conservation policies. Firstly, we argue that monitoring arid and semi-arid forests and woodlands using area estimates may lead to an underestimation of the severity of change because tree density change often exceeds area change. Secondly, we argue that the analysis of degradation processes in these multifunctional landscapes should integrate both local and remote, and both social and biophysical factors. We use a case study of degradation in the argania woodlands in semi-arid to arid Southwest Morocco to test these two claims. We used gridded tree counts on aerial photographs and satellite images to estimate forest change between 1970 and 2007, and we tested several possible causes of change on the basis of original socio-economic field surveys and climatic and topographic data. We found that forest density declined by 44.5% during this period, a figure that is significantly underestimated if forest area change is used as a measure of degradation. Increasing aridity and, to a lesser extent, fuelwood extraction were related to forest decline. No effect of grazing by local livestock was found.     

Reflections on use of participatory research for disaster risk reduction

Participatory research approaches are increasingly popular with academic researchers and development organisations working to facilitate change in collaboration with local communities. This paper contributes to recent debates over the use of participatory approaches by examining the use of participatory research within disaster risk reduction. Drawing on research in Papua New Guinea in which participatory techniques were used with indigenous communities to determine strategies for dealing with environmental hazards, the value of such techniques is critiqued. Finally the significance of participatory research as a research methodology is discussed as is its possible contribution to disaster risk reduction policy.     

A Comparative Assessment of Land Use Functions Based on Perceptions of Policy Makers and Local Farmers in Guyuan,Western China

The land use function (LUF) concept is a useful tool in assessing sustainable development. With the goal of exploring the conceptive difference of policy makers and local farmer on LUFs and understanding the capacity of different land use types to provide LUFs, we used a participatory method to assess LUFs in Guyuan, which included four phases: literature review and field surveys; specification of the LUF context; ranking of priorities and weighting of LUFs; and visualization and discussion of the results. It was found that policy makers perceived regional problems and critical LUFs well, whereas farmers had a clearer perception of local issues that affect their livelihood. For policy makers, environmental functions had a higher priority than economic and social functions; in contrast, farmers prioritized economic and social functions. However, based on the perception of both groups, the result was the same whereby environmental functions had the highest LUF value and economic functions had the lowest. Participatory assessment methods enhanced our understanding of causal linkages between land use and LUFs, and may help stakeholders improve future land use decisions and management for regional sustainable development.     

Scenarios of land system change in the Lao PDR: Transitions in response to alternative demands on goods and services provided by the land

Sudden and gradual land use changes can result in different socio-ecological systems, sometimes referred to as regime shifts. The Lao PDR (Laos) has been reported to show early signs of such regime shifts in land systems with potentially major socio-ecological implications. However, given the complex mosaic of different land systems, including shifting cultivation, such changes are not easily assessed using traditional land cover data. Moreover, regime shifts in land systems are difficult to simulate with traditional land cover modelling approaches. A novel simulation approach was employed that focused on simulating changes in land systems rather than focusing on land cover. With the CLUmondo model we simulated three scenarios of potential developments between the years 2010 and 2030 assuming different degrees of international market integration and sustainable growth objectives. Although all scenarios show a decline of shifting cultivation systems, the respective orientation of markets and land governance resulted in strongly different land change trajectories. The land system changes are strongly location dependent and different trajectories are found in different parts of the country. Some scenarios show clear elements of land sparing with intensification of land management in the valleys and re-growth of forest on sloping land. Other scenarios show elements of enhanced multi-functionality. The approach addressed methodological challenges in simulating land system regime shifts and complex mosaic landscapes while accounting for societal demands for different types of goods and services from land systems. The land systems approach allows a nuanced representation of different types of forests and agricultural systems such as shifting cultivation and commercial agricultural plantations. Simulation results contribute to a debate about desired future land use on the national scale including its environmental and socio-economic implications.     

EQUILIBRIUM AND NONEQUILIBRIUM CONDITIONS IN DRYLAND RIVERS

Rivers in drylands typically are characterized by extreme flow variability, with long periods of little or no flow interspersed with occasional large, sometimes extreme, floods. Complete adjustment of river form and process is sometimes inhibited, resulting in a common assumption that equilibrium conditions may rarely, if ever, exist in dryland rivers, and that transient and unstable (nonequilibrium) behavior is the norm. Examples from the Channel Country and the Northern Plains in central Australia challenge that notion. Along the middle reaches of these intermediate and large, low-gradient rivers, where long duration floods generate moderate to low unit stream powers and boundary resistance is high as a result of indurated alluvial terraces, cohesive muds or riparian vegetation, there is evidence that: (1) channels have remained essentially stable despite large floods; (2) sediment transport discontinuities, while present at a catchment scale, are largely insignificant for channel form and process in individual reaches; (3) there are strong correlations between many channel form and process variables; and (4) many rivers appear to be adjusted to maximum sediment transport efficiency under conditions of low gradient, abundant within-channel vegetation and declining downstream discharge. In these middle reaches, rivers are characterized by equilibrium conditions. However, in the aggradational lower reaches of rivers on the Northern Plains, where upstream terraces are buried by younger sediments and channels are less confined, nonequilibrium conditions prevail. Here, channels sometimes undergo sudden and substantial changes in form during large floods, sediment transport discontinuities are readily apparent, and landforms such as splays remain out-of-balance with normal flows. Hence, dryland rivers can exhibit both equilibrium and nonequilibrium conditions, depending on factors such as catchment size, channel gradient, flood duration, unit stream power, channel confinement, sediment cohesion, and bank strength. [Key words: dryland rivers, floods, equilibrium, nonequilibrium, central Australia.]