Participatory mapping reveals biocultural and nature values in the shared landscape of a Nordic UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

Making the right decisions for sustainable development requires sound knowledge of the values and spatial distribution of the services co-produced by ecosystems and people. UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme and associated Biosphere Reserves (BRs) are key learning sites or model regions for sustainable development providing key entry points for transdisciplinary work on sustainable development. However, there is limited research exploring spatial distribution of socio-cultural Ecosystem Service (ES) values in BRs and how those values vary according to the BR zonation. We used a transdisciplinary approach to design and implement a public participation geographical information systems (PPGIS) survey in a recently designated BR to (a) asses the spatial distribution of ES values in the different zones, (b) identify hotspots of ES values, (c) identify spatial bundles of ES values and (d) assess the social-ecological characteristics that determine the distribution of those values. We found that stakeholders identify high biocultural ES values, mapping predominantly places for outdoor recreation, biodiversity, agricultural products and cultural heritage. Buffer zones had high agricultural and cultural heritage values while extractive values were largely absent from cores zones. We identified five spatial ES-value bundles highlighting distinct places important for ES values related to ‘multifunctional landscapes’ located close to settlements, ‘cultural landscapes’ associated with agricultural land, ‘wild animal resources’ along the coastlines, ‘outdoor recreation and biodiversity’ and ‘passive cultural values’ widely distributed in high and moderately populated areas. We found that accessibility was important for ES values and that people value nature close to where they live. We show the importance of biocultural values in the region, and agricultural landscapes were highly valued for multiple ES values beyond agricultural products alone. We show that BRs have become places that link cultural heritage, agricultural and biodiversity values in multifunctional landscapes. We put our findings into the local context and suggest how they can inform land-use planning and management through policies aimed at maintaining key agricultural landscapes that provide social-ecological resilience. Additionally, we discuss the value of our study for the wider BR network and how similar work can contribute to monitoring of BR implementation.publishedVersio

Integration matters: Combining socio-cultural and biophysical methods for mapping ecosystem service bundles

Ecosystem services (ESs) play an important role in sustainable landscape management. People value ESs in diverse ways encompassing social and ecological domains and we need to bring these different values together. We used social-cultural and biophysical methods to map a diverse set of ESs at two spatial scales in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Norway. The ESs bundled into three distinct social–ecological system archetypes which were similar in their distribution and relative ES values at both spatial scales. The bundles were also well matched to relative ESs values of the Biosphere Reserve zones (core, buffer, and transition) indicating that the bundles capture the social–ecological systems of the zones. We argue that it is important to consider the social–ecological context of the zones to provide sufficient knowledge to inform management. Our work has the capacity to contribute to sustainable land management that takes biocultural values into consideration.publishedVersio

“Stewards of the future: accompanying the rising tide of young voices by setting youth-inclusive research agendas in sustainability research”

Background From the worldwide youth-led climate strikes of 2018–2019 to the student-initiated austerity protests in Chile in 2019, it is undeniable that young people have been protagonists in pressuring for social change towards greater sustainability in recent years. This piece reflects on youth as agents of social-ecological change, and what researchers can learn from the rise in youth-led social movements demanding action in the face of global sustainability challenges. The study of sustainability problems like climate change and biodiversity loss, intrinsically requires consideration of inter-generational equity. However, despite 50% of the global population being under 30 years old, youth are often not included explicitly as actors in environmental social sciences and sustainability-related research. Here we discuss why explicitly considering young people as distinct actors during the research process is important, as it allows researchers to engage in just and inclusive work whilst at the same time accounting for important agents of change in complex social-ecological systems. Results As a framework for our inquiry we present the themes which emerged during a series of international meetings and forums on sustainability challenges and youth in 2019, a year characterized by world-wide youth mobilization. Our briefing spans the United Nations Youth 2019 Climate Action Summit, the post-2020 meetings organized by the youth branch of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Youth forums and the results from the Global Shapers Survey of the World Economic Forum. Conclusions We argue that if researchers wish to facilitate youth-inclusive evidence-based decision making, research agendas must address knowledge gaps highlighted by institutional efforts to incorporate youth concerns within global sustainability policy, a recommendation that is even more relevant in the light of the COVID-19 crisis. We draw on the themes which emerged in our analysis of international youth meetings to provide recommendations for research agendas which account both for young actors as both passive and active components of social-ecological change and we propose a more inclusive and holistic study of coupled natural-human systems.publishedVersio

Voices of young biosphere stewards on the strengths, weaknesses, and ways forward for 74 UNESCO Biosphere Reserves across 83 countries

Young stakeholders are key actors in social-ecological systems, who have the capacity to be agents of sustainability transformation but are also at high risk of exclusion in the unfolding of global change challenges. Despite the focus of sustainability on future generations, there has been little research effort aimed at understanding young actors’ roles as biosphere stewards. In this work we investigate how young stakeholders perceive and participate in the implementation of sustainability objectives in 74 Biosphere Reserves of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme across 83 countries, through participatory group workshops, individual surveys and grey literature review. We explore to what extent youth perceptions are aligned or not with current understandings of Biosphere Reserves and how young stakeholders are acting in pursuit of Biosphere Reserve objectives. We find that young stakeholders have a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities and challenges faced by environmental governance, such as resilience and adaptation to global change and the governance challenges of implementing adaptive co-management and increasing stakeholder participation. We also show that young stakeholders can be active participants in a wide range of activities that contribute to achieving conservation and development goals in their territories. They are particularly concerned with youth participation within all levels of Biosphere Reserve functioning and with the creation of sustainable livelihood opportunities that will allow future generations to remain in their native territories. Our study provides evidence of the importance of young stakeholder knowledge and perspectives as central actors in conservation and development initiatives, like Biosphere Reserves, and of the need to increase young stakeholder integration and participation within environmental governance.publishedVersio

Partitioning direct and indirect effects reveals the response of water-limited ecosystems to elevated CO2

Increasing concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide are expected to affect carbon assimilation and evapotranspiration (ET), ultimately driving changes in plant growth, hydrology and the global carbon balance. Direct leaf biochemical effects have been widely investigated, while indirect effects, although documented, elude explicit quantification in experiments. Here, we used a mechanistic model to investigate the relative contributions of direct (through carbon assimilation) and indirect (via soil moisture savings due to stomatal closure, and changes in leaf area index, LAI) effects of elevated CO2 across a variety of ecosystems. We specifically determined which ecosystems and climatic conditions maximise the indirect effects of elevated CO2. The simulations suggest that the indirect effects of elevated CO2 on net primary productivity are large and variable, ranging from less than 10% to more than 100% of the size of direct effects. For ET, indirect effects were on average 65% of the size of direct effects. Indirect effects tended to be considerably larger in water-limited ecosystems. As a consequence, the total CO2 effect had a significant, inverse relationship with the wetness index and was directly related to vapor pressure deficit. These results have major implications for our understanding of the CO2-response of ecosystems and for global projections of CO2 fertilization because, while direct effects are typically understood and easily reproducible in models, simulations of indirect effects are far more challenging and difficult to constrain. Our findings also provide an explanation for the discrepancies between experiments in the total CO2 effect on net primary productivity

Nor any drop to drink: Water relations of the mangrove avicennia marina (Forssk.) vierh

Essential players within the planet’s water cycle, plants are themselves sensitive to ongoing global change. Future shifts in water availability are predicted to change the face of the earth’s forests. In the last decades there have been many advances in our understanding of water relations of plants and their response to environmental conditions. However, most of these studies are based on relatively few North-American and European tree species, with a notable underrepresentation of southern-hemisphere or tropical tree species. This kind of knowledge is needed, not only to reach a representative understanding of eco-physiological diversity of plant function, but also to establish the full spectrum of forest responses to changing environmental conditions. In my project, I study the water relations of the grey mangrove, Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh., in the temperate mangrove forests of New Zealand. Mangroves are enigmatic species, which live in the harsh conditions imposed by brackish water and periodically flooded soils. Although they have elicited much scientific curiosity throughout history, much of our knowledge of mangrove water-related physiology is based on manipulative experiments with seedlings. Over the course of two years, I employed a diverse array of ecophysiological techniques to closely monitor different aspects of adult A. marina water relations in the stem and crown. When investigating the seasonal and monthly courses of water-induced stem radial changes with a variety of stem cycle analysis techniques, I found that these were highly heterogeneous even within the same individual. Despite this heterogeneity however, it was still possible to correlate the amplitude of stem radius changes with environmental conditions. Presence or absence of precipitation events was an important driver of stem swelling periods, whilst atmospheric water availability indicators, such as VPD explained stem shrinkage periods. I found that Avicennia marina shows unusual daytime refilling of stem elastic water storage tissues, which deviates from most terrestrial trees and is hypothesized to be due to endogenous osmotic adjustment. This theory is reinforced by my finding that light sum, a proxy for photosynthesis, is a prominent driver of stem swelling amplitudes. In order to understand the “peristaltic” depletion of internally stored water within the tree stem, I studied the seasonal changes in the timing and time-lags of peak stem swelling at different tiers. I discovered an annual switch in the direction of the peristaltic water depletion wave along the stem, potentially related to seasonal changes crown photosynthesis and influence of non-structural carbohydrate dynamics on stem radial change caused by the onset of the growing season. Daytime stem swelling was studied further by performing measurements directly on xylem tissue, revealing the inner-bark turgor driven signal behind whole-stem daytime swelling. However, due to A. marina’s unique wood structure, consisting of multiple phloem-xylem layers, the use of this methodology yielded heterogeneous and highly variable results. Lastly, I found that leaf turgor pressure-probes proved a reliable source of information on leaf turgor dynamics. The study of leaf turgor confirmed the importance of fresh water inputs for leaf hydration. My results also suggested that osmoregulation behind daytime stem swelling momentarily overrides the water demands of transpiring leaves, causing delayed recovery of leaf turgor in the evenings. The time-lags between stem water storage mobilization and leaf turgor recovery followed changes in atmospheric water demand, and also showed differences in the sensitivity of the upper and lower stem to leaf water demands. My work is a significant contribution not only to the understanding of mangrove ecophysiology in particular, but also adds to our increasingly complex map of plant physiological diversity which goes far beyond the established paradigms of plant-water relations.

Mapping stakeholder networks for the co-production of multiple ecosystem services: A novel mixed-methods approach

Governance of ecosystem services (ES) requires an understanding of the complex dynamics of collaboration (and contestation) of multiple stakeholders and multiple ES. However, many studies consider only a few ES or stakeholder groups. In our work, we map the co-production of multiple ES by multiple stakeholders connected through ES governance networks. Through a unique combination of Public Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS), stakeholder focus groups, surveys, and social network analysis, we reveal insights on social-ecological fit of ES co-production across an area unified by a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve designation. By overlaying relationships between stakeholders, multiple ES, and ES co-production networks, our results reveal gaps and mismatches in the ES governance system. We identified mismatches between those ES most valued by the region’s inhabitants and those managed, governed and studied by relevant institutions and stakeholders. Cultural ES were the most highly appreciated by stakeholders, but social networks of cultural ES governance were the least densely connected, with highly influential stakeholders involved in cultural ES management (e.g., farmers), not well connected to the governance network. Thus, our findings point to a weakness in cultural ES governance and the need of incorporating cultural ES more clearly into natural resource management agendas. Our results show the importance of mapping what is being discussed by whom, and that mapping environmental governance networks alone does not necessarily provide sufficient resolution to understand co-production of different ES. We confirm the difficulties of governing ES when the ES providers and/or beneficiaries operate at different or distant scales, the scale of ecological processes does not match management (e.g., in some regulating and maintenance ES), or stakeholders which are important in affecting ES provision are not involved in governance, resulting in social-ecological misfit. Lastly, our work confirms the broad array of research methods needed to capture the complexity of governing multiple ES.publishedVersio

Participatory mapping reveals biocultural and nature values in the shared landscape of a Nordic UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

Making the right decisions for sustainable development requires sound knowledge of the values and spatial distribution of the services co-produced by ecosystems and people. UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere programme and associated Biosphere Reserves (BRs) are key learning sites or model regions for sustainable development providing key entry points for transdisciplinary work on sustainable development. However, there is limited research exploring spatial distribution of socio-cultural Ecosystem Service (ES) values in BRs and how those values vary according to the BR zonation. We used a transdisciplinary approach to design and implement a public participation geographical information systems (PPGIS) survey in a recently designated BR to (a) asses the spatial distribution of ES values in the different zones, (b) identify hotspots of ES values, (c) identify spatial bundles of ES values and (d) assess the social-ecological characteristics that determine the distribution of those values. We found that stakeholders identify high biocultural ES values, mapping predominantly places for outdoor recreation, biodiversity, agricultural products and cultural heritage. Buffer zones had high agricultural and cultural heritage values while extractive values were largely absent from cores zones. We identified five spatial ES-value bundles highlighting distinct places important for ES values related to ‘multifunctional landscapes’ located close to settlements, ‘cultural landscapes’ associated with agricultural land, ‘wild animal resources’ along the coastlines, ‘outdoor recreation and biodiversity’ and ‘passive cultural values’ widely distributed in high and moderately populated areas. We found that accessibility was important for ES values and that people value nature close to where they live. We show the importance of biocultural values in the region, and agricultural landscapes were highly valued for multiple ES values beyond agricultural products alone. We show that BRs have become places that link cultural heritage, agricultural and biodiversity values in multifunctional landscapes. We put our findings into the local context and suggest how they can inform land-use planning and management through policies aimed at maintaining key agricultural landscapes that provide social-ecological resilience. Additionally, we discuss the value of our study for the wider BR network and how similar work can contribute to monitoring of BR implementation

“Stewards of the future: accompanying the rising tide of young voices by setting youth-inclusive research agendas in sustainability research”

Background From the worldwide youth-led climate strikes of 2018–2019 to the student-initiated austerity protests in Chile in 2019, it is undeniable that young people have been protagonists in pressuring for social change towards greater sustainability in recent years. This piece reflects on youth as agents of social-ecological change, and what researchers can learn from the rise in youth-led social movements demanding action in the face of global sustainability challenges. The study of sustainability problems like climate change and biodiversity loss, intrinsically requires consideration of inter-generational equity. However, despite 50% of the global population being under 30 years old, youth are often not included explicitly as actors in environmental social sciences and sustainability-related research. Here we discuss why explicitly considering young people as distinct actors during the research process is important, as it allows researchers to engage in just and inclusive work whilst at the same time accounting for important agents of change in complex social-ecological systems. Results As a framework for our inquiry we present the themes which emerged during a series of international meetings and forums on sustainability challenges and youth in 2019, a year characterized by world-wide youth mobilization. Our briefing spans the United Nations Youth 2019 Climate Action Summit, the post-2020 meetings organized by the youth branch of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Youth forums and the results from the Global Shapers Survey of the World Economic Forum. Conclusions We argue that if researchers wish to facilitate youth-inclusive evidence-based decision making, research agendas must address knowledge gaps highlighted by institutional efforts to incorporate youth concerns within global sustainability policy, a recommendation that is even more relevant in the light of the COVID-19 crisis. We draw on the themes which emerged in our analysis of international youth meetings to provide recommendations for research agendas which account both for young actors as both passive and active components of social-ecological change and we propose a more inclusive and holistic study of coupled natural-human systems

Voices of young biosphere stewards on the strengths, weaknesses, and ways forward for 74 UNESCO Biosphere Reserves across 83 countries

Young stakeholders are key actors in social-ecological systems, who have the capacity to be agents of sustainability transformation but are also at high risk of exclusion in the unfolding of global change challenges. Despite the focus of sustainability on future generations, there has been little research effort aimed at understanding young actors’ roles as biosphere stewards. In this work we investigate how young stakeholders perceive and participate in the implementation of sustainability objectives in 74 Biosphere Reserves of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme across 83 countries, through participatory group workshops, individual surveys and grey literature review. We explore to what extent youth perceptions are aligned or not with current understandings of Biosphere Reserves and how young stakeholders are acting in pursuit of Biosphere Reserve objectives. We find that young stakeholders have a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities and challenges faced by environmental governance, such as resilience and adaptation to global change and the governance challenges of implementing adaptive co-management and increasing stakeholder participation. We also show that young stakeholders can be active participants in a wide range of activities that contribute to achieving conservation and development goals in their territories. They are particularly concerned with youth participation within all levels of Biosphere Reserve functioning and with the creation of sustainable livelihood opportunities that will allow future generations to remain in their native territories. Our study provides evidence of the importance of young stakeholder knowledge and perspectives as central actors in conservation and development initiatives, like Biosphere Reserves, and of the need to increase young stakeholder integration and participation within environmental governance